Mentor, Ohio

Population

Down 0.8% since 2020.

47,010

people, the 23rd-largest of Ohio's cities and towns.

Census Population Estimates, 2025. Rank among Ohio's cities and towns computed by the Almanac. Sources: Census Population Estimates

The workday

8 in 10 jobs here go to people who live somewhere else.

83.7%

of 33,807 jobs located in Mentor are filled by in-commuters.

Census LEHD LODES, 2023. Sources: Census LEHD LODES

Unemployment, 2026

The low came in August: 1.6%.

1.6%

in August 2026, the latest month released. A year earlier it was 3.1%.

BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, monthly, through August 2026. Not seasonally adjusted, so compare with the same month a year earlier. Sources: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics

Rent

Median rent is up 43% since the 2005–2009 survey, before inflation.

$1,239

a month. Ohio's median is $1,034.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024 (latest), with earlier 5-year windows. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

The seam

Cross one tract line and median rent doubles.

A $864 gap between neighbors, the sharpest rent edge between adjacent tracts in Lake County.

• $785 Tract 2064
• $1,649 Tract 2011.02

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024, adjacent tracts compared by the Almanac. Tract estimates carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

Room to build

The median rent sits inside what local wages can carry.

$1,105–$1,658

is the monthly rent range local workforce wages support.

• $1,239 median

Supportable rent computed by the Almanac from 2023 source wage data. Median rent: Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Computed by the Almanac, Census ACS 5-year

Building

Most of the housing here is older than 2000.

• 882 homes permitted in ten years, 2016–2025
• 0% of those were in multifamily buildings
• 90% of all homes were built before 2000

Census Building Permits Survey, 2016–2025; Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Census Building Permits Survey, Census ACS 5-year

Units needed

Closing the gap would add 0.1–1.6% to the 21,142 homes here.

30–338

is the estimated number of missing housing units, from the lowest to the highest of three estimates.

Range computed by the Almanac from 2023 jobs and household data, using three demand models: 1% of jobs located here, 1% of renter households, and a rate by town size applied to renters. The low end is the lowest of the three and the high end the highest. It is an estimate, not a count. Sources: Computed by the Almanac

Home value

A median home costs 15% more than Ohio's.

$247,700

median home value in Mentor.

• $247,700 Mentor
• $214,800 Ohio
• $332,700 U.S.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Census ACS 5-year