Athens is a medium-sized city located in the state of Ohio. With a population of 20,820 people and seven associated neighborhoods, Athens is the 71st largest community in Ohio.

Of important note, Athens is also a city of artists. Athens has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Athens’s character.

Also of interest is that Athens has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.

A relatively large number of people in Athens telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 14.38% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

Athens is also a major college town with a large number of people who are 18 years or older and attending college. As is often the case in college towns, the many students that live in Athens have a strong influence on the local culture and entertainment scene, which may seem dormant by comparison in the summer months when much of the student population is away. In the fall, the return of students has a reinvigorating effect on the community. Because colleges are lasting institutions, they have a stabilizing effect on the economy by providing direct local benefits such as jobs for faculty and staff and spending by students. Athens’s economy is one such example of this.

Athens, while not large, also appears to be attractive to some younger, educated professionals, who help shape the character of the city.

Residents of the city have the good fortune of having one of the shortest daily commutes compared to the rest of the country. On average, they spend only 15.43 minutes getting to work every day.

If knowledge is power, Athens is a pretty powerful place. 66.62% of the adults in Athens have earned a 4-year college degree, masters degree, MD, law degree, or even PhD. Compare that to the national average of 21.84% for all cities and towns.

The per capita income in Athens in 2022 was $22,737, which is low income relative to Ohio and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $90,948 for a family of four. However, Athens contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. Athens also has one of the higher rates of people living in poverty in the nation, with 43.03% of its population below the federal poverty line.

Athens is a somewhat ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Athens home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Athens residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Athens include German, Irish, English, Italian, and Polish.

The most common language spoken in Athens is English. Other important languages spoken here include Chinese and Arabic.