Defiance, Ohio demographics

Defiance, OH demographics: median age 41.8; 21.1% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Defiance city, Ohio · Incorporated city · GEOID 3921308. The survey estimates a population of 17,276 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Defiance is 41.8 years, with a 90% margin of error of 1.8 years. There are 7,412 households (±357). Age and household distributions show how these totals are composed; they do not establish which neighborhood suits a particular person.

Every count and share is an estimate. “±” is a 90% margin of error (MOE); pp means percentage points. Derived shares use the category count divided by the named universe. Aggregated category MOEs and percentage MOEs are approximate. A margin larger than half its estimate is flagged as low precision. Blank source uncertainty is shown as unavailable, never zero.

Age distribution and sex

City, state and U.S. estimates · ACS 2020–2024
Measure / survey universe	City estimate ± MOE	State estimate ± MOE	U.S. estimate ± MOE
Median age Total population · years	41.8 ±1.8	39.7 ±0.2	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 17,276
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Ohio	U.S.
Under 18	3,401 ±384	19.7% ±2.1 pp	22.0%	22.0%
18–34	4,020 ±457	23.3% ±2.5 pp	22.1%	22.8%
35–64	6,112 ±492	35.4% ±2.5 pp	37.7%	38.0%
65 and older	3,743 ±385	21.7% ±2.1 pp	18.3%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 17,276
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Ohio	U.S.
Male	8,603 ±426	49.8% ±1.6 pp	49.3%	49.5%
Female	8,673 ±420	50.2% ±1.5 pp	50.7%	50.5%

The age groups are mutually exclusive and cover the entire population. The sex categories follow this ACS table’s published classification; they are not a survey of gender identity.

Race and Hispanic origin

Race · B02001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 17,276
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Ohio	U.S.
White alone	13,690 ±769	79.2% ±3.2 pp	76.8%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	480 ±131	2.8% ±0.8 pp	12.2%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	22 ±20 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.9%
Asian alone	71 ±64 · low precision	0.4% ±0.4 pp · low precision	2.6%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	27 ±49 · low precision	0.2% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.0%	0.2%
Some other race alone	827 ±311	4.8% ±1.8 pp	1.8%	7.1%
Two or more races	2,159 ±467	12.5% ±2.7 pp	6.5%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 17,276
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Ohio	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	14,289 ±687	82.7% ±2.4 pp	95.2%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	2,987 ±337	17.3% ±1.8 pp	4.8%	19.3%

Hispanic origin and race are separate questions. People of Hispanic or Latino origin may be of any race and appear in both tables. Do not add the Hispanic share to race shares. Race alone and two-or-more-race groups are the mutually exclusive categories of the race table.

Household types, children and living alone

Household types · B11001 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 7,412
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Ohio	U.S.
Married-couple family	3,148 ±318	42.5% ±3.8 pp	44.4%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	797 ±214	10.8% ±2.8 pp	4.8%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	630 ±160	8.5% ±2.1 pp	12.0%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	2,402 ±243	32.4% ±2.9 pp	32.0%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	435 ±151	5.9% ±2.0 pp	6.8%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 7,412
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Ohio	U.S.
Households with people under 18	1,893 ±224	25.5% ±2.8 pp	28.0%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	5,519 ±373	74.5% ±3.5 pp	72.0%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 7,412
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Ohio	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	2,402 ±243	32.4% ±2.9 pp	32.0%	28.7%
Two-person households	2,813 ±340	38.0% ±4.2 pp	34.6%	33.8%
Three-person households	813 ±256	11.0% ±3.4 pp	14.1%	15.3%
Four-person households	907 ±207	12.2% ±2.7 pp	11.3%	12.6%
Five-person households	293 ±136	4.0% ±1.8 pp	5.1%	5.9%
Six-person households	143 ±79 · low precision	1.9% ±1.1 pp · low precision	1.8%	2.2%
Seven or more people	41 ±51 · low precision	0.6% ±0.7 pp · low precision	1.1%	1.4%

A family household contains related people under the Census definition. A nonfamily household can contain one person or unrelated people sharing a home. Households with children can also appear in the household-type and size tables, so those tables must not be added together. Household estimates exclude people living in group quarters from the household universe.

Nativity and languages spoken at home

Nativity · B05002 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 17,276
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Ohio	U.S.
Native	17,078 ±654	98.9% ±5.4 pp	94.8%	85.9%
Foreign born	198 ±142 · low precision	1.1% ±0.8 pp · low precision	5.2%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 16,372
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Ohio	U.S.
English only	15,370 ±688	93.9% ±1.9 pp	92.0%	77.7%
Spanish	918 ±248	5.6% ±1.5 pp	2.6%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	23 ±34 · low precision	0.1% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	27 ±28 · low precision	0.2% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.9%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	0 ±20 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	3 ±7 · low precision	0.0% ±0.0 pp · low precision	1.2%	2.0%
Korean	1 ±8 · low precision	0.0% ±0.0 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	0 ±20 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.4%	1.1%
Vietnamese	0 ±20 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	0 ±20 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	30 ±49 · low precision	0.2% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.6%	1.1%
Arabic	0 ±20 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	0 ±20 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.7%	0.8%

Foreign born means not a U.S. citizen at birth; it includes naturalized citizens. Language categories describe speech at home among people age five and older. A language other than English at home does not establish that someone cannot speak English. This city page uses the published C16001 summary categories because the more detailed B16001 table does not provide these city records in this release.

Educational attainment

Highest completed education · B15003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 25 and older: 12,232
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Ohio	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	1,001 ±261	8.2% ±2.1 pp	8.2%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	4,978 ±546	40.7% ±4.0 pp	32.1%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	2,463 ±328	20.1% ±2.5 pp	19.3%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	1,214 ±250	9.9% ±2.0 pp	9.0%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	1,674 ±288	13.7% ±2.3 pp	19.3%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	902 ±217	7.4% ±1.7 pp	12.2%	14.1%

The denominator excludes residents under 25. Each person is counted in the highest attainment category they completed. This table does not measure the quality of local schools or the education level of every current student.

Residence one year earlier

Geographic mobility · B07003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 1 and older: 17,098
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Ohio	U.S.
Same house	15,186 ±722	88.8% ±2.5 pp	88.1%	87.7%
Moved within same county	819 ±289	4.8% ±1.7 pp	6.7%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	641 ±290	3.7% ±1.7 pp	3.2%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	408 ±210 · low precision	2.4% ±1.2 pp · low precision	1.6%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	44 ±47 · low precision	0.3% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.6%

These are respondents’ residence patterns one year before their survey response, pooled across the five-year window. They are not a net migration count for 2025. A person can move to a different house within the same city or county; moves within the same county should not automatically be interpreted as new arrivals to the city.

Health insurance, internet access and veterans

5.0% of Defiance residents (±1.7 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 6.4% in Ohio and 8.4% nationally. 89.5% of households subscribe to broadband of any type, including cellular data plans. A subscription is not the same as available service: the FCC National Broadband Map shows providers at a specific address.

City, state and U.S. shares · ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Defiance	Ohio	U.S.	Compared with Ohio
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	5.0% ±1.7 pp	6.4%	8.4%	Not statistically different
Households with a broadband subscription Households	89.5% ±2.1 pp	90.1%	91.0%	Not statistically different
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	5.8% ±1.2 pp	6.6%	6.2%	Not statistically different

Reading and reusing the estimates

The Census table links above lead to the original detailed tables. Counts, source universes and uncertainty are retained in the source observation download for Defiance . Compare these figures with the same survey window; do not compare one city’s five-year estimate with another city’s annual estimate as though they measured the same period. For methods, see uncertainty and denominator calculations.

Read Defiance housing and cost context or return to the city profile.