Best Deer Counties in Ohio: Coshocton Leads Per Square Mile at 13.20

IThe measure

Why county size belongs in the math

Total harvest depends on both the harvest rate and the amount of land in a county. With equal rates, a county twice as large has twice the total harvest. A big county can therefore lead in total harvest even with an ordinary rate. To remove county size from the comparison, we divide each county's average yearly registered harvest by its mapped area in square miles. That gives us the average number of deer hunters registered per square mile across the county. We used an average of the 2020 to 2024 seasons with the aim of keeping a single unusual year from determining a county's rank. Our land area figures came from the USDA Cropland Data Layer county summaries. Coshocton's seasonal average of 7,492 registered deer comes to 13.20 per square mile, the highest rate in the state.

IIThe leaders

Coshocton leads the ranking, followed closely by Holmes and Carroll

The leading group of five has rates of at least 10.71. Coshocton leads at 13.20; Holmes follows with 12.23. Carroll's rate is 12.02, ahead of Tuscarawas at 11.86 and Knox at 10.71. The next positions belong to Harrison with 9.89, then Guernsey with 9.83, followed by Ashland with 9.42. The figure covers twelve counties, ending with Muskingum at 8.49, Noble at 8.35, Richland at 8.34 and Morgan at 8.01. To put that in perspective, Ohio's median county registers 4.66. Coshocton's rate amounts to about 2.8 times that typical level.

Ohio's eastern counties with hilly terrain lead, while western counties with flat farmland finish at the low end. Using this measure for five states in the Midwest, our forest-cover paper found a tendency for more wooded Ohio counties to have higher rates. That fits the hill counties' lead. The county comparison establishes an association between forest and harvest rate without explaining its cause.

IIIThe fixed eight

The same counties kept the highest tenth

A single good year can disappear into an average, so we examined seasons separately too. For each season, a county qualified for the highest tenth by placing in the leading eight among Ohio's 88 counties according to that year's rate. We chose that cutoff by dividing 88 by 10 and rounding downward. Throughout the five seasons spanning 2020 to 2024, every season's qualifying group included Tuscarawas, Knox, Holmes, Harrison, Guernsey, Coshocton, Carroll and Ashland. Since those eight counties qualified every time and each year offered eight spots, they occupied the entire group throughout. A ninth county never made it.

Those counties occupy the leading eight positions in the ranking averaged across five seasons as well. Coshocton's 13.20 starts that group, and Ashland's 9.42 ends it, matching the picture from individual years. At ninth with 8.49, Muskingum followed closely in the average but failed to qualify for the highest tenth in any season. A five-season span provides little history. It establishes that these counties maintained their standing recently. Only a longer history could establish whether they continue to do so.

IVTwo rankings

When county harvest totals and rates split

Look to the table's final column for rankings based on unadjusted mean county harvest. Both methods place Coshocton first and Knox fifth. Elsewhere, their order differs. With a seasonal mean of 5,186 deer registrations, Holmes sits eighth in total harvest behind seven counties, but its rate trails Coshocton alone. Carroll averages 4,797, placing ninth in total harvest and third by rate. Ashtabula shows the reverse effect. Its seasonal mean exceeds Harrison's by 1,615 deer (5,675 versus 4,060), yet its rate of 8.00 places thirteenth, while Harrison places sixth with 9.89. Jefferson moves from a total-harvest rank of 32nd to a rate rank of 19th, registering 6.73 deer for each square mile.

Large counties gain an advantage in total-harvest rankings. Area-adjusted rates give the advantage to counties that pack many deer registrations into less ground. We apply that comparison to five states in our look at total leaders and per-square-mile leaders. Among the counties examined, Coshocton alone leads under both measures.

VThe bottom

City counties and Fayette's low of 1.01

A seasonal mean of 412 registered deer puts Fayette County at 1.01 for each square mile, ranking last across all 88 Ohio counties. The rate in Coshocton reaches 13.1 times that level. Cuyahoga and Clinton lead the lowest ten, both at 1.97; Fayette finishes the group. Each of those counties falls short of half Ohio's median rate of 4.66, whose halfway point is 2.33.

Among the lowest ten, Franklin contains Columbus, Cuyahoga contains Cleveland, and Montgomery contains Dayton. Much of their ground is developed. Farmland characterizes the remaining seven: Fayette, Madison, Darke, Pickaway, Van Wert, Clinton and Wood. The urban counties also rank toward the end of Ohio's harvest where bows account for a larger share. We cover that pattern in Ohio's Bow Counties.

VIMethod and limits

The limits of deer registration counts

We used county deer registrations reported by Ohio Division of Wildlife, taking seasonal means for 2020 to 2024 across all 88 counties. For the denominator, we used each county's mapped Cropland Data Layer area, counting inland rivers and lakes too. The agency calls its harvest figures unadjusted data influenced by deer abundance, participation in hunting and hunting rules. All three influences carry into a rate calculated from those figures. Our work measured neither hunter counts nor access to ground; each varies among counties.

According to the Division, it has also used surveys of hunters and farmers to establish deer abundance targets in most counties and works toward those targets by managing harvest. The target assigned to a county therefore affects its harvest, along with the deer living there. These results provide no estimate of herd size. Calling Coshocton the leader means its hunters recorded the most deer registrations for each square mile. These data cannot determine whether that county has more living deer or its hunters merely harvest more. This comparison applies among counties within Ohio; harvest reporting follows different rules in other states.

VIIUsing the list

Choosing Ohio counties for your hunt

We think the area-adjusted rate offers better guidance on hunting location than the county total. Build your candidate list from the table ranked by rate, with totals used only for a follow-up check. Begin by considering the eight counties leading each season, then order them according to the ground available for you to hunt. A high county rate means many deer were registered throughout that county. It need not describe the land you can get onto. Permission, available public acres and how many hunters share the county determine whether you will join those successful hunters.

When two counties seem similar, favor the higher rate over the bigger total. If you cannot get to any of the top eight, counties in the table’s ninth to twentieth rows still have rates well above the state median. Muskingum (8.49), Noble (8.35) and Richland (8.34) each come in at about 1.8 times the median of 4.66. Any county in the lowest ten has a lower harvest rate in the historical data, so choose it for other reasons.