Ohio Deer Harvest Per Square Mile By County - Where Does Your County Rank?
Much is made of the annual Ohio harvest by county total put out by the ODNR each year. We decided to dig a little deeper and rank all 88 counties by deer harvested per square mile. For the deer hunter wanting to put meat in his/her freezer this gives a true picture of where your absolute best odds are. Or in some cases are not!
Below is the graphic shared by the ODNR regarding last years harvest and the top 10 counties. While their numbers are accurate it does not paint a complete picture. County sizes range from the largest Ashtabula County having 701.93 square miles to the smallest which is Lake County at 227.29 square miles.
Will the deer per square mile harvest match the top 10 counties above? In some cases yes and in some cases counties you seldem hear of may actually be one of the top counties. Take Ashland county for example. Ashland ranked as 8th in the state when factoring deer harvested per square mile while coming in at little talked about 13th place in total harvest per county per the ODNR.
| County | Square Miles | 2021/22 Deer Harvest | Harvest Per Square Mile |
| Coshocton | 563.91 | 7144 | 12.67 |
| Holmes | 422.53 | 4905 | 11.61 |
| Tuscarawas | 567.64 | 6303 | 11.10 |
| Carroll | 394.61 | 4197 | 10.64 |
| Knox | 525.49 | 5290 | 10.07 |
| Guernsey | 522.25 | 5104 | 9.77 |
| Harrison | 402.34 | 3553 | 8.83 |
| Ashland | 422.95 | 3650 | 8.63 |
| Muskingum | 664.58 | 5331 | 8.02 |
| Noble | 398.01 | 3183 | 8.00 |
| Meigs | 430.10 | 3418 | 7.95 |
| Morgan | 416.42 | 3235 | 7.77 |
| Licking | 682.50 | 5244 | 7.68 |
| Richland | 495.27 | 3793 | 7.66 |
| Ashtabula | 701.93 | 5193 | 7.40 |
| Athens | 503.60 | 3540 | 7.03 |
| Hocking | 421.32 | 2913 | 6.91 |
| Perry | 407.97 | 2730 | 6.69 |
| Columbiana | 531.89 | 3545 | 6.66 |
| Jackson | 420.30 | 2764 | 6.58 |
| Trumbull | 618.30 | 3994 | 6.46 |
| Medina | 421.36 | 2591 | 6.15 |
| Vinton | 412.36 | 2433 | 5.90 |
| Jefferson | 408.33 | 2352 | 5.76 |
| Gallia | 466.53 | 2621 | 5.62 |
| Clermont | 452.10 | 2516 | 5.57 |
| Stark | 575.27 | 3201 | 5.56 |
| Portage | 487.38 | 2660 | 5.46 |
| Geauga | 400.16 | 2177 | 5.44 |
| Monroe | 455.72 | 2477 | 5.44 |
| Adams | 583.87 | 3138 | 5.37 |
| Washington | 631.97 | 3380 | 5.35 |
| Belmont | 532.13 | 2836 | 5.33 |
| Mahoning | 411.62 | 2110 | 5.13 |
| Brown | 490.02 | 2493 | 5.09 |
| Huron | 491.50 | 2475 | 5.04 |
| Highland | 553.08 | 2772 | 5.01 |
| Logan | 458.43 | 2219 | 4.84 |
| Lorain | 491.10 | 2374 | 4.83 |
| Wayne | 554.93 | 2461 | 4.43 |
| Ross | 689.19 | 3053 | 4.43 |
| Williams | 420.97 | 1857 | 4.41 |
| Morrow | 406.08 | 1758 | 4.33 |
| Summit | 412.75 | 1776 | 4.30 |
| Defiance | 411.46 | 1745 | 4.24 |
| Pike | 440.28 | 1862 | 4.23 |
| Lake | 227.49 | 962 | 4.23 |
| Fairfield | 504.41 | 2093 | 4.15 |
| Wyandot | 406.87 | 1658 | 4.08 |
| Erie | 251.56 | 955 | 3.80 |
| Seneca | 551.02 | 2064 | 3.75 |
| Delaware | 443.10 | 1631 | 3.68 |
| Lawrence | 453.37 | 1613 | 3.56 |
| Hamilton | 405.91 | 1419 | 3.50 |
| Butler | 467.06 | 1627 | 3.48 |
| Scioto | 610.21 | 2121 | 3.48 |
| Crawford | 401.79 | 1382 | 3.44 |
| Champaign | 428.67 | 1405 | 3.28 |
| Warren | 401.31 | 1245 | 3.10 |
| Paulding | 416.44 | 1269 | 3.05 |
| Hardin | 470.41 | 1423 | 3.03 |
| Hancock | 531.36 | 1561 | 2.94 |
| Shelby | 407.68 | 1104 | 2.71 |
| Union | 431.73 | 1136 | 2.63 |
| Auglaize | 401.39 | 1051 | 2.62 |
| Allen | 402.50 | 1024 | 2.54 |
| Preble | 424.12 | 1060 | 2.50 |
| Sandusky | 408.45 | 1014 | 2.48 |
| Marion | 403.76 | 986 | 2.44 |
| Fulton | 405.44 | 896 | 2.21 |
| Ottawa | 254.92 | 560 | 2.20 |
| Henry | 416.01 | 891 | 2.14 |
| Miami | 406.58 | 864 | 2.13 |
| Greene | 413.73 | 875 | 2.11 |
| Clark | 397.47 | 822 | 2.07 |
| Mercer | 462.45 | 931 | 2.01 |
| Cuyahoga | 457.19 | 889 | 1.94 |
| Lucas | 340.86 | 652 | 1.91 |
| Montgomery | 461.55 | 866 | 1.88 |
| Putnam | 482.52 | 877 | 1.82 |
| Wood | 617.21 | 997 | 1.62 |
| Clinton | 408.68 | 627 | 1.53 |
| Franklin | 532.19 | 813 | 1.53 |
| Van Wert | 409.16 | 593 | 1.45 |
| Madison | 465.88 | 652 | 1.40 |
| Darke | 598.10 | 835 | 1.40 |
| Pickaway | 501.32 | 679 | 1.35 |
| Fayette | 406.36 | 315 | 0.78 |
Where does your county rank? Think of this in relation to what you think the deer density may be in your county. Do you think 10% of the herd is being harvested or could it be as high as 20-30%? Trophy hunters would have interest in this number as age factor plays a huge factor in trophy harvests. Below is a chart showing trophy buck harvests per county.
Besides the fact that inquiring minds want to know you are probably wondering who will these deer harvested per square mile numbers benefit? For many out of state hunters planning a trip to Ohio this may help focus on a geographic area or county. For residents it may help you fill your freezer with venison. In addition when we see actual deer harvested by square mile it may help us manage our own property a little bit better! Should you shoot the extra doe or two or let them live? The more data we as deer hunters have the better we can become at managing our herd.
We hope you find the above information helpful in filling your deer tag in the 2022/23 season!
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