Ohio Deer Harvest Per Square Mile By County - Where Does Your County Rank?

Posted by Fin Feather Fur Outfitters on Aug 1st 2022

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!