Ōno has a Humid climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm, wet summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall.

Ōno merged with the villages of Shimosho, Kamisho, Goka, Sakadani, Tomida, Inuigawa and Oyama and was raised to city status on July 1, 1954.

Ōno and the surroundings were the setting for the 2011 non-fiction book For Fukui's Sake, written by a British author who resided there for two years.

Ōno has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city legislature of 18 members.

The economy of Ōno is mixed, with agriculture, forestry and seasonal tourism playing prominent roles.