Lorain County, Ohio

Lorain County
	Lorain County, Ohio
	Old county building in Elyria
Flag of Lorain County, Ohio; Flag	; Seal
	; Location in the state of Ohio
	; Ohio's location in the U.S.
Founded	April 1, 1824
Named for	Lorraine in France
Seat	Elyria
Largest city	Lorain
Area; - Total; - Land; - Water	; 923 sq mi (2,391 km²); 491 sq mi (1,272 km²); 432 sq mi (1,119 km²), 47%
Population; - (2020); - Density	; 312,964 ; 637.4/sq mi (246/km²)
Congressional districts	4th, 7th, 9th
Website	www.loraincounty.us

Lorain County is a county located in the northeastern portion of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 312,964.^[2] Its county seat is Elyria.^[3] The county was physically established in 1822, becoming judicially independent in 1824.^[4]

Lorain County is part of the Cleveland-Elyria, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area.

The county is also home to Oberlin College.

History[]

Lorain County was established in 1822 from portions of several of its adjacent counties. This county became judicially-independent in 1824. The original proposed name for the county was "Colerain".^[5] The final name "Lorain" seems to have no true intended connection to the Alsace-Lorraine area of France, as theorized by later historians.

Geography[]

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 923 square miles (2,390 km²), of which 491 square miles (1,270 km²) is land and 432 square miles (1,120 km²) (47%) is water.^[6] It is the fourth-largest county in Ohio by total area.

Adjacent counties[]

Cuyahoga County (east)
Medina County (southeast)
Ashland County (south)
Huron County (southwest)
Erie County (northwest)

Major highways[]

Interstate 80 (Ohio Turnpike)
Interstate 90 (Ohio Turnpike)
Interstate 480
U.S. Route 6
U.S. Route 20
State Route 2
State Route 10
State Route 18
State Route 57
State Route 58
Ohio Route 82
Ohio Route 83
State Route 113
Ohio Route 162
Ohio Route 254
Ohio Route 301
Ohio Route 303
Ohio Route 511
Ohio Route 611

Demographics[]

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1830	5,696	—
1840	18,467	224.2%
1850	26,086	41.3%
1860	29,744	14.0%
1870	30,308	1.9%
1880	35,526	17.2%
1890	40,295	13.4%
1900	54,857	36.1%
1910	76,037	38.6%
1920	90,612	19.2%
1930	109,206	20.5%
1940	112,390	2.9%
1950	148,162	31.8%
1960	217,500	46.8%
1970	256,843	18.1%
1980	274,909	7.0%
1990	271,126	−1.4%
2000	284,664	5.0%
2010	301,356	5.9%
U.S. Decennial Census^[7] 1790-1960^[8] 1900-1990^[9] 1990-2000^[10] 2020 ^[11]

As of the 2010 census, there were 301,356 people, 116,274 households, and 80,077 families residing in the county.^[12] The population density was 613.6 inhabitants per square mile (236.9 /km²). There were 127,036 housing units at an average density of 258.7 per square mile (99.9 /km²).^[13] The racial makeup of the county was 84.8% white, 8.6% black or African American, 0.9% Asian, 0.3% American Indian, 2.5% from other races, and 3.0% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 8.4% of the population.^[12] In terms of ancestry, 26.5% were German, 16.7% were Irish, 10.9% were English, 8.4% were Polish, 8.2% were Italian, 6.2% were American, and 5.2% were Hungarian.^[14]

Of the 116,274 households, 32.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.5% were married couples living together, 13.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 31.1% were non-families, and 26.0% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.02. The median age was 40.0 years.^[12]

The median income for a household in the county was $52,066 and the median income for a family was $62,082. Males had a median income of $49,146 versus $35,334 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,002. About 10.3% of families and 13.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.5% of those under age 18 and 8.0% of those age 65 or over.^[15]

Politics[]

Lorain County leans Democratic in presidential elections. It has voted for the Democratic candidate for president in 12 of the last 16 elections, including every one from 1988 to 2016. In 2016, however, the county was almost swept up in the unexpected Republican surge in the Rust Belt; Donald Trump came within 131 votes of being the first Republican to capture the county since Ronald Reagan in 1984, however in 2020, Donald Trump flipped the county Republican for the first time since 1984.

United States presidential election results for Lorain County, Ohio^[16]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	79,520	50.40%	75,667	47.96%	2,581	1.64%
2016	66,818	47.54%	66,949	47.63%	6,795	4.83%
2012	59,405	41.47%	81,464	56.87%	2,384	1.66%
2008	59,068	40.22%	85,276	58.07%	2,515	1.71%
2004	61,203	43.49%	78,970	56.11%	569	0.40%
2000	47,957	42.75%	59,809	53.32%	4,414	3.93%
1996	34,937	32.82%	55,744	52.37%	15,764	14.81%
1992	36,803	31.03%	50,962	42.97%	30,840	26.00%
1988	50,410	47.14%	55,600	52.00%	916	0.86%
1984	57,379	50.77%	52,970	46.87%	2,672	2.36%
1980	51,034	49.51%	40,919	39.69%	11,131	10.80%
1976	39,459	41.66%	52,387	55.31%	2,865	3.02%
1972	51,102	56.15%	36,634	40.25%	3,280	3.60%
1968	34,252	39.95%	42,642	49.74%	8,833	10.30%
1964	26,683	32.37%	55,755	67.63%	0	0.00%
1960	39,361	47.51%	43,487	52.49%	0	0.00%
1956	40,340	60.11%	26,774	39.89%	0	0.00%
1952	33,825	56.36%	26,194	43.64%	0	0.00%
1948	21,616	49.53%	21,397	49.03%	625	1.43%
1944	23,866	48.59%	25,254	51.41%	0	0.00%
1940	23,422	47.55%	25,831	52.45%	0	0.00%
1936	15,906	37.29%	24,393	57.19%	2,357	5.53%
1932	20,897	51.00%	18,753	45.77%	1,321	3.22%
1928	24,386	63.83%	13,607	35.62%	212	0.55%
1924	17,062	61.43%	3,965	14.28%	6,747	24.29%
1920	18,125	65.84%	8,640	31.39%	764	2.78%
1916	6,868	45.66%	7,658	50.91%	516	3.43%
1912	2,226	16.34%	4,591	33.71%	6,804	49.95%
1908	8,699	57.10%	5,460	35.84%	1,076	7.06%
1904	9,001	70.16%	2,700	21.04%	1,129	8.80%
1900	8,497	61.93%	4,989	36.36%	235	1.71%
1896	7,801	63.28%	4,367	35.43%	159	1.29%
1892	5,434	56.60%	3,674	38.27%	492	5.13%
1888	5,235	57.32%	3,311	36.25%	587	6.43%
1884	5,478	60.30%	3,199	35.21%	408	4.49%
1880	5,609	66.25%	2,752	32.51%	105	1.24%
1876	5,187	65.28%	2,720	34.23%	39	0.49%
1872	4,432	67.71%	2,097	32.03%	17	0.26%
1868	4,443	69.72%	1,930	30.28%	0	0.00%
1864	4,600	73.65%	1,646	26.35%	0	0.00%
1860	4,045	66.89%	1,766	29.20%	236	3.90%
1856	3,604	70.97%	1,420	27.96%	54	1.06%

Education[]

Higher education[]

Lorain County Community College, Elyria
Oberlin College, Oberlin

Public school districts[]

There are 20 public school districts in Lorain County. Those primarily in Lorain County are listed in bold. Each district's high school(s) and location is also listed.

Amherst Exempted Village School District
- Amherst Marion L. Steele High School, Amherst
Avon Local School District
- Avon High School, Avon
Avon Lake City School District
- Avon Lake High School, Avon Lake
Black River Local School District (also in Medina Co and Ashland Co.)
- Black River High School, Sullivan
Clearview Local School District
- Clearview High School, Lorain
Columbia Local School District
- Columbia High School, Columbia Station
Elyria City School District
- Elyria High School, Elyria
Firelands Local School District (also in Erie Co.)
- Firelands High School, Henrietta Twp (Oberlin)
Keystone Local School District
- Keystone High School, LaGrange
Lorain City School District
- Lorain High School, Lorain
Mapleton Local School District (Primarily in Ashland Co.)
- Mapleton High School, Ashland
Midview Local School District
- Midview High School, Eaton Twp (Grafton)
New London Local School District (primarily in Huron Co.)
- New London High School, New London
North Ridgeville City School District
- North Ridgeville High School, North Ridgeville
Oberlin City School District
- Oberlin High School, Oberlin
Olmsted Falls City Schools (primarily in Cuyahoga Co.)
- Olmsted Falls High School, Olmsted Falls
Sheffield-Sheffield Lake City School District
- Brookside High School, Sheffield
Strongsville City School District (primarily in Cuyahoga Co.)
- Strongsville High School, Strongsville
Vermilion Local Schools (primarily in Erie Co.)
- Vermilion High School, Vermilion
Wellington Exempted Village School District (also in Huron Co.)
- Wellington High School, Wellington

The county also includes the Lorain County Joint Vocational School District, which encompasses the entire county and serves students from the Amherst, Avon, Avon Lake, Clearview, Columbia, Elyria, Firelands, Keystone, Midview, North Ridgeville, Oberlin, Sheffield-Sheffield Lake and Wellington school districts from a 10-acre campus on a 100-acre site near the intersection of State Route 58 and U.S. Route 20 in Oberlin.^[17]

Private high schools[]

Elyria Catholic High School, Elyria
Lake Ridge Academy, North Ridgeville
Open Door Christian School, Elyria
Christian Community School, North Eaton
First Baptist Christian School, Elyria

Communities[]

Map of Lorain County Ohio With Municipal and Township Labels — Map of Lorain County, Ohio With Municipal and Township Labels

Cities[]

Amherst
Avon
Avon Lake
Elyria (county seat)
Lorain
North Ridgeville
Oberlin
Sheffield Lake
Vermilion

Villages[]

Grafton
Kipton
LaGrange
Rochester
Sheffield
South Amherst
Wellington

Townships[]

Amherst
Brighton
Brownhelm
Camden
Carlisle
Columbia
Eaton
Elyria
Grafton
Henrietta
Huntington
LaGrange
New Russia
Penfield
Pittsfield
Rochester
Sheffield
Wellington

https://web.archive.org/web/20160715023447/http://www.ohiotownships.org/township-websites

Census-designated places[]

Eaton Estates
Pheasant Run

Other communities[]

Belden
Brentwood Lake
Brighton
Brownhelm
Brownhelm Station
Columbia Hills Corners
Columbia Station
Henrietta
Huntington
North Eaton
Penfield
Pittsfield
Whiskyville

References[]

^ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 190. https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ.
^ 2020 census
^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx.
^ "Ohio: Individual County Chronologies". Ohio Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. The Newberry Library. 2007. http://publications.newberry.org/ahcbp/documents/OH_Individual_County_Chronologies.htm.
^ Sandusky Register (newspaper); Sandusky, Ohio, 1822
^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. https://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/docs/gazetteer/counties_list_39.txt.
^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html.
^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu.
^ Forstall, Richard L., ed (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/oh190090.txt.
^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000". United States Census Bureau. April 2, 2001. https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf.
^ 2020 census
^ ^a ^b ^c "DP-1 Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/DPDP1/0500000US39093.
^ "Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 - County". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/GCTPH1.CY07/0500000US39093.
^ "DP02 SELECTED SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS IN THE UNITED STATES – 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/10_5YR/DP02/0500000US39093.
^ "DP03 SELECTED ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS – 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/10_5YR/DP03/0500000US39093.
^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS.
^ JVS. "Lorain County JVS - About the Lorain County JVS". http://www.lcjvs.com/jvs/index.shtml.

External links[]

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Lorain County.

Coordinates: 41°28′N 82°09′W / 41.47, -82.15

[1] Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 190. https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ.

[2] 2020 census

[GR6-3] "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx.

[4] "Ohio: Individual County Chronologies". Ohio Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. The Newberry Library. 2007. http://publications.newberry.org/ahcbp/documents/OH_Individual_County_Chronologies.htm.

[5] Sandusky Register (newspaper); Sandusky, Ohio, 1822

[GR1-6] "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. https://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/docs/gazetteer/counties_list_39.txt.

[7] "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html.

[8] "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu.

[9] Forstall, Richard L., ed (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/oh190090.txt.

[10] "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000". United States Census Bureau. April 2, 2001. https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf.

[11] 2020 census

[census-dp1-12] "DP-1 Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/DPDP1/0500000US39093.

[census-density-13] "Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 - County". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/GCTPH1.CY07/0500000US39093.

[census-dp2-14] "DP02 SELECTED SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS IN THE UNITED STATES – 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/10_5YR/DP02/0500000US39093.

[census-dp3-15] "DP03 SELECTED ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS – 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/10_5YR/DP03/0500000US39093.

[16] Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS.

[17] JVS. "Lorain County JVS - About the Lorain County JVS". http://www.lcjvs.com/jvs/index.shtml.

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