Lorain County
County
Old county building in Elyria
Old county building in Elyria
Flag of Lorain County
Flag
Official seal of Lorain County
Seal
Map of Ohio highlighting Lorain County
Location within the U.S. state of Ohio
Map of the United States highlighting Ohio
Ohio's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 41°28′N 82°09′W / 41.47°N 82.15°W / 41.47; -82.15
Country United States
State Ohio
FoundedApril 1, 1824
Named forLorraine in France[1]
SeatElyria
Largest cityLorain
Area
 • Total923 sq mi (2,390 km2)
 • Land491 sq mi (1,270 km2)
 • Water432 sq mi (1,120 km2)  47%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total312,964
 • Estimate 
(2021)
315,595 Increase
 • Density340/sq mi (130/km2)
Congressional district5th
Websitewww.loraincounty.us

Lorain County is a county in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 312,964.[2] Its county seat is Elyria, and its largest city is Lorain.[3]

The county was physically established in 1822, becoming judicially independent in 1824.[4] Lorain County is part of the Cleveland, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county is home to Oberlin College.

History

Lorain County was established in 1822 from portions of several of its adjacent counties.[5] This county became judicially-independent in 1824. The original proposed name for the county was "Colerain".[6] The final name "Lorain" was chosen by Heman Ely, who had previously founded and named the city of Elyria. The county's name is based on the former German and now French province of Lorraine.[7]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has an 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.[8] It is Ohio's fourth-largest county by area.

Adjacent counties

Major highways

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
18305,696—
184018,467224.2%
185026,08641.3%
186029,74414.0%
187030,3081.9%
188035,52617.2%
189040,29513.4%
190054,85736.1%
191076,03738.6%
192090,61219.2%
1930109,20620.5%
1940112,3902.9%
1950148,16231.8%
1960217,50046.8%
1970256,84318.1%
1980274,9097.0%
1990271,126−1.4%
2000284,6645.0%
2010301,3565.9%
2020312,9643.9%
2021 (est.)315,595[9]0.8%
U.S. Decennial Census[10]
1790-1960[11] 1900-1990[12]
1990-2000[13] 2010-2020[2]

As of the 2010 census, there were 301,356 people, 116,274 households, and 80,077 families residing in the county.[14] 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).[15] 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.[14] 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.[16]

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.[14]

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.[17]

Education

Higher education

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
  • Avon Local School District
  • Avon Lake City School District
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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.[18]

Private high schools

Politics

Lorain County used to lean Democratic in recent presidential elections, voting for the Democratic candidate for president in 12 of the last 16 elections, including a winning streak that lasted from 1988 to 2016. In 2016, however, the county was almost swept up as part of 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. Four years later, he flipped the county Republican by a narrow majority.

United States presidential election results for Lorain County, Ohio[19]
Year Republican Democratic Third party
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%

    Communities

    Map of Lorain County, Ohio With Municipal and Township Labels

    Cities

    Villages

    Townships

    Census-designated places

    Unincorporated communities

    See also

    References

    1. ↑ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 190.
    2. 1 2 "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
    3. ↑ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
    4. ↑ "Ohio: Individual County Chronologies". Ohio Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. The Newberry Library. 2007. Archived from the original on April 6, 2016. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
    5. ↑ "Lorain County - Ohio History Central". ohiohistorycentral.org. Ohio History Connection. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
    6. ↑ Sandusky Register (newspaper); Sandusky, Ohio, 1822
    7. ↑ Wright, George Frederick (1916). A Standard History of Lorain County, Ohio: An Authentic Narrative of the Past, with Particular Attention to the Modern Era in the Commercial, Industrial, Civic and Social Development. A Chronicle of the People, with Family Lineage and Memoirs. Lewis publishing Company. pp. 625–627.
    8. ↑ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on May 4, 2014. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
    9. ↑ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2021". Retrieved July 7, 2022.
    10. ↑ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
    11. ↑ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
    12. ↑ Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
    13. ↑ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. April 2, 2001. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
    14. 1 2 3 "DP-1 Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
    15. ↑ "Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 - County". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
    16. ↑ "DP02 SELECTED SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS IN THE UNITED STATES – 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
    17. ↑ "DP03 SELECTED ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS – 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
    18. ↑ JVS. "Lorain County JVS - About the Lorain County JVS". www.lcjvs.com. Archived from the original on December 22, 2011. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
    19. ↑ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
    Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Lorain County.

    41°28′N 82°09′W / 41.47°N 82.15°W / 41.47; -82.15

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