Lorain County, Ohio

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". The final name "Lorain" was chosen by Heman Ely, who had founded and named the city of Elyria. The county's name is based on the former German and now French province of Lorraine.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has an area of 923 sqmi, of which 491 sqmi is land and 432 sqmi (47%) is water. It is Ohio's fourth-largest county by area.

Adjacent counties

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

Major highways

• [[Image:I-80.svg|20px]] Interstate 80 (Ohio Turnpike)
• [[Image:I-90.svg|20px]] Interstate 90 (Ohio Turnpike)
• [[Image:I-480.svg|25px]] Interstate 480
• [[Image:US 6.svg|20px]] U.S. Route 6
• [[Image:US 20.svg|20px]] U.S. Route 20
• [[Image:OH-2.svg|20px]] State Route 2
• [[Image:OH-10.svg|20px]] State Route 10
• [[Image:OH-18.svg|20px]] State Route 18
• [[Image:OH-57.svg|20px]] State Route 57
• [[Image:OH-58.svg|20px]] State Route 58
• [[Image:OH-82.svg|20px]] Ohio Route 82
• [[Image:OH-83.svg|20px]] Ohio Route 83
• [[Image:OH-113.svg|25px]] State Route 113
• [[Image:OH-162.svg|25px]] Ohio Route 162
• [[Image:OH-252.svg|25px]] Ohio Route 252
• [[Image:OH-254.svg|25px]] Ohio Route 254
• [[Image:OH-301.svg|25px]] Ohio Route 301
• [[Image:OH-303.svg|25px]] Ohio Route 303
• [[Image:OH-511.svg|25px]] Ohio Route 511
• [[Image:OH-611.svg|25px]] Ohio Route 611

Demographics

| align-fn = center 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2020

Racial and ethnic composition

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 312,964. The median age was 42.6 years, with 21.6% of residents under the age of 18 and 19.5% aged 65 or older. For every 100 females there were 96.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 93.8 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 79.0% White, 7.9% Black or African American, 0.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2% Asian,

85.7% of residents lived in urban areas, while 14.3% lived in rural areas.

There were 125,239 households in the county, of which 28.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 47.1% were married-couple households, 17.7% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 28.0% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 28.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 134,341 housing units, of which 6.8% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 71.4% were owner-occupied and 28.6% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.4% and the rental vacancy rate was 8.7%.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 301,356 people, 116,274 households, and 80,077 families residing in the county.{{cite web |access-date=December 27, 2015 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200213034837/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/DPDP1/0500000US39093 |archive-date=February 13, 2020 |url-status=dead |access-date=December 27, 2015 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200213190116/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/GCTPH1.CY07/0500000US39093 |archive-date=February 13, 2020 |url-status=dead |access-date=December 27, 2015 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200213025809/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/10_5YR/DP02/0500000US39093 |archive-date=February 13, 2020 |url-status=dead

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.

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.{{cite web |access-date=December 27, 2015 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200213031124/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/10_5YR/DP03/0500000US39093 |archive-date=February 13, 2020 |url-status=dead

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.

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

Government

As of 2025, the following county-wide elected officials are in office:

Politics

Lorain County used to lean Democratic in more recent presidential elections, voting for the Democratic candidate for president from 1988 to 2012. 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 winning the county. In 2020, Trump flipped the county Republican by a narrow majority, becoming the first Republican to capture the county since Ronald Reagan in 1984. In 2024, Trump won the county with 52.12% of the vote, the highest percentage for a Republican since 1972. Despite this, the county also voted for Democrat Sherrod Brown in the 2024 Senate election, making it the only county in the state to vote for both Trump and Brown in 2024.

Communities

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

Census-designated places

• Eaton Estates
• Pheasant Run

Unincorporated communities

• Belden
• Brentwood Lake
• Brighton
• Columbia Hills Corners
• Columbia Station
• Henrietta
• North Eaton
• Pittsfield
• Whiskyville

References

References

1. Gannett, Henry. (1905). "The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States". U.S. Government Printing Office.
2. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau.
3. "Find a County". National Association of Counties.
4. (2007). "Ohio: Individual County Chronologies". The Newberry Library.
5. "Lorain County - Ohio History Central". Ohio History Connection.
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.
8. (August 22, 2012). "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau.
9. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2021".
10. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau.
11. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library.
12. (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau.
13. (April 2, 2001). "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000". United States Census Bureau.
14. "1980 Census of Population - General Social and Economic Characteristics - Ohio- Table 59 - Persons by Spanish Origin, Race, and Sex: 1980 AND Table 58 - Race by Sex: 1980".
15. "1990 Census of Population - General Population Characteristics - Ohio: Table 6 - Race and Hispanic Origin".
16. "P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Lorain County, Ohio".
17. "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Lorain County, Ohio".
18. "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Lorain County, Ohio".
19. included in the Asian category in the 1980 Census
20. included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census
21. not an option in the 1980 Census
22. not an option in the 1990 Census
23. (2021). "2020 Decennial Census Demographic Profile (DP1)".
24. (2021). "2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)".
25. (2023). "2020 Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC)".
26. JVS. "Lorain County JVS - About the Lorain County JVS".
27. "LORAIN COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS 2025 ELECTED COUNTY OFFICIALS".
28. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections".
29. (November 5, 2024). "2024 Senate Election (Official Returns)".