Summit County, Ohio

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 419.38 sqmi, of which 412.08 sqmi is land and 7.3 sqmi (1.7%) is water. The largest portion of Cuyahoga Valley National Park is in the northern part of the county. The southern border of the former Connecticut Western Reserve passes through the southern part of the county, leading to jogs in the east and west borders of the county.

Major highways

Adjacent counties

• Cuyahoga Countynorthwest
• Geauga Countynortheast
• Portage Countyeast
• Stark Countysouth
• Wayne Countysouthwest
• Medina Countywest

National protected area

• Cuyahoga Valley National Park (also extends north into Cuyahoga County)

Demographics

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

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 540,428. The median age was 41.6 years, 20.7% of residents were under the age of 18, and 19.0% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 94.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 92.0 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 74.2% White, 14.8% Black or African American, 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 4.2% Asian,

96.2% of residents lived in urban areas, while 3.8% lived in rural areas.

There were 228,761 households in the county, of which 26.3% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 42.7% were married-couple households, 19.9% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 30.2% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 32.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 246,473 housing units, of which 7.2% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 65.8% were owner-occupied and 34.2% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.4% and the rental vacancy rate was 7.7%.

Racial and ethnic composition

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 541,781 people, 222,781 households, and 141,110 families residing in the county.{{cite web |access-date=December 27, 2015 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200213022839/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/DPDP1/0500000US39153 |archive-date=February 13, 2020 |url-status=dead |access-date=December 27, 2015 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200213192035/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/GCTPH1.CY07/0500000US39153 |archive-date=February 13, 2020 |url-status=dead |access-date=December 27, 2015 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200213013601/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/10_5YR/DP02/0500000US39153 |archive-date=February 13, 2020 |url-status=dead

Of the 222,781 households, 29.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.3% were married couples living together, 13.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 36.7% were non-families, and 30.0% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.98. The median age was 40.0 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $47,926 and the median income for a family was $62,271. Males had a median income of $47,892 versus $35,140 for females. The per capita income for the county was $26,676. About 10.0% of families and 13.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.8% 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/20200213013020/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/10_5YR/DP03/0500000US39153 |archive-date=February 13, 2020 |url-status=dead

Government

Summit County, along with Cuyahoga County, is one of two of Ohio's 88 counties that have a charter government, as authorized by Article X of the Ohio Constitution. Under its charter, rather than three elected commissioners, Summit County has an elected county executive and an eleven-member county council. Eight members of the council are elected from individual districts; the other three are elected at large. Summit County also has an appointed medical examiner rather than an elected coroner, and an elected fiscal officer, who exercises the powers and performs the duties of a county auditor, treasurer and recorder. The remaining officials are similar to the officials in other counties. They include the following:

• Clerk of courtsTavia Galonski (D) (elected)
• Prosecuting attorneyElliot Kolkovich (D) (elected)
• EngineerAlan Brubaker (D) (elected)
• SheriffKandy Fatheree (D) (elected)
• Fiscal officerKristen Scalise (D) (elected) Summit County currently has 14 Common Pleas judges. They are:
• Kelly McLaughlin (D),
• Kathryn Michael (D),
• Christine Croce (R),
• Jennifer Towell (D),
• Alison McCarty (R),
• Tammy O'Brien (R),
• Joy Oldfield (D),
• Mary Margaret Rowlands (D),
• Alison Breaux (D)
• Susan Baker Ross (D)
• Linda Tucci Teodosio (D) (Juvenile Court Judge)
• Katarina Cook (R) (Domestic Relations Judge)
• Kani Hightower (D) (Domestic Relations Judge)
• Elinore Marsh Stormer (D) (Probate Judge)

Summit County Council

Summit County has an 11-member council. Three members are elected at-large in midterm cycles, while eight members are elected from districts coinciding with the presidential election. The current members of Summit County Council are:

• Erin Dickinson (D) (at-large)
• Elizabeth Walters* (D) (at-large)
• John Donofrio (D) (at-large)
• Rita Darrow (D) (District 1)
• John Schmidt (D) (District 2)
• David Licate (D) (District 3)
• Jeff Wilhite (D) (District 4)
• Brandon Ford (D) (District 5)
• Christine Higham (D) (District 6)
• Beth McKenney (R) (District 7)
• Joseph Kacyon (R) (District 8)

• Indicates Council President

County Executives

• John R. Morgan, 1981–1989
• Tim Davis, 1989–2001
• James B. McCarthy (D), 2001–2007
• Russell M. Pry (D), 2007-2016
• Ilene Shapiro (D), 2016–present

Politics

Like much of Northeast Ohio, Summit is heavily Democratic. It has voted Republican only three times since 1932, all in national Republican landslides– Dwight D. Eisenhower's 1956 victory, and the 49-state sweeps by Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan in 1972 and 1984, respectively.

Education

Colleges and universities

• University of Akron, Akron
• Kent State University Twinsburg Academic Center, Twinsburg
• Stark State College Akron

Recreation

• Summit Metro Parks

Communities

Cities

• Akron (county seat)
• Barberton
• Cuyahoga Falls
• Fairlawn
• Green
• Hudson
• Macedonia
• Munroe Falls
• New Franklin
• Norton (partly in Wayne County)
• Stow
• Tallmadge
• Twinsburg

Villages

• Boston Heights
• Clinton
• Lakemore
• Mogadore
• Northfield
• Peninsula
• Reminderville
• Richfield
• Silver Lake

Townships

• Bath
• Boston
• Copley
• Coventry
• Northfield Center
• Richfield
• Sagamore Hills
• Springfield
• Twinsburg

Defunct townships

• Franklin
• Green
• Hudson
• Norton
• Northampton
• Portage
• Stow

Census-designated places

• Montrose-Ghent
• Pigeon Creek
• Portage Lakes
• Sawyerwood
• Twinsburg Heights

Unincorporated communities

• Bath
• Boston
• Botzum
• Brandywine
• Comet
• Copley
• Everett
• Ghent
• Greensburg
• Montrose
• Myersville
• Western Star

References

References

1. "Ohio County Profiles: Summit County". Ohio Department of Development.
2. "Summit County data". [[Ohio State University]] Extension Data Center.
3. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau.
4. "Find a County". National Association of Counties.
5. "Communities in Summit County".
6. (August 22, 2012). "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau.
7. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2022". United States Census Bureau.
8. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau.
9. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library.
10. (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau.
11. (April 2, 2001). "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000". United States Census Bureau.
12. (2021). "2020 Decennial Census Demographic Profile (DP1)".
13. (2021). "2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)".
14. (2023). "2020 Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC)".
15. "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".
16. "1990 Census of Population - General Population Characteristics - Ohio: Table 6 - Race and Hispanic Origin".
17. "P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Summit County, Ohio".
18. "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Summit County, Ohio".
19. "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Summit County, Ohio".
20. included in the Asian category in the 1980 Census
21. included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census
22. not an option in the 1980 Census
23. not an option in the 1990 Census
24. rarmon. "Summit County Democrats appoint Tavia Galonski as clerk of courts".
25. warsmith. "Summit-County-Democrats-appoint-Elliot-Kolkovich-to-fill-county-prosecutor-vacancy".
26. (November 9, 2022). "Incumbent judges Susan Steinhauer, Thomas Teodosio defeated".
27. swarsmith. "Four Summit County judges elected to other courts must be replaced".
28. "Local".
29. (November 6, 2024). "2024 Summit County Elections: Live Results".
30. rarmon. "Democrats appoint Jeff Wilhite to Summit County Council".
31. Mackinnon, Jim. "Wilhite named Summit County Council president, but not without a fight".
32. "Summit County Council at-large, District 6 races go to Democrats".
33. McCarthy retired on June 30, 2007. "McCarthy, 67, Turns New Corner,". ''[[Akron Beacon Journal]]'', June 30, 2007.
34. "Pry Biography".
35. On July 12, 2007, Pry was appointed by a majority vote of the Summit County Democratic Party's Central Committee to finish the remainder of McCarthy's second term. "Pry Named County Executive." ''[[Akron Beacon Journal]]'', July 13, 2007
36. On November 4, 2008, Pry was elected to a four-year term as County Executive with over 60% of the vote. "Republicans Lose More Ground in Summit Races, Democrats Gain Spot with Brubaker Beating Incumbent Engineer." ''[[Akron Beacon Journal]]'', November 6, 2008
37. On November 6, 2012, Pry was elected to a second four-year term as County Executive with over 62% of the vote. "Democrats Maintain Summit County Seats." ''[[Akron Beacon Journal]]'', November 7, 2012
38. (August 2016). "Summit County Executive Russ Pry dies at 58".
39. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections".
40. (November 5, 2024). "2024 Senate Election (Official Returns)".