kids encyclopedia robot

Lake County, Ohio facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
Lake County
Lake County Courthouse
Lake County Courthouse
Official seal of Lake County
Seal
Official logo of Lake County
Logo
Map of Ohio highlighting Lake County
Location within the U.S. state of Ohio
Map of the United States highlighting Ohio
Ohio's location within the U.S.
Country  United States
State  Ohio
Founded March 6, 1840
Named for Lake Erie
Seat Painesville
Largest city Mentor
Area
 • Total 979 sq mi (2,540 km2)
 • Land 227 sq mi (590 km2)
 • Water 752 sq mi (1,950 km2)  77%%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total 232,603
 • Density 1,024.68/sq mi (395.63/km2)
Time zone UTC−5 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST) UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district 14th

Lake County is a county in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 232,603. The county seat is Painesville. The county was established on March 6, 1840, from land given by Cuyahoga and Geauga Counties. Its name is derived from its location on the southern shore of Lake Erie. Lake County is part of the Cleveland-Elyria, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

After the discovery of the New World, the land that became Lake County was originally part of the French colony of Canada (New France), which was ceded in 1763 to Great Britain and renamed Province of Quebec. In the late 18th century the land became part of the Connecticut Western Reserve in the Northwest Territory, then was purchased by the Connecticut Land Company in 1795.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 979 square miles (2,540 km2), of which 227 square miles (590 km2) is land and 752 square miles (1,950 km2) (77%) is water. It is the smallest county in Ohio by land area but the third-largest by total area. It borders Ontario across Lake Erie.

Adjacent counties

National protected area

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
1840 13,719
1850 14,654 6.8%
1860 15,576 6.3%
1870 15,935 2.3%
1880 16,326 2.5%
1890 18,235 11.7%
1900 21,680 18.9%
1910 22,927 5.8%
1920 28,667 25.0%
1930 41,674 45.4%
1940 50,020 20.0%
1950 75,979 51.9%
1960 148,700 95.7%
1970 197,200 32.6%
1980 212,801 7.9%
1990 215,499 1.3%
2000 227,511 5.6%
2010 230,041 1.1%
2020 232,603 1.1%
U.S. Decennial Census
1790-1960 1900-1990
1990-2000 2020

In 2010, 92.4% spoke English, 2.7% Spanish, and 1.4% Croatian.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 230,041 people, 94,156 households, and 62,384 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,011.2 inhabitants per square mile (390.4/km2). There were 101,202 housing units at an average density of 444.9 per square mile (171.8/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 92.5% white, 3.2% black or African American, 1.1% Asian, 0.1% American Indian, 1.6% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 3.4% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 26.4% were German, 18.9% were Irish, 16.4% were Italian, 11.5% were English, 7.6% were Polish, 5.4% were Hungarian, and 3.9% were American.

Of the 94,156 households, 29.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.5% were married couples living together, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.7% were non-families, and 28.3% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.97. The median age was 42.3 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $54,896 and the median income for a family was $67,206. Males had a median income of $49,240 versus $36,906 for females. The per capita income for the county was $28,221. About 6.0% of families and 8.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.0% of those under age 18 and 4.4% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

Laketran is the transit agency servicing Lake County. Interstate 90 runs northeast–southwest through Lake County, roughly parallel to State Route 2; along with the north–south State Route 44 connecting the two together. These freeways make up the major traffic arteries in the county. Lake County does not have passenger rail service, though Amtrak's New York City-Chicago "Lake Shore Limited" service schedules an eastbound and westbound train through Lake County nightly with stops at Cleveland and Erie. CSXT (former Conrail, née-Penn Central, née-New York Central) and Norfolk Southern (née-Norfolk & Western, née-Nickel Plate Road) provide railroad main line through-freight service. The recently formed Grand River Railroad, operating on former Baltimore & Ohio track, serves the Fairport Harbor area linking the Morton Salt plant with CSXT at Painesville.

Library services

Lake County is served by the following libraries:

  • Fairport Harbor Public Library in Fairport Harbor
  • Kirtland Public Library in Kirtland
  • Madison Public Library in Madison
  • Mentor Public Library in Mentor
  • Morley Library in Painesville
  • Perry Public Library in Perry
  • Wickliffe Public Library in Wickliffe. WKPL is "A Top Ten American Library" as rated by the HAPLR Index. In 2005, the library loaned more than 459,000 items to its 110,400 cardholders. Total holdings are over 100,000 volumes with over 519 periodical subscriptions.
  • Willoughby-Eastlake Public Library, headquartered in Willowick with branches in Eastlake, Willoughby, and Willoughby Hills. In 2005, the library loaned more than 1.2 million items to its 37,000 cardholders. Total holding are over 216,000 volumes with over 850 periodical subscriptions.

Communities

Map of Lake County Ohio With Municipal and Township Labels
Map of Lake County, Ohio with Municipal and Township Labels

Cities

Villages

Townships

  • Concord
  • Leroy
  • Madison
  • Painesville
  • Perry

Census-designated place

Unincorporated communities

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Condado de Lake (Ohio) para niños

kids search engine
Lake County, Ohio Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.