Lorain County, Ohio


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. Its county seat is Elyria, and its largest city is Lorain. The county was physically established in 1822, becoming judicially independent in 1824. 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. 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, of which is land and is water. It is Ohio's fourth-largest county by area.

Adjacent counties

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, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 3.3% from some other race, and 8.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 10.5% of the population.
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. The population density was. There were 127,036 housing units at an average density of. 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. 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.
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.

Education

Higher education

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

As of 2025, the following county-wide elected officials are in office:
PositionNameParty
CommissionerDavid J. MooreRepublican
CommissionerMarty GallagherRepublican
CommissionerJeff RiddellRepublican
Prosecuting AttorneyAnthony CilloRepublican
SheriffJack M. HallRepublican
Clerk of CourtsTom OrlandoDemocrat
CoronerDr. Frank P. Miller IIIRepublican
AuditorJ. Craig SnodgrassDemocrat
RecorderMike DoranRepublican
TreasurerDaniel J. TalarekDemocrat
EngineerKenneth CarneyDemocrat

PositionNameParty
Common Pleas - GeneralGiovanna V. BremkeRepublican
Common Pleas - GeneralChristopher R. RothgeryDemocrat
Common Pleas - GeneralD. Christopher CookDemocrat
Common Pleas - GeneralRaymond J. EwersDemocrat
Common Pleas - GeneralMelissa C. KobasherDemocrat
Common Pleas - GeneralDonna C. FreemanDemocrat
Domestic Relations DivisionFrank J. JanikDemocrat
Domestic Relations DivisionSherry Glass StrohsackDemocrat
Domestic Relations DivisionLisa I. SwenskiDemocrat
Probate DivisionJames T. WaltherDemocrat

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