Lake County is a county in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 232,603. Its county seat is Painesville, and its largest city is Mentor.
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 and the fact that the majority of the county’s land lies beneath Lake Erie. Lake County is part of the Cleveland, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History The land that became Lake County was home to the indigenous Erie people prior to the arrival of the French in the region during the early 1600s and was considered by the French to be part of their Colony of New France. After France's defeat in the Seven Years' War in 1763, France ceded the area to Great Britain, and the area became part of the Province of Quebec through the Quebec Act of 1774. Following the American Revolutionary War, it became part of the Connecticut Western Reserve in the Northwest Territory, then was purchased by the Connecticut Land Company in 1795. It was separated out of Geauga County in March 1840.
Although today the county is mostly suburban, Lake County was once known as a rural country retreat for wealthy Cleveland residents. During the early 1900s, many wealthy families in Cleveland maintained large estates in the county for use as their summer homes.
Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has an area of , of which is land and (77%) is water. It is Ohio's smallest county by land area but the third-largest by total area, with said area owing to land beneath the lake (which is owned by the county).
The county’s coast line along Lake Erie spans 31 miles. Additionally, Lake County has an international border with Ontario (across Lake Erie).
Adjacent counties Ashtabula County (east) Geauga County (south) Cuyahoga County (southwest)
Physical geography Ridges on the Lake Plain physiographic region, and on which some roads are laid, are beaches formed by the various glacial lakes which occurred as the glaciers receded. Lake Maumee was the highest glacial lake at about 760 feet, and left Maumee II beach. Whittlesey beach, formed by Lake Whittlesey at 740 feet, is known as South Ridge. Arkona beach (Lake Arkona) is Middle Ridge, and occurs at about 690 feet. North Ridge is the remnant of Warren beach (Lake Warren), at an elevation of 685 feet. Elkton beach is the northernmost ridge, at 625 feet, an occurred at the time of Lake Elkton. Lake Shore Boulevard follows Elkton beach in Mentor Township.
Mentor Marsh, an abandoned channel of the Grand River, is an Ohio State Nature Preserve.
Demographics
2020 census As of the 2020 census, Lake County had 232,603 people living in 99,590 households. The median age was 44.7 years, 19.5% of residents were under the age of 18, and 21.1% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 95.0 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 92.8 males age 18 and over.
Of those households, 25.1% had children under the age of 18 living in them, 46.1% were married-couple households, 19.0% 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 31.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 105,315 housing units, of which 5.4% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 74.2% were owner-occupied and 25.8% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.3% and the rental vacancy rate was 6.8%.
92.5% of residents lived in urban areas, while 7.5% lived in rural areas.
The racial makeup of the county was 85.7% White, 4.7% Black or African American, 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.4% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 2.4% from some other race, and 5.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 4.9% of the population.
In terms of ancestry, 23.0% were German, 18.0% were Irish, 15.3% were Italian, 9.8% were English, and 6.8% were Polish.
33.0% of the adult population has a Bachelor's Degree or higher, slightly above the 32.0% rate for Ohio as a whole.
Racial and ethnic composition
+Lake County, Ohio – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 1980Pop 1990Pop 2000Pop 2010 Pop 2020% 1980% 1990% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)207,140208,835214,881208,994197,06997.34%96.91%94.45%90.85%84.72%Black or African American alone (NH)2,9203,4614,4477,15610,7781.37%1.61%1.95%3.11%4.63%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)2022402262342360.09%0.11%0.10%0.10%0.10%Asian alone (NH)1,1521,4162,0342,5863,2550.54%0.66%0.89%1.12%1.40%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)x included in the Asian category in the 1980 Censusx included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census373138xx0.02%0.01%0.02%Other race alone (NH)289781421756040.14%0.04%0.06%0.08%0.26%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)x not an option in the 1980 Censusx not an option in the 1990 Census1,8653,0409,261xx0.82%1.32%3.98%Hispanic or Latino (any race)1,0981,4693,8797,82511,3620.52%0.68%1.70%3.40%4.88%Total212,801215,499227,511230,041232,603 100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%
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 . There were 101,202 housing units at an average density of . 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.
In 2010, 92.4% spoke English, 2.7% Spanish, and 1.4% Croatian.
Environment
Scorecard’s 2002 report ranks Lake County among the worst 10% of counties in the U.S. in terms of cancer risk, developmental and reproductive toxicants, and other categories as well. This rating is comparable with most major cities and densely populated areas. In 2004, Scorecard ranked the county among the cleanest or best 10% of all counties in the U.S. in terms of the number of designated Superfund sites.
Lake County has a large public park system, including Lake Metroparks Farmpark. Kirtland is home to the Holden Arboretum and Gildersleeve Mountain. Headlands Beach State Park is in Mentor. The Grand River is a state wild and scenic river, and the Chagrin River is a state scenic river.
Transportation Laketran is the transit agency that serves Lake County, providing bus service throughout the county and to downtown Cleveland. It is the third-largest transit system in Northeast Ohio. In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of .
The Lake County Executive Airport is located north of Willoughby's central business district.
Interstate 90 runs northeast–southwest through Lake County, roughly parallel to State Route 2; along with the north–south State Route 44 connects 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. CSX and Norfolk Southern 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 CSX at Painesville.
Major highways
Education
Post-secondary institutions Lake Erie College in Painesville Lakeland Community College in Kirtland Saint Mary Seminary and Graduate School of Theology in Wickliffe
Public schools The following public school districts are located in Lake County: Fairport Harbor Exempted Village School District (serving Fairport Harbor and Painesville Township (portion)) Fairport Harding High School Kirtland Local School District (serving Kirtland, Kirtland Hills (portion), Waite Hill (portion), and Willoughby (portion)) Kirtland High School Madison Local School District (serving Madison and Madison Township) Madison High School Mentor Public Schools (serving Concord Township (portion), Kirtland Hills (portion), Mentor, and Mentor-on-the-Lake) Mentor High School Painesville City Local School District (serving Painesville) Thomas W. Harvey High School Perry Local School District (serving North Perry, Perry, and Perry Township) Perry High School Riverside Local School District (serving Concord Township (portion), Grand River, Leroy Township, and Painesville Township) Riverside High School Wickliffe City School District (serving Wickliffe) Wickliffe High School Willoughby-Eastlake City School District (serving Eastlake, Lakeline, Timberlake, Waite Hill (portion), Willoughby, Willoughby Hills, and Willowick) North High School in Eastlake South High School in Willoughby
Additionally, the Chardon Local School District has some territory in the county. - Text list
Private schools Andrews Osborne Academy, a private, coeducational boarding and day school for Grades Pre-K through 12 in Willoughby Cornerstone Christian Academy in Willoughby Hills Lake Catholic High School in Mentor Telshe Yeshiva in Wickliffe Mentor Christian School in Mentor
Libraries The following libraries serve Lake County: 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 Willoughby-Eastlake Public Library, headquartered in Eastlake and with branches in Willoughby, Willoughby Hills, and Willowick. Additionally, as of 2019, all Lake County libraries are all CLEVNET members.
Media Lake County is part of the Cleveland-area media and television market.
The News-Herald, a Lake County newspaper, has been headquartered in Willoughby since its inception.
Government
Lake County leans strongly Republican in local elections. As of 2024, all but one county-wide elected officials are Republicans.
+ Lake County Elected Officials Position Name Party Commissioner John Plecnik Republican Commissioner Richard Regovich Republican Commissioner John Hamercheck Republican Auditor Christopher Galloway Republican Prosecuting Attorney Charles Coulson Republican Clerk of Courts Faith Andrews Republican Sheriff Frank Leonbruno Republican Recorder Becky Lynch Republican Treasurer Michael Zuren Republican Engineer James Gills Republican Coroner David Keep Republican
+ Lake County Judges Position Name Party Common Pleas - General Patrick Condon Republican Common Pleas - General Vincent Culotta Republican Common Pleas - General Jeffrey Ruple Republican Common Pleas - General John O'Donnell Republican Domestic Relations Division Colleen Falkowski Democrat Juvenile Division Michael DeLeone Republican Probate Division Mark Bartolotta Republican
Politics