Lorain County, Ohio

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Lorain County (Template:IPAc-en) is a county in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Ohio As of the 2020 census, the population was 312,964.<ref name="QF">Template:Cite web</ref> Its county seat is Elyria, and its largest city is Lorain.<ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref> The county was physically established in 1822, becoming judicially independent in 1824.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This county became judicially-independent in 1824. The original proposed name for the county was "Colerain".<ref>Sandusky Register (newspaper); Sandusky, Ohio, 1822</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has an area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert is land and Template:Convert (47%) is water.<ref name="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref> 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

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Demographics

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2020 census

**Lorain County, Ohio – Racial and ethnic composition**
Template:Nobold
Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)	Pop 2000<ref name=2000CensusP004>Template:Cite web</ref>	Pop 2010<ref name=2010CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref>	Template:Partial<ref name=2020CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref>	% 2000	% 2010	Template:Partial
White alone (NH)	234,597	241,543	237,520	82.41%	80.15%	75.89%
Black or African American alone (NH)	23,365	24,289	22,980	8.21%	8.06%	7.34%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	699	635	502	0.25%	0.21%	0.16%
Asian alone (NH)	1,665	2,758	3,569	0.58%	0.92%	1.14%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)	47	35	50	0.02%	0.01%	0.02%
Other race alone (NH)	267	302	1,020	0.09%	0.10%	0.33%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)	4,348	6,504	14,406	1.53%	2.16%	4.60%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	19,676	25,290	32,917	6.91%	8.39%	10.52%
Total	284,664	301,356	312,964	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 301,356 people, 116,274 households, and 80,077 families residing in the county.<ref name="census-dp1">Template:Cite web</ref> The population density was Template:Convert. There were 127,036 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert.<ref name="census-density">Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref name="census-dp1"/> 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.<ref name="census-dp2">Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref name="census-dp1"/>

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.<ref name="census-dp3">Template:Cite web</ref>

Education

Higher education

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Private high schools

Government

As of 2025, the following county-wide elected officials are in office:<ref> Template:Cite web</ref>

Lorain County Elected Officials
Position	Name	Party
Commissioner	David J. Moore	Republican
Commissioner	Marty Gallagher	Republican
Commissioner	Jeff Riddell	Republican
Prosecuting Attorney	Anthony Cillo	Republican
Sheriff	Jack M. Hall	Republican
Clerk of Courts	Tom Orlando	Democrat
Coroner	Dr. Frank P. Miller III	Republican
Auditor	J. Craig Snodgrass	Democrat
Recorder	Mike Doran	Republican
Treasurer	Daniel J. Talarek	Democrat
Engineer	Kenneth Carney	Democrat

Lorain County Judges
Position	Name	Party
Common Pleas - General	Giovanna V. Bremke	Republican
Common Pleas - General	Christopher R. Rothgery	Democrat
Common Pleas - General	D. Christopher Cook	Democrat
Common Pleas - General	Raymond J. Ewers	Democrat
Common Pleas - General	Melissa C. Kobasher	Democrat
Common Pleas - General	Donna C. Freeman	Democrat
Domestic Relations Division	Frank J. Janik	Democrat
Domestic Relations Division	Sherry Glass Strohsack	Democrat
Domestic Relations Division	Lisa I. Swenski	Democrat
Probate Division	James T. Walther	Democrat