Norwalk up slightly in 2020 Census

NORWALK — Norwalk is up. Huron County is down. That is from the U.S. Census comparing population from 2010 to 2020. The local numbers, basically, are a wash. Norwalk is up 0.3 percent from 17,012 in 2010 to 17,068 in 2020. "I think that is always good news if Norwalk is growing," Norwalk Mayor Dave Light said. "It means more people are moving to the Norwalk area." And Light said he expects that to continue. "You are going to see that," he said. "It is a good sign that people are coming out of the big cities and looking for smaller towns like Norwalk to raise their families. "I think a lot of that is attributed to two great school systems. Between St. Paul's and Norwalk High you couldn't ask for two better schools. And we have the Ernsthausen Community Center ... that is huge." Light, former police chief in town, said another plus is the safety forces in town. "We are just a few miles from the turnpike and route 2," he said. "You can get anywhere in a short amount of town. With everything close to us going on at NASA, Cedar Point and Kalahari, there is an opportunity to get more people moving to town." Light talked about the Peloton plant going in Troy Township, southeast of Toledo. Peloton is investing $400 million to build its first U.S. factory in Troy Township. Ground was broken Monday and officials hope to be producing equipment by 2023. Peloton expects it will bring more than 2,000 jobs to the area. "Just one factory like that would be great," Light said. Huron County is down 1.8 percent from 59,626 in 2010 to 58,565 in 2020. Other Huron County cities have Bellevue up 0.6 percent from 8,202 in 2010 to 8,249 in 2020, while Willard is down 0.6 percent from 6,236 in 2010 to 6,197 in 2020. The biggest change in the state was in Columbus where the Capital City jumped 15.1 percent from 787.033 in 2010 to 905,748 in 2020. The biggest loss among major cities came in Toledo where the Glass City dropped 5.7 percent from 287,208 in 2010 to 270,871 in 2020. Fremont saw a 4.8 percent decline from 16,734 in 2010 to 15,930 in 2020. More detailed numbers from villages and townships will be released at a later date.