Census: Two-thirds of Ohio counties lose population; Columbus passes 900,000 residents

COLUMBUS — Nearly two-thirds of Ohio's counties lost population in the last decade, while fast-growing areas such as Franklin County continued to add residents. Ohio's population grew by just under 263,000, according to population numbers for counties, cities, villages and individual census tracts released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau. The largest population drop among counties occurred in Harrison County, west of Steubenville, which dropped 8.7% to 14,483. Ohio is still the nation's seventh-largest state, but it could be eclipsed over the next 10 years by fast-growing Georgia, now the eighth-largest, which grew to 10.7 million in 2020 from 9.7 million in 2010, a 10.3% leap. Growth in central Ohio counties in 2020 censusCentral Ohio counties accounted for five of Ohio's six fastest growing population centers over the last decade, adding almost 235,600 residents and accounting for about 90% of the state's total growth between 2010 and 2020, the Census Bureau reports. The other major growth county was Warren County near Cincinnati in southwest Ohio, where population rose just under 30,000 to 242,337. Franklin County was by far the state's major growth center by number of residents, adding 160,000 people to become the state's largest at 1.32 million people. Cuyahoga County lost the most people: 15,305, a drop of 1.2%, to 1.26 million, but maintained its rank as the state's second-largest county. Hamilton County (Cincinnati), gained slightly in population, 3.5%, from 802,374 in 2010 to 830,639. Summit County ( Akron) dipped slightly, by 0.2%, from 541,781 to 540,428. Stark County (Canton and Massillon) also dipped by 0.2%, from 375,589 to 374,853. Delaware County topped Ohio's expansion percentage-wise by almost 23%, with its population now at 214,124. Delaware's percentage growth was followed by the counties of Union (20%), Warren (13.9%), Franklin(13.8%), Fairfield (8.7%) and Licking (7.2%). Scott Sanders, executive director of the Delaware County Regional Planning Commission, expected his county's numbers. "We had projected it would be 218,000 based on building permits," he said. Remaining the fastest growing county in the state gets harder as the population grows, he said. Growing responsibly will be the ongoing challenge, Sanders said. "There's always that tension to make sure we can provide services," he said. Meanwhile, Columbus' population is now 905,748 — up 15% from the 787,033 in 2010 — making it by far the state's largest city. All of Columbus' growth can be attributed to an increase in the Black, Asian, Latino and other community groups, as the city's white population dipped slightly. The United States overall experienced unprecedented multiracial population growth and a decline in the white population for the first time in the nation's history, according to U.S. Census officials, revealing the most sweeping picture of America's racial and ethnic makeup in a decade. "These changes reveal that the US population is much more multiracial, and more racially and ethnically diverse, than what we measured in the past," said Nicholas Jones, the director of race, ethnicity, research and outreach for the Census Bureau's Population Division. Cleveland, Akron Dayton, Canton and Toledo and Youngstown shrinkCincinnati's population is back over 300,000 growing from 296,943 to 309,317. But many of the state's largest cities continue to shrink, including Cleveland, Akron Dayton, Canton and Toledo and Youngstown. Cleveland's population dropped 6% from 396,815 to 372,624. Akron was down 4.3%, from 199,110 to 190,469. Akron population changes in 2020 census: Akron's population dropped by 4% between 2010 and 2020; Summit's population dropped only slightly Dayton's population dropped almost 3%, from 141,527 to 137,644. Canton's is down almost 3%, from 73,007 to 70,872. Toledo population fell almost 6%, from 287,208 to 270,801. Youngstown plummeted 10%, from 66,982 to 60,068. The city of Marion dropped 2.3% to just less than 36,000, with its white population dropping and its Black population growing 7%. The city of Newark grew 5% to 49,934, with its white population holding steady and its Black population growing 7.4%. Lancaster grew by 4.6%, to 40,552, with its white population holding steady at around 37,000 and its Black population more than doubling to 817 people. Circleville grew 4.6% to just under 14,000. The city of Athens basically stayed the same size, adding just 17 people for a total of 23,849. Black residents now comprise 9.2% of Athens' total population, up from 4.4% a decade ago. Trends in the data for Columbus and Ohio, and how the 2020 census will impact electionsColumbus has long been Ohio's largest city, bolstered by a combination of aggressive annexation policies decades ago that grew its geographic footprint and a diverse economy that has drawn people from other areas of the state, country, and in recent decades, a growing number of immigrants from across the globe. Jason Reece, an assistant professor of city and regional planning at Ohio State University's Knowlton School of Architecture, said Columbus and central Ohio continue to pull people from other parts of Ohio because of the area's strong economy. Ohio continues to deal with a 40-year economic transition from manufacturing, Reece said, but he added that he is surprised to see the state's growth so anemic. He pointed out, though, that states such as Illinois and West Virginia lost population. And while Ohio is expected to lose one congressional seat after reapportionment, it lost two after the 2010 census. "For being here in the Great Lakes, we are holding our own," Reece said. "From a policy perspective, we've tried so many things here to stem that tide. Other than fixing the weather, I don't know what response is." The Cincinnati area benefits from growth in northern Kentucky and a strong regional economy, Reece said. "You cannot overestimate the influence of being part of a tri-state economy," he said, and the renaissance to some degree in the city's urban core and across the Ohio River in Kentucky in the cities of Newport and Covington. "Look back at urban design characteristics of downtown Cincinnati: the appealing architectural infrastructure, amenities, things of that nature," he said. "That benefits a geographically relatively small city." The white, non-Hispanic population, without another race, decreased by 8.6% since 2010, Jones said during a Census bureau press briefing. He cautioned that some of the changes can be attributed to improvements to the survey. The White, non-Hispanic population is still the largest racial group in the U.S. ©2021 www.dispatch.com. Visit dispatch.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.