Summit County is an urban county located in the northeast region of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 540,428, making it the fourth-most populous county in Ohio. Its county seat and most populous city is Akron. The county was formed on March 3, 1840, from portions of Medina, Portage and Stark counties. It was named Summit County because the highest elevation on the Ohio and Erie Canal is in the county. Summit County is part of the Akron, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH Combined Statistical Area.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 419.38 square miles (1,086 km2), of which 412.08 square miles (1,067 km2) is land and 7.3 square miles (19 km2) (1.7%) is water. The largest portion of Cuyahoga Valley National Park is in the northern part of the county. The southern border of the former Connecticut Western Reserve passes through the southern part of the county, leading to jogs in the east and west borders of the county.

Major highways

Adjacent counties

National protected area

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
184022,560—
185027,48521.8%
186027,344−0.5%
187034,67426.8%
188043,78826.3%
189054,08923.5%
190071,71532.6%
1910108,25350.9%
1920286,065164.3%
1930344,13120.3%
1940339,405−1.4%
1950410,03220.8%
1960513,56925.3%
1970553,3717.8%
1980524,472−5.2%
1990514,990−1.8%
2000542,8995.4%
2010541,781−0.2%
2020540,428−0.2%
2023 (est.)535,733−0.9%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2020

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 540,428. The median age was 41.6 years, 20.7% of residents were under the age of 18, and 19.0% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 94.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 92.0 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 74.2% White, 14.8% Black or African American, 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 4.2% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 1.0% from some other race, and 5.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 2.4% of the population.

96.2% of residents lived in urban areas, while 3.8% lived in rural areas.

There were 228,761 households in the county, of which 26.3% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 42.7% were married-couple households, 19.9% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 30.2% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 32.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 246,473 housing units, of which 7.2% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 65.8% were owner-occupied and 34.2% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.4% and the rental vacancy rate was 7.7%.

Racial and ethnic composition

Summit County, Ohio – Racial and ethnic compositionNote: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 1980Pop 1990Pop 2000Pop 2010Pop 2020% 1980% 1990% 2000% 2010% 2020
White alone (NH)461,122444,821450,620431,624397,53687.92%86.37%83.00%79.67%73.56%
Black or African American alone (NH)56,41860,84671,21877,37378,92210.76%11.81%13.12%14.28%14.60%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)6021,0219979017770.11%0.20%0.18%0.17%0.14%
Asian alone (NH)2,3414,9067,60411,84122,5060.45%0.95%1.40%2.19%4.16%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)xx90118149xx0.02%0.02%0.03%
Other race alone (NH)1,2573796107552,0960.24%0.07%0.11%0.14%0.39%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)xx6,97910,50925,236xx1.29%1.94%4.67%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)2,7323,0174,7818,66013,2060.52%0.59%0.88%1.60%2.44%
Total524,472514,990542,899541,781540,428100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 541,781 people, 222,781 households, and 141,110 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,312.6 inhabitants per square mile (506.8/km2). There were 245,109 housing units at an average density of 593.8 per square mile (229.3/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 80.6% white, 14.4% black or African American, 2.2% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.5% from other races, and 2.1% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.6% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 24.9% were German, 15.3% were Irish, 10.6% were English, 10.1% were Italian, 5.1% were Polish, and 4.5% were American.

Of the 222,781 households, 29.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.3% were married couples living together, 13.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 36.7% were non-families, and 30.0% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.98. The median age was 40.0 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $47,926 and the median income for a family was $62,271. Males had a median income of $47,892 versus $35,140 for females. The per capita income for the county was $26,676. About 10.0% of families and 13.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.8% of those under age 18 and 8.0% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Summit County, along with Cuyahoga County, is one of two of Ohio's 88 counties that have a charter government, as authorized by Article X of the Ohio Constitution. Under its charter, rather than three elected commissioners, Summit County has an elected county executive and an eleven-member county council. Eight members of the council are elected from individual districts; the other three are elected at large. Summit County also has an appointed medical examiner rather than an elected coroner, and an elected fiscal officer, who exercises the powers and performs the duties of a county auditor, treasurer and recorder. The remaining officials are similar to the officials in other counties. They include the following:

  • Clerk of courts – Tavia Galonski (D) (elected)
  • Prosecuting attorney – Elliot Kolkovich (D) (elected)
  • Engineer – Alan Brubaker (D) (elected)
  • Sheriff – Kandy Fatheree (D) (elected)
  • Fiscal officer – Kristen Scalise (D) (elected)

Summit County currently has 14 Common Pleas judges. They are:

  • Kelly McLaughlin (D),
  • Kathryn Michael (D),
  • Christine Croce (R),
  • Jennifer Towell (D),
  • Alison McCarty (R),
  • Tammy O'Brien (R),
  • Joy Oldfield (D),
  • Mary Margaret Rowlands (D),
  • Alison Breaux (D)
  • Susan Baker Ross (D)
  • Linda Tucci Teodosio (D) (Juvenile Court Judge)
  • Katarina Cook (R) (Domestic Relations Judge)
  • Kani Hightower (D) (Domestic Relations Judge)
  • Elinore Marsh Stormer (D) (Probate Judge)

Summit County Council

Summit County has an 11-member council. Three members are elected at-large in midterm cycles, while eight members are elected from districts coinciding with the presidential election. The current members of Summit County Council are:

  • Erin Dickinson (D) (at-large)
  • Elizabeth Walters* (D) (at-large)
  • John Donofrio (D) (at-large)
  • Rita Darrow (D) (District 1)
  • John Schmidt (D) (District 2)
  • David Licate (D) (District 3)
  • Jeff Wilhite (D) (District 4)
  • Brandon Ford (D) (District 5)
  • Christine Higham (D) (District 6)
  • Beth McKenney (R) (District 7)
  • Joseph Kacyon (R) (District 8)

* Indicates Council President

County Executives

  • John R. Morgan, 1981–1989
  • Tim Davis, 1989–2001
  • James B. McCarthy (D), 2001–2007
  • Russell M. Pry (D), 2007-2016
  • Ilene Shapiro (D), 2016–present

Politics

Like much of Northeast Ohio, Summit is heavily Democratic. It has voted Republican only three times since 1932, all in national Republican landslides– Dwight D. Eisenhower's 1956 victory, and the 49-state sweeps by Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan in 1972 and 1984, respectively. Summit County is located in Ohio's 13th congressional district, currently represented by Democrat Emilia Sykes.

United States presidential election results for Summit County, Ohio
YearRepublicanDemocraticThird party(ies)
No.%No.%No.%
18563,18563.64%1,74634.89%741.48%
18603,60765.52%1,78532.43%1132.05%
18644,20469.88%1,81230.12%00.00%
18684,63465.47%2,44434.53%00.00%
18724,53462.01%2,73837.45%400.55%
18765,05556.59%3,80442.59%730.82%
18805,89057.73%4,07139.90%2412.36%
18846,58855.97%4,58638.96%5975.07%
18886,45551.43%5,49543.78%6024.80%
18926,32246.45%6,49947.75%7905.80%
18968,58451.25%8,02047.88%1460.87%
190010,07253.08%8,41344.33%4912.59%
190412,45166.04%4,61824.49%1,7869.47%
190810,36547.31%9,93045.32%1,6147.37%
19123,50215.10%7,78633.57%11,90451.33%
191611,59335.63%19,34359.45%1,6034.93%
192043,72159.60%27,85737.97%1,7852.43%
192453,77465.28%17,53321.29%11,06413.43%
192878,50470.86%31,50628.44%7750.70%
193247,69145.03%53,96550.95%4,2554.02%
193638,99129.16%91,83668.69%2,8692.15%
194063,40541.45%89,55558.55%00.00%
194464,69641.61%90,78358.39%00.00%
194860,17442.69%78,09655.41%2,6801.90%
195291,16848.34%97,44351.66%00.00%
1956102,87252.42%93,37847.58%00.00%
1960109,06649.59%110,85250.41%00.00%
196468,00032.33%142,31967.67%00.00%
196882,64939.56%100,06847.89%26,22412.55%
1972112,41949.92%108,53448.19%4,2631.89%
197680,41538.41%123,71159.09%5,2242.50%
198092,29943.35%102,45948.12%18,1618.53%
1984115,63750.99%109,56948.32%1,5740.69%
1988101,15546.92%112,61252.23%1,8220.85%
199277,53032.10%107,88144.67%56,08123.22%
199673,55534.18%112,05052.07%29,59013.75%
200096,72143.02%119,75953.26%8,3593.72%
2004118,55842.91%156,58756.67%1,1750.43%
2008113,28440.66%160,85857.73%4,4871.61%
2012111,00141.36%153,04157.03%4,3161.61%
2016112,02643.03%134,25651.57%14,0645.40%
2020124,83344.38%151,66853.92%4,7791.70%
2024125,91045.88%145,00552.83%3,5391.29%
United States Senate election results for Summit County, Ohio1
YearRepublicanDemocraticThird party(ies)
No.%No.%No.%
2024111,57341.13%150,51755.49%9,1743.38%

Education

Public School Districts in Summit County and Surrounding Areas

Colleges and universities

Recreation

Communities

Map of Summit County, Ohio With Municipal and Township Labels. The map denotes New Franklin and Franklin Township as separate entities, predating their 2003 merger.

Cities

Villages

Townships

Defunct townships

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

See also

External links

41°08′N 81°32′W/41.13°N 81.53°W/ 41.13; -81.53