List of counties in Ohio

Counties of Ohio

There are 88 counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. Nine of them existed at the time of the Ohio Constitutional Convention in 1802.[1] A tenth county, Wayne, was established on August 15, 1796, and encompassed roughly the present state of Michigan.[2] During the Convention, the county was opposed to statehood, and was not only left out of the Convention, but dissolved; the current Wayne County is in northeastern Ohio, considerably distant from the area that was the original Wayne County.[1]

The Ohio Constitution allows counties to set up a charter government as many cities and villages do,[3] but only Summit and Cuyahoga counties have done so,[4] the latter having been approved by voters in November 2009.[5] Counties do not possess home rule powers and can do only what has been expressly authorized by the Ohio General Assembly. The elected county officials in Ohio county governments include three commissioners, a sheriff (the highest law enforcement officer in the county); prosecutor (equivalent of a district attorney in other states); coroner, engineer, Recorder, auditor, treasurer, and clerk of courts.[6][7]

Population figures are based on the 2023 vintage Census population estimates. The population of Ohio was 11,785,935 at that time, a decrease of 0.1% from 2020. The average population of Ohio's counties was 133,931; Franklin County was the most populous (1,326,063) and Vinton County was the least (12,474). The average land area is 464 sq mi (1,200 km2). The largest county by area is Ashtabula County at 702.44 sq mi (1,819.3 km2), and its neighbor, Lake County, is the smallest at 228.21 sq mi (591.1 km2). The total area of the state is 40,860.69 sq mi (105,828.7 km2).[8][9]

  1. ^ a b Laning, J.F. (1896). "The Evolution of Ohio Counties". Ohio Archaeological and Historical Publications. V: 326–350. Archived from the original on November 21, 2015.. Other editions available at ISBN 1249686741 and Google Books
  2. ^ Lawyer, James Patterson (1905). History of Ohio: From the Glacial Period to the Present Time. Press of F. J. Heer. p. 381. Retrieved August 18, 2007. Other editions available at ISBN 9781279183281
  3. ^ Steinglass, Steven; Scarselli, Gino (2004). The Ohio State Constitution A Reference Guide. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers. pp. 272–273. (OH county charter). Other editions available: ISBN 0313267650 and Google Books
  4. ^ "Ohio Counties". County of Summit. November 15, 2011. Archived from the original on January 27, 2020. Retrieved February 28, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  5. ^ "Issue 6 reform wins big and sets in motion even bigger changes for Cuyahoga County". cleveland.com. November 4, 2009. Retrieved January 28, 2010.
  6. ^ "OSBA - OSBA Staff Directory". www.ohiobar.org.
  7. ^ "Title 3 - Ohio Revised Code | Ohio Laws".
  8. ^ "Ohio QuickFacts". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on March 3, 2013. Retrieved February 27, 2013.
  9. ^ "Population Estimates". U.S. Census Bureau. December 2009. Archived from the original on March 22, 2009. Retrieved February 27, 2013.