Category Archives: Columbus History

2020 Populations of Ohio Counties

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2020 populations of Ohio counties

Continuing with the latest data dump, we’ll look at 2020 populations of Ohio counties.

Top 30 Largest Counties by Population by Year
Census 2010——————————–Census 2020
1. Cuyahoga: 1,280,122—————–1. Franklin: 1,323,807
2. Franklin: 1,163,414——————–2. Cuyahoga: 1,264,817
3. Hamilton: 802,374———————3. Hamilton: 830,639
4. Summit: 541,781———————–4. Summit: 540,428
5. Montgomery: 535,153—————–5. Montgomery: 537,309
6. Lucas: 441,815————————-6. Lucas: 431,279
7. Stark: 375,586————————–7. Butler: 390,357
8. Butler: 368,130————————-8. Stark: 374,853
9. Lorain: 301,356————————-9. Lorain: 312,964
10. Mahoning: 238,823—————–10. Warren: 242,337
11. Lake: 230,041————————11. Lake: 232,603
12. Warren: 212,693———————12. Mahoning: 228,614
13. Trumbull: 210,312——————-13. Delaware: 214,124
14. Clermont: 197,363——————-14. Clermont: 208,601
15. Delaware: 174,214——————-15. Trumbull: 201,977
16. Medina: 172,332———————-16. Medina: 182,470
17. Licking: 166,492———————–17. Licking: 178,519
18. Greene: 161,573———————-18. Greene: 167,966
19. Portage: 161,419———————-19. Portage: 161,791
20. Fairfield: 146,156———————-20. Fairfield: 158,921
21. Clark: 138,333————————–21. Clark: 136,001
22. Wood: 125,488————————-22. Wood: 132,248
23. Richland: 124,475———————23. Richland: 124,936
24. Wayne: 114,520————————24. Wayne: 116,894
25. Columbiana: 107,841—————–25. Miami: 108,774
26. Allen: 106,331————————–26. Allen: 102,206
27. Miami: 102,506————————-27. Columbiana: 101,877
28. Ashtabula: 101,497——————-28. Ashtabula: 97,574
29. Geauga: 93,389———————–29. Geauga: 95,397
30. Tuscarawas: 92,582——————30. Tuscarawas: 93,263

Franklin County moved into the top spot to be the state’s most populated county.

Top 20 Fastest-Growing Counties by Total Growth 2010-2020
1. Franklin: +160,393
2. Delaware: +39,910
3. Warren: +29,644
4. Hamilton: +28,265
5. Butler: +22,227
6. Fairfield: +12,765
7. Licking: +12,027
8. Lorain: +11,608
9. Clermont: +11,238
10. Union: +10,484
11. Medina: +10,138
12. Wood: +6,760
13. Greene: +6,393
14. Miami: +6,268
15. Pickaway: +2,841
16. Lake: +2,562
17. Wayne: +2,374
18. Montgomery: +2,156
19. Geauga: +2,008
20. Holmes: +1,857

Franklin blew away the competition, adding more than 4x as many people as 2nd place Delaware County. Delaware County may be called the state’s fastest-growing by percent, but it’s clear what the dominant destination is in Ohio.



Top 20 Shrinking Counties by Total Decline 2010-2020
1. Cuyahoga: -15,305
2. Lucas: -10,536
3. Mahoning: -10,209
4. Trumbull: -8,335
5. Columbiana: -5,964
6. Scioto: -5,491
7. Jefferson: -4,460
8. Lawrence: -4,210
9. Allen: -4,125
10. Ashtabula: -3,923
11. Belmont: -3,903
12. Athens: -2,326
13. Carroll: -2,115
14. Sandusky: -2,048
15. Washington: -2,007
16. Crawford: -1,759
17. Gallia: -1,714
18. Seneca: -1,676
19. Guernsey: -1,649
20. Pike: -1,621

Core counties in Northern Ohio, as well as pretty much all of Appalachia and rural counties saw large population losses. This pattern of urban/metro counties gaining while exurban and rural counties declined was repeated nationally. 52% of all US counties lost population, with the vast majority of them being exurban and rural. There was clearly a strong trend towards people moving to or near major cities.

All US counties can be found at 2020 Census Population and Housing Map, while Franklin County historic population and demographic data is located at the Franklin County page.



Strange Columbus The Wow Signal

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Strange Columbus The Wow Signal Columbus, Ohio

No, we’re not talking about being able to get HBO from the modern cable company. This signal had even worse consistency.
On August 15, 1977, the Big Ear telescope– officially known as the Ohio State University Radio Observatory- recorded a surprisingly strong signal of non-terrestrial origin. At the time, the telescope was being utilized to search for signs of extraterrestrial life, a task that many large installations around the world had been occasionally involved in, with very little to show for the effort.

The observatory, located of of US 23 between Columbus and Delaware, had been working with SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) since 1973, after the installation had been deemed “defunct”. Equipment listening for frequencies would print out results on long sheets of paper, and while reviewing the data, the signal was first detected by astronomer Jerry Ehman at around 10:16PM. The readout featured the sequence 6EQEJ5, a combination that indicated frequency and signal intensity. The signal’s intensity was 30 standard deviations above normal background noise, and lasted for the full 72 seconds that the Big Ear was able to listen. Both the length and strength fell in line with expectations of what an alien signal would be like. Ehman was so shocked by it, that he circled the sequence and marked it with a “Wow!”, which is how the signal got its name.

The exact origin of the signal is even today unknown, but it was narrowed down to somewhere in the Sagittarius Constellation. Despite multiple attempts by the team at Big Ear, as well other other Earth-bound observatories to locate the signal again, they were unable to. This lack of repetition has meant that theories to its origin- either natural or otherwise- remain unconfirmed. Ehman himself was later skeptical of it actually coming from space and suggested it was signal from Earth that just happened to bounce off a satellite of some kind, but subsequent studies suggested this was highly unlikely.

For the next few decades, astronomers made multiple attempts to locate the signal again, but it was never heard again. To date, it remains one of the most mysterious space signals ever captured.

In 1997, the Big Ear ended all operations after 40 years of use. The following year, it was demolished to expand a golf course.