Category Archives: Columbus Population and Demographics

2025 Ohio City Population Estimates

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2025 Ohio city population estimates

The US Census has released 2025 city population estimates. Let’s look at at how both national and Ohio cities have changed.

Keep in mind, as always, that these are just estimates and are subject to much wider swings and errors compared to decennial census data.

First up, here is Ohio’s data.

Top 30 Largest Ohio Cities on July 1, 2025
1. Columbus: 938,396
2. Cleveland: 363,608
3. Cincinnati: 314,367
4. Toledo: 263,423
5. Akron: 189,691
6. Dayton: 136,688
7. Parma: 78,581
8. Canton: 69,001
9. Lorain: 65,366
10. Hamilton: 64,644
11. Youngstown: 58,832
12. Springfield: 58,281
13. Kettering: 57,396
14. Elyria: 53,634
15. Middletown: 52,146
16. Newark: 51,473
17. Cuyahoga Falls: 50,975
18. Dublin: 49,094
19. Lakewood: 49,027
20. Beavercreek: 48,134
21. Euclid: 47,962
22. Mansfield: 47,381
23. Mentor: 47,010
24. Delaware: 46,636
25. Strongsville: 45,629
26. Grove City: 45,180
27. Fairfield: 44,682
28. Huber Heights: 43,905
29. Cleveland Heights: 43,750
30. Reynoldsburg: 43,350

Top 15 Largest Increases July 1, 2024 to July 1, 2025
1. Columbus: +7,696
2. Grove City: +1,294
3. Delaware: +1,177
4. Powell: +1,083
5. West Jefferson: +925
6. Fairborn: +757
7. Marysville: +720
8. Reynoldsburg: +577
9. Hamilton: +506
10. Sunbury: +495
11. Bowling Green: +482
12. Gahanna: +481
13. Pickerington: +470
14. Dayton: +464
15. Xenia: +420

Top 15 Largest Decreases July 1, 2024 to July 1, 2025
1. Toledo: -962
2. Cincinnati: -488
3. Springfield: -334
4. Bexley: -320
5. Sidney: -297
6. Warren: -245
7. Parma: -220
8. Lakewood: -218
9. Westerville: -206
10. Mansfield: -200
11. Portsmouth: -171
12. Upper Arlington: -166
13. Dublin: -165
14. Sandusky: -165
15. Ada: -158

It is highly unlikely that any of the Columbus suburbs listed as losing population actually did, especially when all of them were seeing decent growth over the previous decade. It would make little sense that Columbus is growing strongly, but it’s inner suburbs, especially ones with high quality of housing and conditions, would be losing population. We’ll have to wait several more years to get a thorough count, though.

Total Change for All Columbus Metro Area Places Census 2020-July 1, 2025
1. Columbus: 938,396 +32,181
2. Newark: 51,473 +1,512
3. Dublin: 49,094 -218
4. Delaware: 46,636 +5,339
5. Grove City: 45,180 +3,924
6. Reynoldsburg: 43,350 +2,276
7. Lancaster: 41,956 +1,413
8. Hilliard: 38,898 +1,738
9. Westerville: 38,165 -1,024
10. Gahanna: 35,986 +259
11. Upper Arlington: 35,893 -886
12. Marysville: 30,190 +4,573
13. Pickerington: 26,333 +3,263
14. Whitehall: 19,805 -323
15. Pataskala: 18,529 +647
16. Powell: 18,269 +4,012
17. Circleville: 14,634 +709
18. Worthington: 14,543 -236
19. Bexley: 12,452 -1,473
20. New Albany: 11,803 +641
21. Heath: 10,859 +408
22. London: 10,813 +546
23. Canal Winchester: 10,058 +936
24. Grandview Heights: 9,112 +1,025
25. Sunbury: 8,857 +2,259
26. Obetz: 7,342 +1,860
27. Logan: 7,164 -138
28. Granville: 6,252 +302
29. West Jefferson: 5,827 +1,684
30. Groveport: 5,818 -190
31. Johnstown: 5,476 +266
32. Ashville: 4,819 +287
33. New Lexington: 4,465 +40
34. Plain City: 4,322 +209
35. South Bloomfield: 4,164 +2,019
36. Commercial Point: 3,271 +183
37. Baltimore: 3,110 +74
38. Lithopolis: 2,969 +818
39. Richwood: 2,640 +421
40. Buckeye Lake: 2,590 +67
41. Hebron: 2,405 +82
42. Crooksville: 2,404 -17
43. Cardington: 2,247 +165
44. Utica: 2,138 +71
45. Mount Sterling: 2,051 +108
46. Minerva Park: 1,950 -62
47. Roseville: 1,751 +3
48. Somerset: 1,482 +1
49. Hanover: 1,397 +129
50. Ashley: 1,343 +143
51. Ostrander: 1,219 +125
52. Thornville: 1,111 +11
53. Williamsport: 1,027 +54
54. Galena: 1,019 +92
55. Millersport: 1,008 +31
56. Urbancrest: 1,003 -32
57. Pleasantville: 964 +22
58. Milford Center: 959 +153
59. Shawnee Hills: 931 +94
60. New Holland: 833 +36
61. Junction City: 722 +1
62. Amanda: 680 +15
63. Marble Cliff: 658 +20
64. New Straitsville: 647 -6
65. Valleyview: 640 -19
66. Thurston: 616 +9
67. Stoutsville: 582 +4
68. Riverlea: 578 -19
69. Buchtel: 508 -8
70. Carroll: 504 +3
71. Shawnee: 504 -1
72. Laurelville: 503 -17
73. Alexandria: 501 +15
74. Kirkersville: 486 +15
75. Corning: 485 -4
76. Edison: 449 +28
77. Hartford: 413 +4
78. Sugar Grove: 413 +4
79. St. Louisville: 359 +15
80. Murray City: 343 -9
81. South Solon: 327 +0
82. Magnetic Springs: 316 +50
83. Harrisburg: 313 -1
84. Rushville: 307 +2
85. Marengo: 285 +5
86. Midway: 270 +0
87. Tarlton: 269 +15
89. Fulton: 254 +7
90. Unionville Center: 235 -13
91. Lockbourne: 228 -9
92. Gratiot: 217 +3
93. Chesterville: 208 +11
94. Darbyville: 189 +4
95. Glenford: 170 -2
96. West Rushville: 165 +0
97. Hemlock: 148 +0
98. Sparta: 127 +2
99. Brice: 110 +16

There used to be 101 places, but 2- Orient and Rendville- have lost incorporated status since 2020.
What is interesting about the estimates is that many very small villages and towns are estimated to have seen relatively strong growth while some major suburbs shows significant declines. Again, that is unlikely, as there would be little logical reason for rural places with few jobs or infrastructure to be seeing steady growth. What is most likely occurring is that the Ohio population change total for the period is being distributed in a way that favors smaller, rural places regardless of their condition or long-term population trends.

2025 Ohio city population estimates population change by size



2025 County and Metro Population Estimates

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2025 county and metro population estimates

2025 county and metro area population estimates have been released by the US Census. These numbers are for the change between July, 2024 and July, 2025.

Top 25 Ohio Counties by Population on July 1, 2025
1. Franklin: 1,361,536
2. Cuyahoga: 1,232,925
3. Hamilton: 838,418
4. Montgomery: 539,598
5. Summit: 538,376
6. Lucas: 423,347
7. Butler: 400,128
8. Stark: 373,771
9. Lorain: 323,219
10. Warren: 257,181
11. Delaware: 242,032
12. Lake: 232,217
13. Mahoning: 224,706
14. Clermont: 216,977
15. Trumbull: 198,972
16. Licking: 185,564
17. Medina: 185,025
18. Greene: 174,322
19. Fairfield: 169,752
20. Portage: 163,404
21. Clark: 135,340
22. Wood: 134,176
23. Richland: 124,893
24. Wayne: 116,758
25. Miami: 112,634

Top 25 Ohio Counties with the Largest Population Increase July 1, 2024 to July 1, 2025
1. Franklin: +8,880
2. Delaware: +5,169
3. Montgomery: +2,668
4. Clermont: +2,663
5. Butler: +2,347
6. Greene: +2,174
7. Warren: +2,142
8. Lorain: +2,060
9. Fairfield: +2,046
10. Union: +1,463
11. Summit: +1,431
12. Licking: +1,224
13. Madison: +1,197
14. Wood: +1,104
15. Pickaway: +771
16. Miami: +762
17. Medina: +750
18. Muskingum: +693
19. Hamilton: +559
20. Stark: +531
21. Knox: +438
22. Ross: +431
23. Geauga: +376
24. Crawford: +356
25. Morrow: +297

Ohio Metro Area Population on July 1, 2025
1. Cincinnati: 2,312,858
2. Columbus: 2,242,028
3. Cleveland: 2,165,775
4. Dayton: 826,554
5. Akron: 701,780
6. Toledo: 599,376
7. Youngstown: 423,678
8. Canton: 400,246

Metro Area Population Change July 1, 2024 to July 1, 2025
1. Columbus: +21,312
2. Cincinnati: +13,107
3. Dayton: +5,604
4. Cleveland: +2,539
5. Akron: +1,628
6. Canton: +439
7. Toledo: -26
8. Youngstown: -913

Metro Population Components of Change

Total Natural Growth (Births vs Deaths) July 1, 2024 to July 1, 2025
1. Columbus: +7,453
2. Cincinnati: +4,322
3. Toledo: -101
4. Dayton: -243
5. Canton: -735
6. Akron: -1,301
7. Youngstown: -1,893
8. Cleveland: -2,431

Total Domestic Migration July 1, 2024 to July 1, 2025
1. Dayton: +4,272
2. Columbus: +2,921
3. Cincinnati: +1,836
4. Akron: +1,155
5. Canton: +992
6. Youngstown: +676
7. Cleveland: -178
8. Toledo: -693

Total International Migration July 1, 2024 to July 1, 2025
1. Columbus: +10,968
2. Cincinnati: +6,900
3. Cleveland: +5,082
4. Akron: +1,735
5. Dayton: +1,566
6. Toledo: +755
7. Youngstown: +295
8. Canton: +175

2024 City Population Estimates

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2024 city population estimates

The US Census has released 2024 city population estimates. These estimates are for all incorporated places.

First, let’s look at the top 25 largest Ohio cities on July 1, 2024.
Purple cities moved up in the ranking since 2020 and red moved down.

Rank

City

2020

2023

2024

1

Columbus

905,939

920,569

933,263

2

Cleveland

372,626

364,276

365,379

3

Cincinnati

309,561

312,703

314,915

4

Toledo

270,877

265,798

265,638

5

Akron

190,408

189,142

189,664

6

Dayton

137,677

135,936

136,346

7

Parma

81,121

79,310

79,,350

8

Canton

70,743

69,230

69,211

9

Lorain

65,218

65,413

65,751

10

Hamilton

63,393

63,516

63,953

11

Youngstown

60,047

59,195

59,123

12

Springfield

58,644

58,041

58,138

13

Kettering

57,860

57,035

57,028

14

Elyria

52,668

53,181

53,604

15

Middletown

50,986

51,882

52,291

16

Newark

49,970

51,162

51,424

17

Cuyahoga Falls

51,116

50,865

50,979

18

Lakewood

50,940

49,564

49,517

19

Dublin

49,315

49,292

49,456

20

Euclid

49,689

48,439

48,421

21

Beavercreek

46,562

47,327

48,012

22

Mansfield

47,530

47,676

47,593

23

Mentor

47,442

47,000

47,113

24

Delaware

41,327

45,364

46,521

25

Strongsville

46,487

45,719

45,768

Columbus gained 12,694 residents July 1, 2023 to July 1, 2024. This was the 14th highest numeric change of all US cities at or above 20,000 in population. In doing so, it became Ohio’s all-time largest city by population in history, surpassing Cleveland’s historic high of 914,80 in 1950.

Now let’s look at all incorporated places within the Columbus Metro Area, their rank on July 1, 2024, and their total population change July 1, 2023 to July 1, 2024.
Blue places moved up in the rankings since 2020, while red moved down.
1. Columbus: 933,263 +12,694
2. Newark: 51,424 +262
3. Dublin: 49,456 +164
4. Delaware: 46,521 +1,157
5. Grove City: 44,019 +875
6. Reynoldsburg: 42,897 +1,386
7. Lancaster: 41,671 +191
8. Hilliard: 38,832 +1,202
9. Westerville: 38,612 +119
10. Upper Arlington: 36,140 +96
11. Gahanna: 35,544 +86
12. Marysville: 29,276 +821
13. Pickerington: 25,814 +546
14. Whitehall: 19,940 +41
15. Pataskala: 18,493 +113
16. Worthington: 14,649 +31
17. Powell: 14,613 +50
18. Circleville: 14,433 +210
19. Bexley: 12,793 -97
20. New Albany: 11,604 +179
21. Heath: 10,822 +70
22. London: 10,743 +193
23. Canal Winchester: 10,060 +213
24. Sunbury: +1,324
25. Grandview Heights: 9,184 +275
26. Obetz: 7,306 +287
27. Logan: 7,142 -33
28. Granville: 6,308 +23
29. Groveport: 5,867 +11
30. Johnstown: 5,356 +31
31. West Jefferson: 4,943 +454
32. Ashville: 4,758 +77
33. New Lexington: 4,463 +7
34. Plain City: 4,374 +23
35. South Bloomfield: 3,747 +241
36. Mount Gilead: 3,543 +18
37. Commercial Point: 3,221 +51
38. Baltimore: 3,089 +35
39. Lithopolis: 2,859 +143
40. Buckeye Lake: 2,575 +12
41. Richwood: 2,575 +78
42. Hebron: 2,406 +15
43. Crooksville: 2,401 -1
44. Cardington: 2,203 +102
45. Utica: 2,131 +12
46. Mount Sterling: 2,070 +35
47. Minerva Park: 1,961 +3
48. Roseville: 1,744 +0
49. Bremen: 1,520 +9
50. Somerset: 1,483 +9
51. Hanover: 1,351 +35
52. Ashley: 1,350 +25
53. Ostrander: 1,227 +25
54. Thornville: 1,093 +2
55. Galena: 1,021 +9
56. Williamsport: 1,016 +17
57. Urbancrest: 1,013 +4
58. Millersport: 993 +15
59. Pleasantville: 954 +8
60. Shawnee Hills: 939 +18
61. Milford Center: 932 +26
62. New Holland: 831 +13
63. Junction City: 723 +3
64. Amanda: 678 +1
65. Marble Cliff: 663 +30
66. Valleyview: 653 -1
67. New Straitsville: 649 +1
68. Thurston: 610 +3
69. Riverlea: 580 -1
70. Stoutsville: 580 +3
71. Buchtel: 519 +3
72. Laurelville: 505 -5
73. Shawnee: 503 +1
74. Carroll: 501 +0
75. Alexandria: 497 +2
76. Corning: 484 +1
77. Kirkersville: 479 +2
78. Edison: 443 +2
79. Hartford: 413 +2
80. Sugar Grove: 408 +0
81. St. Louisville: 365 +1
82. Murray City: 335 -4
83. South Solon: 330 +2
84. Harrisburg: 314 +3
85. Rushville: 305 +1
86. Magnetic Springs: 302 +9
87. Marengo: 281 +1
88. Midway: 273 +2
89. Tarlton: 266 +5
90. Fulton: 251 +3
91. Unionville Center: 235 -3
92. Lockbourne: 232 +0
93. Gratiot: 217 +1
94. Chesterville: 200 +5
95. Darbyville: 189 +2
96. West Rushville: 164 -2
97. Glenford: 163 -2
98. Hemlock: 147 +0
99. Sparta: 123 +0
100. Brice: 101 +9

90% of Columbus metro places were either steady or saw outright growth 2023-2024. These numbers are much improved from the Covid era where many places were seeing population declines, especially the larger cities and suburbs.

Columbus’ growth represented 73% of Franklin County’s total growth 2023-2024 and 84.1% of the county’s growth 2020-2024. Additionally, Columbus alone repesented 41.8% of the metro’s growth 2023-2024 and 31.6% of the metro’s growth 2020-2024.

To see the original estimates from 2023, visit 2023 Population Estimates of Columbus Area Places

2024 County and Metro Population Estimates

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Percent Change in County Populations[Source: U.S. Census Bureau]

The US Census has released 2024 county and metro population estimates. The estimates generally show a further continuation of the post-pandemic recovery in the numbers. In fact, older estimates have also been revised upwards. Let’s break down the numbers.

Metro County

2020 Census

2023 Population

2024 Population

Delaware

214,123

232,732

237,966

Fairfield

158,920

165,630

167,762

Franklin

1,323,819

1,338,903

1,356,303

Hocking

28,056

27,567

27,429

Licking

178,517

183,540

184,898

Madison

43,848

44,668

45,531

Morrow

34,944

35,583

35,927

Perry

35,412

35,577

35,682

Pickaway

58,551

61,064

62,158

Union

62,790

69,765

71,721

As you can see, all counties but Hocking grew in both the 2020-2024 and 2023-2024 periods. Most of the estimates were improvements over the 2023 version, as mentioned. For example, Franklin County’s estimates population in 2023 was 1,326,063, but the 2024 version for 2023 was revised to 1,338,903, indicating growth was significantly stronger than originally estimated.

2024 metro population estimates county population

Franklin County continued its very long run of being the top county in the metro for total growth.

2024 metro population estimates county percent change

2024 metro population estimates population change

2024 metro population estimates county population percent change

Here were the top 25 largest Ohio counties in 2024.
1. Franklin: 1,356,303
2. Cuyahoga: 1,240,594
3. Hamilton: 837,859
4. Summit: 538,370
5. Montgomery: 537,443
6. Lucas: 426,291
7. Butler: 399,542
8. Stark: 374,091
9. Lorain: 322,030
10. Warren: 256,059
11. Delaware: 237,966
12. Lake: 232,360
13. Mahoning: 225,786
14. Clermont: 214,123
15. Trumbull: 200,300
16. Licking: 184,898
17. Medina: 184,625
18. Greene: 172,347
19. Fairfield: 167,762
20. Portage: 163,839
21. Clark: 134,985
22. Wood: 133,077
23. Richland: 124,853
24. Wayne: 116,632
25. Miami: 111,950

Metro Area

2020

2024

Change

Akron

702,211

702,209

-2

Canton

401,594

400,551

-1,043

Cincinnati

2,249,812

2,302,815

53,003

Cleveland

2,185,745

2,171,877

-13,868

Columbus

2,138,980

2,225,377

86,397

Dayton

814,040

821,740

7,700

Toledo

606,234

601,396

-4,838

Youngstown

430,675

426,086

-4,589

2023 Population Estimates of Columbus Metro Places

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2023 population estimates

New 2023 population estimates of Columbus metro places were just released by the US Census. In general, they showed that most places are now recovering from the pandemic population decline blip.

First, the full list of all available population estimates for Columbus metro area incorporated places. This list does not include Census Designated Places, as estimates for those are only done once per decade. Red places have moved down in the rankings, green have moved up.


Out of Ohio’s 925 incorporated communities, 660 showed a population loss between 2020-2023, or 71.35%. 27 saw no population change, and 238- or 25.73%- saw population growth.
In the Columbus metro, however, 60% of its communities saw growth, with 6% seeing no change and 34% seeing a loss. The Columbus metro places represented just 5.15% of the total communities seeing loss within the state, but 25.73% of all the communities seeing growth. This shows just how poorly most of the state is doing in comparison to the Columbus area.