Lake County, Ohio

Infobox U.S. County
county = Lake County
state = Ohio


founded = March 6 1840cite web|url = http://www.odod.state.oh.us/research/FILES/S0/Lake.pdf |title = Ohio County Profiles: Lake County |accessdate = 2007-04-28 |publisher = Ohio Department of Development | format = PDF]
seat wl = Painesville | largest city wl = Mentor
area_total_km2 = 2535
area_total_sq_mi = 979
area_land_km2 = 591
area_land_sq_mi = 228
area_water_km2 = 1944
area_water_sq_mi = 751
area percentage = 76.69%
census yr = 2000
pop = 227511
density_sq_mi = 997
density_km2 = 385
time zone = Eastern
UTC offset = -5 | DST offset = -4
web = www.lakecountyohio.gov
named for = Lake Erie
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Lake County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of 2000, the population was 227,511. The county seat is PainesvilleGR|6, and the county name comes from its location on the southern shore of Lake Erie.cite web|url = http://www.osuedc.org/profiles/profile_entrance.php?fips=39085&sid=0 |title = Lake County data |accessdate = 2007-04-28 |publisher = Ohio State University Extension Data Center ]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 979 square miles (2,535 km²).228 square miles (591 km²) of it is land and 751 square miles (1,944 km²) of it (76.69%) is water. Lake County is Ohio's smallest county by land area.

Adjacent counties

*Across Lake Erie lies Elgin County, Ontario, Canada "(north)"
*Ashtabula County "(east)"
*Geauga County "(south and east)"
*Cuyahoga County "(south and west)"

National protected area

* James A. Garfield National Historic Site

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 227,511 people, 89,700 households, and 62,520 families residing in the county. The population density was 997 people per square mile (385/km²). There were 93,487 housing units at an average density of 410 per square mile (158/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 95.40% White, 1.99% Black or African American, 0.11% Native American, 0.90% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.66% from other races, and 0.92% from two or more races. 1.70% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 18.5% were of German, 14.6% Italian, 12.7% Irish, 8.1% English, 6.2% Polish, 5.7% American and 5.4% Slovene ancestry according to Census 2000. 93.6% spoke English and 1.9% Spanish as their first language.

There were 89,700 households out of which 31.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.10% were married couples living together, 10.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.30% were non-families. 25.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.03.

In the county, the population was spread out with 24.20% under the age of 18, 7.30% from 18 to 24, 29.70% from 25 to 44, 24.70% from 45 to 64, and 14.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 94.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.50 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $48,763, and the median income for a family was $57,134. Males had a median income of $40,916 versus $28,434 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,160. About 3.50% of families and 5.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.50% of those under age 18 and 5.40% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Environment

[http://www.scorecard.org Scorecard] ranks Lake County among the worst 10% of counties in the U.S. in terms of cancer risk, developmental and reproductive toxicants, and other categories as well; this is comparable with most major cities and densely populated areas.

Lake County has a large public park system. Kirtland is home to the Holden Arboretum and the location of Gildersleeve mountain. Headlands Beach State Park is located in Mentor. The Grand River is a state wild and scenic river and the Chagrin River is a state scenic river.

Transportation

Laketran is the transit agency servicing Lake County. Interstate 90 runs northeast/southwest through Lake County, roughly parallel to State Route 2; together these roads make up the major traffic arteries in the county. There is currently no passenger rail service in Lake County.

Library services

Lake County is served by the following libraries:
* Fairport Harbor Public Library in Fairport Harbor
* Kirtland Public Library in Kirtland
* Madison Public Library in Madison
* Mentor Public Library in Mentor
* Morley Public Library in Painesville
* Perry Public Library in Perry
* Wickliffe Public Library in Wickliffe
* Willoughby-Eastlake Public Library, headquartered in Willowick, Ohio with branches in Eastlake, Willoughby, and Willoughby Hills. In 2005, the library loaned more than 1.2 million items to its 37,000 cardholders. Total holding are over 216,000 volumes with over 850 periodical subscriptions.cite web |url=http://winslo.state.oh.us/publib/2005_stats_by_county.xls |title=2005 Ohio Public Library Statistics:Statistics by County and Town |accessdate=october 3 |accessyear=2006 |author= |last= |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |year= |month= |format= |work= |publisher=State Library of Ohio |pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate=]

Localities

Municipalities

Townships

*Concord
*LeRoy
*Madison
*Painesville
*Perry

Census-designated place

*North Madison

Other places

*Painesville-on-the-Lake
*Unionville

ee also

*Melon heads - a local urban legend

References

* [http://wepl.lib.oh.us/ Willoughby-Eastlake Public Library website]
* [http://www.lakecountyohio.gov/ Lake County Government's website] ----