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CUYAHOGA COUNTY, Ohio — The Cuyahoga County Planning Commission has put out their county planning data book for 2026, in which they examine the county and 10 others in the Midwest on a variety of categories.
The categories within the data book include demographics, economy, housing, environment, transportation and health, and the 10 peer counties to which Cuyahoga is being compared are:
- Allegheny County in Pennsylvania
- Erie County in New York
- Franklin County in Ohio
- Hamilton County in Ohio
- Hennepin County in Minnesota
- Jefferson County in Kentucky
- Marion County in Indiana
- Milwaukee County in Wisconsin
- Monroe County in New York
- Wayne County in Michigan
“This report provides a comprehensive overview of key indicators shaping the County’s future, where we have achieved success, and where we need to focus more attention,” said Mary Cierebiej, executive director of the planning commission, in a message inside the report. “This Data Book offers valuable insights into the planning and policy decisions needed to advance Cuyahoga County, building on the amazing work already underway in our communities.”
Of the 11 counties being compared, Cuyahoga was the fourth most populous county in 2024, behind Hennepin (third), Franklin (second) and Wayne (first). The total population for Cuyahoga County was listed at more than 1.24 million.
This is even as the report notes the county’s population has seen a decline of more than 36,000 people between 2015 and 2024. That’s nearly 3% of the current population total.
Cuyahoga is at the bottom of the pack for population loss, though Milwaukee had a higher percentage change at -3.2%.
Cuyahoga County’s median age also skews older than the peer counties, beaten only by Allegheny and Erie. The median age in Cuyahoga County is 40.4. The county with the youngest median age is Marion at 34.6.
As far as race and ethnicity, the county is 55.8% white, 28.5% Black, 7.5% Hispanic, 4.1% multiracial, 3.6% Asian and .5% other.
The gross domestic product (GDP) of Cuyahoga County was $104.36 billion as of 2023, landing it in fifth place among peer counties.
As far as tracking the number of physical businesses that opened, the book includes data for 2022. In Cuyahoga County, they note that 2,774 establishments were created in 2022. That’s the fifth most when compared to the peer counties.
In Cuyahoga County, the industry with the highest percentage of jobs was education and health services with 25.6%, followed by trade transportation utilities at 18.3%
The county came in third for annual payroll amount in 2023, at $47.91 billion. It was beaten only by Hennepin and Allegheny. However, the median household income in the county for 2024 was among the lowest, at $65,974. The only county lower was Wayne at $59,294.
Cuyahoga County’s unemployment rate left it in the middle of the pack, at 3.9%. The percentage of people living below the poverty level in 2024 was 14.7%. This number was 21.6% for children.
For housing, Cuyahoga County ranked second for the total number of units at 615,292 in 2024, behind Wayne’s 810,469. However, Cuyahoga County was also one of the worst for vacancy rates, at 10.3%.
The median year homes were built in the county is 1957.
It’s not a good picture for air quality in Cuyahoga County, with only 33.1% of days being considered good, with an Air Quality Index of 0-50. A total of 64.7% of days were considered moderate (AQI 51-100) and 2.2% were considered unhealthy for sensitive groups (AQI 101-150).
Cuyahoga County fell in the middle of the group for average commute time at 22.9 minutes. When it comes to public transit, the county earned a transit performance score of 5.5, the second highest. This comes from AllTransit from the Center for Neighborhood Technologies, using various metrics.
The county rated second-worst for bridge conditions, with 67 deficient bridges out of a total 772 (8.7%).
Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the number of medical facilities in the area, Cuyahoga County was second for the number of primary care physicians, with 1,390 in total and 111.3 per 100,000 people in 2022.
The county’s life expectancy sits at 75.4, at seventh place in the list.
“Understanding these trends is critical as we work together to strengthen economic opportunities, improve health outcomes, and ensure equitable access to housing and other resources,” Cierebiej said in the report. “We hope this report serves as a resource for informed decisionmaking and collaborative action at all levels and across a variety of entities.”
View the full report below:
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Cody Thompson
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