Licking County, Ohio facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Licking County
U.S. county
Licking County Courthouse
Flag Seal
Location within the U.S. state of Ohio
Ohio's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Ohio
Founded	March 1, 1808
Seat	Newark
Largest city	Newark
Area
• Total	687 sq mi (1,780 km2)
• Land	683 sq mi (1,770 km2)
• Water	5.0 sq mi (13 km2)  0.7%%
Population  (2020)
• Total	178,519
• Estimate  (2021)	180,401
• Density	259.85/sq mi (100.33/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	12th

Licking County is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Ohio. At the 2020 census, the population was 178,519. Its county seat is Newark. The county was formed on January 30, 1808, from portions of Fairfield County.

It is named after the Licking River, which is thought to be named for the salt licks that were in the area. However, one account explains it as an English pronunciation of the river's indigenous Delaware name W'li/'ik'/nk, which means "where the flood waters recede".

Licking County is part of the Columbus, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 687 square miles (1,780 km²), of which 683 square miles (1,770 km²) is land and 5.0 square miles (13 km²) (0.7%) is water. It is the third-largest county in Ohio by land area.

Adjacent counties

• Knox County (north)
• Coshocton County (northeast)
• Muskingum County (east)
• Perry County (southeast)
• Fairfield County (southwest)
• Franklin County (west)
• Delaware County (northwest)

Major highways

Demographics

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 166,492 people, 63,989 households, and 45,162 families living in the county. The population density was 243.9 inhabitants per square mile (94.2/km²). There were 69,291 housing units at an average density of 101.5 units per square mile (39.2 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 93.2% white, 3.4% black or African American, 0.7% Asian, 0.3% American Indian, 0.4% from other races, and 1.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.4% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 29.5% were German, 16.0% were Irish, 13.0% were English, 10.8% were American, and 5.5% were Italian.

Of the 63,989 households, 34.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.5% were married couples living together, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 29.4% were non-families, and 23.8% of households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.00. The median age was 39.1 years.

The median household income was $53,291 and the median family income was $64,386. Males had a median income of $47,391 versus $37,054 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,534. About 8.2% of families and 11.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.7% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 65 or over.

Industry and business

In January 2022 Intel announced their intention to build a $20 billion semiconductor plant in Licking County that would employ up to 3,000 workers. The facility will be built on 3,190 acres site that have been annexed from Jersey township to New Albany.

Places of interest

View from a section of the Great Circle Earthworks, part of the Newark Earthworks.

• Newark Earthworks
• Blackhand Gorge State Nature Preserve
• Flint Ridge State Memorial
• Dawes Arboretum
• Ye Olde Mill in Utica, where Velvet ice cream is produced.
• Heisey Glass Museum
• Longaberger former basket facility (Main office building was a 7-story replica basket, the largest in the world)
• National Trail Raceway - NHRA Dragstrip
• Denison University
• Home Building Association Bank

Sports

Longaberger former headquarters in Newark, Ohio, a giant Longaberger medium market basket.

Licking County high school athletic programs include Granville High School, Heath High School, Johnstown-Monroe High School, Lakewood High School, Licking Valley High School, Licking Heights High School, Newark Catholic High School, Newark High School, Northridge High School, Utica High School, and Watkins Memorial High School. In baseball, a state title has been won by a Licking County high school team every year since to 2002, when three Licking County teams won state titles. Newark Catholic High School and Heath High School have combined for nine state titles in a six-year span.

Licking County schools won at least one state title in four straight sport seasons: Heath in both baseball and boys track and field (2007), Newark Catholic in football (2007), Newark in boys basketball (2008) and Lakewood in softball (2008).

Communities

Map of Licking County, Ohio with Municipal and Township Labels

Cities

• Heath
• Johnstown
• New Albany
• Newark (county seat)
• Pataskala
• Reynoldsburg

Villages

Townships

Census-designated places

• Beechwood Trails
• Brownsville
• Etna
• Granville South
• Harbor Hills
• Marne

Unincorporated communities

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Licking para niños