Mahoning County, Ohio facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mahoning County
U.S. county
Mahoning 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, 1846
Named for	A Native American word for salt lick
Seat	Youngstown
Largest city	Youngstown
Area
• Total	425 sq mi (1,100 km2)
• Land	412 sq mi (1,070 km2)
• Water	14 sq mi (40 km2)  3.2%%
Population  (2020)
• Total	228,614
• Estimate  (2021)	226,762
• Density	537.9/sq mi (207.69/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	6th

Mahoning County is a county in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 228,614. Its county seat and largest city is Youngstown. The county is named after the Mahoning River and was formed on March 1, 1846; the 83rd county in Ohio.

Present-day Mahoning County was part of Trumbull and Columbiana counties until 1846, when the counties were redefined and Mahoning County was established as a new county. Mahoning County is part of the Youngstown–Warren, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

In the year 1600, Mahoning County was likely divided between two nations of Native Americans, the Erie people in the east and the Whittlesey culture in the west. It is unknown where the actual boundaries between these cultures lay, though the nearest confirmed Whittlesey settlement was at Cleveland and the nearest confirmed Erie settlement was just barely across the Ohio-Pennsylvania border, in Ashtabula County. The Erie were an Iroquoian people who likely arrived sometime between the years 1100-1300 AD, after chasing out an older nation of "Mound Builders." The Whittlesey were likely Algonquian, but lived in longhouses rather than the traditional Algonquian wigwams.

Following the Beaver Wars, when the Iroquois Confederacy declared war on many of the tribes of the Great Lakes region over several decades and destroyed them, new tribes moved into this area. The tribes who shared the resources of the Mahoning Valley included the Seneca, Lenape (Delaware), Shawnee, and Wyandot. The Seneca and Wyandot were Iroquoians, and the Lenape and Shawnee were Algonquians. As northeast Ohio later came to be under control of the settlers as part of the Connecticut Western Reserve, all tribes were pushed further westward or southward, before eventually being removed from Ohio by the United States in the early-mid 1800s.

Some former known Native American sites that existed in Mahoning County include the council rock and the North Benton burial mound. Council Rock was where the Shawnee and Lenape were known to gather for collective holiday celebrations, religion ceremonies and political meetings and once sat in the center of Youngstown. Though the rock was moved long ago, it still rests in what is now Lincoln Park. The North Benton burial mound was once located on the outskirts of North Benton and was removed by archeologists. It was attributed to the Hopewell culture, but contained unique features, such as sculptures of constellations made of white rocks and clay laid out at ground level and a pit full of mixed human bones in one corner. It shared features with two other burial mounds found and excavated in Kent, Ohio and Warren, Pennsylvania represents a completely unique style of burial mound in Ohio.

Prior to its formation of a county in 1846, Mahoning County was a destination for a family of Huguenot refugees in the early 1800s.

In the 1900s, Youngstown was a hub for the American steel industry and for local mob groups, who gained their power through the liquor and gambling industries during prohibition, remaining a key safety issue for the region until the 1970s. It was also the home to Warner Theatre, where the Warner Bros. film studio got its start and remained a hub for early film and television for decades. An extensive German community used to exist in the township of Berlin, until pressure to fully assimilate after the World Wars against Germany ended it. Brier Hill Pizza was invented in Youngstown's Brier Hill neighborhood and is considered a local delicacy.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has an area of 425 square miles (1,100 km²), of which 412 square miles (1,070 km²) is land and 14 square miles (36 km²) (3.2%) is water.

Adjacent counties

• Trumbull County (north)
• Mercer County, Pennsylvania (northeast)
• Lawrence County, Pennsylvania (east)
• Columbiana County (south)
• Stark County (southwest)
• Portage County (northwest)

Major highways

Demographics

A pyramid showing the age distribution of the county.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 238,823 people, 98,712 households, and 62,676 families living in the county. The population density was 580.2 inhabitants per square mile (224.0/km²). There were 111,833 housing units at an average density of 271.7 units per square mile (104.9 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 79.9% white, 15.7% black or African American, 0.7% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 1.4% from other races, and 2.1% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 4.7% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 21.4% were German, 18.4% were Italian, 16.6% were Irish, 8.9% were English, and 4.2% were American.

Of the 98,712 households, 27.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.7% were married couples living together, 15.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 36.5% were non-families, and 31.8% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.94. The median age was 42.9 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $40,123 and the median income for a family was $52,489. Males had a median income of $44,516 versus $31,969 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,824. About 12.6% of families and 16.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.9% of those under age 18 and 10.0% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Top Employers

According to the county's 2019 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the county are:

Education

Colleges and universities

• Avalon University School of Medicine
• Youngstown State University

Community, junior, and technical colleges

• Choffin Career and Technical Center
• Eastern Gateway Community College
• Mahoning County Career and Technical Center

Public school districts

School districts include:

High schools

Communities

Map of Mahoning County, Ohio with municipal and township labels

Cities

Villages

Townships

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 census of Mahoning County.

* minority of municipality located in Mahoning County
† county seat

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Mahoning para niños