Perry County, Ohio facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Perry County
U.S. county
Perry 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, 1818
Named for	Oliver Hazard Perry
Seat	New Lexington
Largest City	New Lexington
Area
• Total	412 sq mi (1,070 km2)
• Land	408 sq mi (1,060 km2)
• Water	4.5 sq mi (12 km2)  1.1%%
Population  (2020)
• Total	35,408
• Density	86/sq mi (33/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	12th

Perry County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 35,408. Its county seat is New Lexington. It was established on March 1, 1818, from parts of Fairfield, Washington and Muskingum counties. The county is named for Oliver Hazard Perry, a hero of the War of 1812. Perry County is included in the Columbus, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area. One of the poorest counties in the state, this is where the lawsuit challenging Ohio's school funding system, DeRolph v. State, began.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 412 square miles (1,070 km²), of which 408 square miles (1,060 km²) is land and 4.5 square miles (12 km²) (1.1%) is water.

Adjacent counties

• Licking County (north)
• Muskingum County (northeast)
• Morgan County (southeast)
• Athens County (south)
• Hocking County (southwest)
• Fairfield County (west)

National protected area

• Wayne National Forest (part)

Demographics

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 36,058 people, 13,576 households, and 9,738 families living in the county. The population density was 88.4 inhabitants per square mile (34.1/km²). There were 15,211 housing units at an average density of 37.3 units per square mile (14.4 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.9% white, 0.3% black or African American, 0.2% American Indian, 0.1% Asian, 0.1% from other races, and 1.4% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 0.5% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 25.4% were German, 14.9% were Irish, 10.4% were English, and 9.6% were American.

Of the 13,576 households, 35.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.3% were married couples living together, 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 28.3% were non-families, and 22.8% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.06. The median age was 38.6 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $42,388 and the median income for a family was $50,489. Males had a median income of $39,305 versus $31,112 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,916. About 14.2% of families and 18.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.4% of those under age 18 and 8.6% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Map of Perry County, Ohio with municipal and township labels

Villages

Townships

Census-designated places

• Rose Farm
• Thornport

Unincorporated communities

Ghost towns

• Dicksonton
• San Toy

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Perry (Ohio) para niños