Cleveland, Ohio
| Cleveland, Ohio | |
 | |
| General information | |
Mayor of Cleveland Justin Bibb | |
| Last mayoral election: | 2025 |
| Next mayoral election: | 2029 |
| Last city council election: | 2025 |
| Next city council election: | 2029 |
| City council seats: | 15 |
| City website | |
| Composition data | |
| Population: | 372,624 |
| Race: | White 34.5% African American 48.4% Asian 2.8% Native American 0.4% Pacific Islander 0% Multiple 7.6% |
| Ethnicity: | Hispanic or Latino origin 13.1% |
| Median household income: | $39,187 |
| High school graduation rate: | 83.5% |
| College graduation rate: | 21.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau,2020 census and2023 ACS data. Percentages are rounded to the nearest 0.1%. | |
| Related Cleveland offices | |
| Ohio Congressional Delegation •Ohio State Legislature Ohio state executive offices | |
Cleveland is a city inOhio and is the county seat ofCuyahoga County. The city's population was 372,624 as of 2020, according to theUnited States Census Bureau.
Click on the links below to learn more about the city's...
- Mayor
- City council
- Other elected officials
- Elections
- Census information
- Budget
- Contact information
- Ballot measures
- County government
City government
- See also:Mayor-council government
The city of Cleveland utilizes a strong mayor and city council system. In this form of municipal government, the city council serves as the city's primary legislative body, and the mayor serves as the city's chief executive.[1][2]
Mayor
The mayor serves as the city's chief executive and is responsible for proposing a budget, signing legislation into law, appointing departmental directors, overseeing the city's day-to-day operations, representing the city on the state, national, and international levels, and appointing all nine voting members of theCleveland Metropolitan School Board.[2][3] The current Mayor of Cleveland isJustin Bibb (nonpartisan). Bibb assumed office in 2022.
City council
The Cleveland City Council is the city's primary legislative body. It is responsible for adopting the city budget, approving mayoral appointees, levying taxes, and making or amending city laws, policies, and ordinances.[4][5]
Cleveland's city council has 15 members. Each member is elected by one of the city's 15 wards.[4] The number of seats on the city council was reduced from 17, effective January 2026.[6]
The widget below automatically displays information about city council meetings. The topic list contains a sampling of keywords thatVoterheads, a local government monitoring service, found in each meeting agenda. Click the meeting link to see more info and the full agenda:
Other elected officials
Mayoral partisanship
Cleveland has a Democratic mayor. As of February 2026, 67 mayors in thelargest 100 cities by population are affiliated with theDemocratic Party, 22 are affiliated with theRepublican Party, one is affiliated with theLibertarian Party, three are independents, five identify as nonpartisan or unaffiliated, and two mayors' affiliations are unknown.Click here for a list of the 100 largest cities' mayors and their partisan affiliations.
Mayoral elections are officially nonpartisan in most of the nation's largest cities. However, many officeholders are affiliated with political parties. Ballotpedia uses one or more of the following sources to identify each officeholder's partisan affiliation: (1) direct communication from the officeholder, (2) current or previous candidacy for partisan office, or (3) identification of partisan affiliation by multiple media outlets.
Elections
2025
The city ofCleveland, Ohio, held general elections for mayor, city council, and municipal court judges on November 4, 2025. A primary was scheduled for September 9, 2025. The filing deadline for this election was June 11, 2025.
2023
The city ofCleveland, Ohio, held general elections for city council, municipal court clerk, municipal court judges, and municipal housing court judge on November 7, 2023. The filing deadline for this election was June 14, 2023.
2021
The city ofCleveland, Ohio, held general elections for mayor, city council, and city municipal court judge on November 2, 2021. A primary was scheduled for September 14, 2021. The filing deadline for this election was June 16, 2021.
2020
On November 3, 2020, Cleveland voters approved one ballot measure.Issue 68 renewed and increased the city's property tax for 10 years to fund the Cleveland Municipal School District at a rate of $200 per $100,000 of the assessed property value (an increase of $50).
Click here to read more about the November 2020 local ballot measures on the ballot for Cleveland voters.
2019
On November 5, 2019, Cleveland voters voted on three city charter amendments, a community college property tax measure, and a countywide measure. Cleveland also held elections for three municipal court judges on November 5, 2019. The filing deadline for this election was August 7, 2019.
Click here to read more about the November 2019 local ballot measures on the ballot for Cleveland voters.
2017
The city ofCleveland, Ohio, held elections on November 7, 2017. A primary election occurred on September 12, 2017. The mayor and all 17 seats on the city council were up for election. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was June 29, 2017.[7]
2015
The city ofCleveland, Ohio, held elections forcity council onNovember 3, 2015. A primary took place on September 8, 2015. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was May 25, 2015. The Ward 16 seat was up for election.[8] This election determined who served the remainder of the term ofMartin Sweeney, who was elected to theOhio House of Representatives in 2014.Brian Kazy was appointed to the vacancy in January 2015 and was elected in November for a term that expired in 2017.
Census information
The table below shows demographic information about the city.
| Demographic Data for Cleveland | |
|---|---|
| Cleveland | |
| Population | 372,624 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 77 |
| Race and ethnicity** | |
| White | 36.7% |
| Black/African American | 46.8% |
| Asian | 2.3% |
| Native American | 0.4% |
| Pacific Islander | 0.2% |
| Other (single race) | 4.6% |
| Multiple | 9.2% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 12.8% |
| Education | |
| High school graduation rate | 83.5% |
| College graduation rate | 21.3% |
| Income | |
| Median household income | $39,187 |
| Persons below poverty level | 30.8% |
| Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau,"Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau,"American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2018-2023). | |
| **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the censushere. | |
Budget
Cleveland's fiscal year operates from January 1 through December 31. As described in the city's budget book, "The annual operating budget covers the calendar year and primarily relates to the normal daily operations of the City." The Mayor creates a budget estimate after receiving budget requests from the city departments and submits it to the city council. The city council conducts budget hearings and approves a balanced appropriated budget by April 1 each year.[9]
Fiscally standardized cities data
The fiscally standardized cities (FiSC) data below was compiled by theLincoln Institute of Land Policy to make municipal budgets comparable across cities in the United States.[10]
| “ | FiSCs are constructed by adding revenues and expenditures of each central city municipal government to a portion of the revenues and expenditures of overlying governments, including counties, independent school districts, and special districts. The allocations to FiSCs are estimates of the revenues collected from and services provided to central city residents and businesses by these overlying independent governments. Thus FiSCs provides a full picture of revenues raised from city residents and businesses and spending on their behalf, whether done by the city government or a separate overlying government.[11] | ” |
| —Lincoln Institute of Land Policy[12] | ||
The tables below show estimated finances within city limits. As such, the revenue and expenses listed may differ from the actual city budget.
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Historical total revenue and expenditure
To see the historical total revenue or expenditures as a rounded amount in this city, hover over the bars.[10]
Cleveland, Ohio, salaries and pensions over $95,000
Below is a map of the nationwide salaries and pensions in this city over $95,000. To search a different ZIP code, enter it in the search bar within the map.
Contact information
Mayor's office
601 Lakeside Ave.
Cleveland, Ohio 44114
Phone: 216-664-2000
City Clerk's office
601 Lakeside Ave.
Room 220
Cleveland, OH 44114
Phone: 216-664-4551
Clickhere for city council contact information.
Ballot measures
The city of Cleveland is inCuyahoga County. A list of ballot measures in Cuyahoga County is availablehere.
Noteworthy events
2020: Events and activity following the death of George Floyd
During the weekend of May 29-31, 2020, demonstrations and protests took place in cities nationwide, including Cleveland, following the death of George Floyd. Events inCleveland, Ohio, began on Saturday, May 30, 2020, at the Free Stamp.[13] On May 30, MayorFrank Jackson (D) enacted a curfew.[14] The same day, Gov.Mike DeWine (R) deployed the Ohio National Guard to the city.
2015: Nondiscrimination laws
In July 2015, theMovement Advancement Project described Cleveland, Ohio, as a city or county that prohibited discrimination in employment on the basis of gender identity via ordinances that apply to public andprivate employers. At that time, a total of71 ofAmerica's largest 100 cities prohibited private employers from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation, while69 of those cities also prohibited discrimination based on gender identity. This did not include those jurisdictions that prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity for government employees.[15]
Nondiscrimination laws can cover a variety of areas, including public employment, private employment, housing, and public accommodations. Such laws may be enacted at the state, county, or city level.
See also
External links
- City of Cleveland
- Office of the Mayor
- City Council
- Cleveland School Districts
- Cleveland Chamber of Commerce
Footnotes
- ↑Case Western Reserve University, "Encyclopedia of Cleveland History," accessed August 27, 2021
- ↑2.02.1Cleveland, OH Code of Ordinances, "Charter of the City of Cleveland," accessed August 27, 2021
- ↑Cleveland Metropolitan School District, "Board of Education," accessed June 8, 2015
- ↑4.04.1Cleveland City Council, "Council members," accessed August 27, 2021
- ↑Cleveland City Council, "Legislation," accessed August 27, 2021
- ↑Cleveland City Council, "Ward Redistricting Information," accessed January 6, 2026
- ↑Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, "2017 Election Calendar," accessed February 2, 2017
- ↑Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, "September 8, 2015 Primary Election," accessed September 23, 2015
- ↑City of Cleveland, "2023 Budget Book," accessed August 23, 2023
- ↑10.010.1Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, "Fiscally Standardized Cities database," accessed August 23, 2023
- ↑Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, "Fiscally Standardized Cities," accessed August 23, 2023
- ↑Fox 8, "Unrest continues in downtown Cleveland following protests," May 30, 2020
- ↑Cleveland.com, "Gov. Mike DeWine deploys National Guard to respond to Columbus, Cleveland protests," May 30, 2020
- ↑Movement Advancement Project, "Local Employment Non-Discrimination Ordinances," accessed July 7, 2015
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