Ohio derives its name from theOhio River that forms its southern border, which, in turn, originated from theSeneca wordohiːyo', meaning "good river", "great river", or "large creek".[15][16] The state was home to several ancient indigenous civilizations, with humans present as early as 10,000 BCE. It arose from the lands west of theAppalachian Mountains that were contested by various native tribes and European colonists from the 17th century through theNorthwest Indian Wars of the late 18th century. Ohio was partitioned from theNorthwest Territory, the first frontier of the new United States, becoming the 17th state admitted to the Union on March 1, 1803, and the first under theNorthwest Ordinance.[3][17] It was the first post-colonialfree state admitted to the union and became one of the earliest and most influential industrial powerhouses during the 20th century.
Archeological evidence of spear points of both the Folsom and Clovis types indicate that the Ohio Valley was inhabited bynomadic people as early as 13,000 BC.[21] These early nomads disappeared from Ohio by 1,000 BC.[21] Between 1,000 and 800 BC, the sedentaryAdena culture emerged. The Adena established "semi-permanent" villages because they domesticated plants, including sunflowers, and "grew squash and possibly corn"; with hunting and gathering, this cultivation supported more settled, complex villages.[22] The most notable remnant of the Adena culture is theGreat Serpent Mound, located inAdams County, Ohio.[22]
Around 100 BC, the Adena evolved into theHopewell people, who were also mound builders. Their complex, large and technologically sophisticatedearthworks can be found in modern-dayMarietta,Newark, andCircleville.[23] They were also a prolific trading society, their trading network spanning a third of the continent.[24] The Hopewell disappeared from the Ohio Valley about 600 AD. TheMississippian culture rose as the Hopewell culture declined. Many Siouan-speaking peoples from the plains and east coast claim them as ancestors and say they lived throughout the Ohio region until approximately the 13th century.[25]
There were three other cultures contemporaneous with the Mississippians: theFort Ancient people, theWhittlesey Culture[25] and theMonongahela Culture.[26] All three disappeared in the 17th century. Their origins are unknown. The Shawnees may have absorbed the Fort Ancient people.[25] It is also possible that the Monongahela held no land in Ohio during the Colonial Era. The Mississippian culture was close to and traded extensively with the Fort Ancient people.
Iroquois conquests during theBeaver Wars (mid-1600s), which largely depopulated the upper and mid-Ohio River valley.
Indians in the Ohio Valley were greatly affected by the aggressive tactics of theIroquois Confederation, based in central and western New York.[27] After theBeaver Wars in the mid-17th century, the Iroquois claimed much of the Ohio country as hunting and, more importantly, beaver-trapping ground. After the devastation of epidemics and war in the mid-17th century, which largely emptied the Ohio country of Indigenous people[dubious –discuss] by the mid-to-late 17th century, the land gradually became repopulated by the mostlyAlgonquian. Many of these Ohio-country nations were multiethnic (sometimes multi-linguistic) societies born out of the earlier devastation brought about by disease,[clarification needed] war, and subsequent social instability. They subsisted on agriculture (corn, sunflowers, beans, etc.) supplemented by seasonal hunts. By the 18th century, they were part of a larger global economy brought about by European entry into thefur trade.[28]
Some of the Indigenous nations that historically inhabited Ohio include the Iroquoian,[c] the Algonquian,[d] and the Siouan.[e][29][30]Ohio country was also the site of Indian massacres, such as theYellow Creek massacre and theGnadenhutten massacre.[31] After theWar of 1812, when Natives suffered serious losses such as atTippecanoe, most Native tribes either left Ohio or had to live on only limited reservations. By 1842, all remaining Natives were forced out of the state.[32]
Before the American Revolution, Britain thinly exercised sovereignty over Ohio Country by lackadaisical garrisoning of the French forts.[f] Just beyond Ohio Country was the greatMiami capital ofKekionga, which became the center of British trade and influence in Ohio Country and throughout the futureNorthwest Territory. By theRoyal Proclamation of 1763, British lands west ofAppalachia were forbidden to settlement by colonists.[34] TheTreaty of Fort Stanwix in 1768 explicitly reserved lands north and west of the Ohio as Native lands.[35] British military occupation in the region contributed to the outbreak ofPontiac's War in 1763.[36] Ohio tribes participated in the war until an armed expedition in Ohio led byBrigadier GeneralHenry Bouquet brought about a truce. Another colonial military expedition into the Ohio Country in 1774 broughtLord Dunmore's War, kicked off by theYellow Creek massacre in Ohio, to a conclusion. In 1774, Britain passed theQuebec Act, which formally annexed Ohio and other western lands to theProvince of Quebec in order to provide a civil government and to centralize British administration of theMontreal-based fur trade.[37] The prohibition of settlement west of the Appalachians remained, contributing to the American Revolution.[38]
The old Northwest Territory originally included areas previously known asOhio Country andIllinois Country. As Ohio prepared for statehood, theIndiana Territory was created, reducing the Northwest Territory to approximately the size of present-day Ohio plus the eastern half of theLower Peninsula of Michigan and the eastern tip of theUpper Peninsula and a sliver of southeastern Indiana called "The Gore".
The coalition of Native American tribes, known as theWestern Confederacy, was forced to cede extensive territory, including much of present-day Ohio, in theTreaty of Greenville in 1795.
Under theNorthwest Ordinance, areas could be defined and admitted as states once their population reached 60,000. Although Ohio's population was only 45,000 in December 1801,Congress determined that it was growing rapidly enough and accelerated the process via theEnabling Act of 1802. In regard to theLeni Lenape natives, Congress decided that 10,000 acres on theMuskingum River in the present state of Ohio would "be set apart and the property thereof be vested in theMoravian Brethren ... or a society of the said Brethren for civilizing the Indians and promoting Christianity".[47]
In 1776, Putnam created a method of building portable fortifications, which enabled theContinental Army to drive the British from Boston.George Washington was so impressed that he made Putnam his chief engineer. After the war, Putnam andManasseh Cutler were instrumental in creating theNorthwest Ordinance, which opened up theNorthwest Territory for settlement. This land was used to serve as compensation for what was owed to Revolutionary War veterans. Putnam organized and led theOhio Company of Associates, who settled atMarietta, Ohio, where they built a large fort,Campus Martius.[49][50][51] He set substantial amounts of land aside for schools. In 1798, he created the plan for the construction of the Muskingum Academy (nowMarietta College). In 1780, the directors of the Ohio Company appointed him superintendent of all its affairs relating to the settlement north of the Ohio River. In 1796, President George Washington commissioned him as Surveyor-General of United States Lands. In 1788, he served as a judge in the Northwest Territory's first court. In 1802, he served in the convention to form a constitution for the State of Ohio.[52][53][54]
On February 19, 1803, U.S. presidentThomas Jefferson signed an act of Congress that approved Ohio's boundaries and constitution.[55] But Congress had not passed a formal resolution admitting Ohio as the 17th state. Although no formal resolution of admission was required, when the oversight was discovered in 1953, as Ohio began preparations for celebrating its sesquicentennial, Ohio congressmanGeorge H. Bender introduced a bill in Congress to admit Ohio to the Union retroactive to March 1, 1803, the date on which theOhio General Assembly first convened.[56] At a special session at the old state capital inChillicothe, the Ohio state legislature approved a new petition for statehood, which was delivered toWashington, D.C., on horseback, and approved that August.[56][57][58]
Ohio has had three capital cities: Chillicothe,Zanesville, andColumbus. Chillicothe was the capital from 1803 to 1810. The capital was then moved to Zanesville for two years as part of a state legislative compromise to get a bill passed. The capital was then moved back to Chillicothe from 1812 to 1816. Finally, the capital was moved to Columbus, to be near the state's geographic center.
Although many Native Americans migrated west to evade American encroachment, others remained in the state, sometimes assimilating in part. Starting around 1809, theShawnee pressed resistance to encroachment again. Under ChiefTecumseh,Tecumseh's War officially began in Ohio in 1811. When theWar of 1812 began, the British decided to attack fromUpper Canada into Ohio and merge their forces with the Shawnee. This continued until Tecumseh was killed at theBattle of the Thames in 1813. Most of the Shawnee, excluding thePekowi in Southwest Ohio, were forcibly relocated west.[59] Ohio played akey role in the War of 1812, as it was on the front line in the Western theater and the scene of several notable battles both on land and inLake Erie. On September 10, 1813, theBattle of Lake Erie, one of the major battles, took place nearPut-in-Bay, Ohio. The British eventually surrendered toOliver Hazard Perry.
Ultimately, after the U.S. government used theIndian Removal Act of 1830 to force countless Native American tribes on theTrail of Tears, where all the southern states except forFlorida were successfully emptied of Native peoples, the government panicked because most tribes did not want to be forced out of their own lands. Fearing further wars between Native tribes and American settlers, they pushed all remaining Native tribes in the East to migrate west against their will, including all remaining tribes in Ohio.[60][61]
In 1835, Ohio fought with theMichigan Territory in theToledo War, a mostly bloodless boundary war over the Toledo Strip. Only one person was injured in the conflict. Congress intervened, makingMichigan's admittance as a state conditional on ending the conflict. In exchange for giving up its claim to the Toledo Strip, Michigan was given the western two-thirds of theUpper Peninsula, in addition to the eastern third, which was already considered part of the territory.
Ohio's central position and its population gave it an important place in theCivil War. The Ohio River was a vital artery for troop and supply movements, as were Ohio's railroads. Ohio's industry made it one of the most important states in the Union during the war. It contributed more soldiers per capita than any other state in the Union. In 1862, the state's morale was badly shaken in the aftermath of theBattle of Shiloh, a costly victory in which Ohio forces suffered 2,000 casualties.[62] Later that year, whenConfederate troops under the leadership ofStonewall Jackson threatened Washington, D.C., Ohio governorDavid Tod recruited 5,000 volunteers to provide three months of service.[63] From July 13 to 26, 1863, towns along the Ohio River were attacked and ransacked inMorgan's Raid, starting inHarrison in the west and culminating in theBattle of Salineville nearWest Point in the far east. While this raid was overall insignificant to the Confederacy, it aroused fear among people in Ohio andIndiana as it was the furthest advancement of troops from the South in the war.[64] Almost 35,000 Ohioans died in the conflict, and 30,000 were physically wounded.[65] By the end of the Civil War, the Union's top three generals—Ulysses S. Grant,William Tecumseh Sherman, andPhilip Sheridan—were all from Ohio.[66]
During much of the 19th century, industry was rapidly introduced to complement an existing agricultural economy. One of the first iron manufacturing plants, Hopewell Furnace, opened nearYoungstown in 1804. By the mid-19th century, 48 blast furnaces were operating in Ohio, most in the southern part of the state.[67] Discovery of coal deposits aided the further development of Ohio's steel industry, and by 1853 Cleveland was the nation's third-largest iron and steel producer. The firstBessemer converter was purchased by theCleveland Rolling Mill Company, which became part of theU.S. Steel Corporation after the merger ofFederal Steel Company andCarnegie Steel, the first billion-dollar American corporation.[67] The first open-hearth furnace used for steel production was constructed by the Otis Steel Company in Cleveland, and by 1892, Ohio was the second-largest steel-producing state, behind Pennsylvania.[67]Republic Steel was founded in Youngstown in 1899 and was at one point the nation's third-largest producer.Armco, now AK Steel, was founded inMiddletown in 1899.
The state legislature officially adopted theflag of Ohio on May 9, 1902.[68] Dayton nativesOrville and Wilbur Wright made four brief flights atKitty Hawk, North Carolina, on December 17, 1903, inventing the first successful airplane.[69] Ohio was hit by its greatest natural disaster in theGreat Flood of 1913, resulting in at least 428 fatalities and hundreds of millions of dollars in property damage, particularly around theGreat Miami River basin.[70]
During the 1930s, theGreat Depression struck the state hard. By 1933, more than 40% of factory workers and 67% of construction workers were unemployed in Ohio.[74] Approximately 50% of industrial workers in Cleveland and 80% in Toledo became unemployed, with the state unemployment rate reaching a high of 37.3%.[74] American Jews watched the rise ofNazi Germany with apprehension. Cleveland residentsJerry Siegel andJoe Shuster created theSuperman comic character in the spirit of the Jewishgolem. Many of their comics portrayed Superman fighting and defeating theNazis.[75][76] Approximately 839,000 Ohioans served in the U.S. armed forces duringWorld War II, of whom over 23,000 died or were missing in action.[77]
In 1970, anOhio Army National Guard unitfired at students during an antiwar protest atKent State University, killing four and wounding nine. The Guard had been called onto campus after several protests in and around campus became violent, including a riot in downtown Kent and the burning of anROTC building. The main cause of the protests was the United States'invasion of Cambodia during theVietnam War.[79]
Ohio was an important state in the developing ties between theUnited States and the People's Republic of China in the late 1970s and early 1980s.[80]: 59 Relations between the two countries normalized in 1979, during the second term of Ohio governorJim Rhodes.[80]: 112 Rhodes sought to encourage economic ties, viewing China as a potential market for Ohio machinery exports.[80]: 112 In July 1979, Rhodes led a State of OhioTrade Mission to China.[80]: 112 The trip resulted in developing economic ties, a sister state-province relationship withHubei province, long-running Chinese exhibitions at theOhio State Fair, and major academic exchanges between Ohio State University andWuhan University.[80]: 113 Beginning in the 1980s, the state entered into international economic and resource cooperation treaties and organizations with otherMidwestern states, as well asNew York,Pennsylvania,Ontario, andQuebec, including theGreat Lakes Charter,Great Lakes Compact, and theCouncil of Great Lakes Governors.
21st century
Ohio's economy has undergone significant change in the 21st century, as the trend ofdeindustrialization has greatly impacted theAmerican Midwest and theRust Belt. Manufacturing in the Midwest experienced a stark decline during the early 21st century,[81] a trend that greatly impacted Ohio. From 1990 to 2019, it lost over 300,000 manufacturing jobs, but added over 1,000,000 non-manufacturing jobs.[81] Coinciding with this decline, Ohio has seen a large decline in union membership: 17.4% of Ohioan workers were union members in 2000, while 12.8% were union members in 2022.[82]
In the wake of these economic changes, Ohio's state government has looked to promoting new industries to offset manufacturing losses, such as the production ofsolar energy andelectric vehicles.[83] One major program the state government launched was the "Third Frontier" program, created during the governorship ofBob Taft, which aimed to increase investment in Ohio and boost its technology sector.[84] As of 2010, the Ohio Department of Development attributes the creation of 9,500 jobs to this program, with an average salary of $65,000,[85] while having a $6.6 billion economic impact with areturn on investment of 9:1.[85] In 2010 the state won theInternational Economic Development Council's Excellence in Economic Development Award, celebrated as a national model of success.[citation needed]
Ohio's economy was also heavily afflicted by theGreat Recession, as the state'sunemployment rate rose from 5.6% in the first two months of 2008 up to a peak of 11.1% in December 2009 and January 2010.[86] It took until August 2014 for the unemployment rate to return to 5.6%.[86] From December 2007 to September 2010, Ohio lost 376,500 jobs.[87] In 2009, Ohio had 89,053 foreclosures filings, a then-record for the state.[88] The median household income dropped 7% from 2006–07 to 2008–09, and the poverty rate ballooned to 13.5% by 2009.[89] By 2015, Ohiogross domestic product was $608.1 billion, theseventh-largest economy among the 50 states.[90] In 2015, Ohio's total GDP accounted for 3.4% of U.S. GDP and 0.8% of world GDP.[90]
Politically, Ohio has been long regarded as aswing state,[91] but the success of manyRepublican candidates in Ohio since the late 2000s has led many to question whether Ohio remains an electoral battleground.[91][92][93]
On March 9, 2020, theCOVID-19 pandemic reached Ohio, with three cases reported.[94] As of February 2023, over 41,600 Ohioans have died from COVID-19.[94][95] Ohio's economy was also heavily impacted by the pandemic, as the state saw large job losses in 2020, as well as large amounts of subsequentstimulus spending.[96]
Ohio's location has proven to be an asset for economic growth and expansion. Because it links the Northeast to the Midwest, much cargo and business traffic passes through its borders along its well-developed highways. Ohio has the nation's 10th-largest highway network and is within a one-day drive of 50% of North America's population and 70% of North America's manufacturing capacity.[97] To the north, Ohio has 312 miles (502 km) of coastline with Lake Erie,[98] which allows for numerous cargo ports such as Cleveland and Toledo. Ohio's southern border is defined by theOhio River. Ohio's neighbors arePennsylvania to the east,Michigan to the northwest,Lake Erie to the north,Indiana to the west,Kentucky on the south, andWest Virginia on the southeast. Ohio's borders were defined bymetes and bounds in theEnabling Act of 1802 as follows:
Bounded on the east by the Pennsylvania line, on the south by the Ohio River, to the mouth of theGreat Miami River, on the west by the line drawn due north from the mouth of the Great Miami aforesaid, and on the north by an east and west line drawn through the southerly extreme ofLake Michigan, running east after intersecting the due north line aforesaid, from the mouth of the Great Miami until it shall intersect Lake Erie or the territorial line, and thence with the same through Lake Erie to the Pennsylvania line aforesaid.
Ohio is bounded by the Ohio River, but nearly all of the river belongs to Kentucky and West Virginia. In 1980, theU.S. Supreme Court held that, based on the wording of the cessation of territory byVirginia (which at the time included what is now Kentucky and West Virginia), the boundary between Ohio and Kentucky (and, by implication, West Virginia) is the northern low-water mark of the river as it existed in 1792.[99] Ohio has only that portion of the river between the river's 1792 low-water mark and the present high-water mark. The border with Michigan has also changed, as a result of theToledo War, to angle slightly northeast to the north shore of the mouth of the Maumee River.
Ohio's rugged southeastern quadrant, stretching in an outward bow-like arc along the Ohio River from the WestVirginia Panhandle to the outskirts of Cincinnati, forms a distinctsocioeconomic unit. Geologically similar to parts of West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania, this area's coal mining legacy, dependence on small pockets of old manufacturing establishments, and distinctive regional dialect set this section off from the rest of the state. In 1965, Congress passed theAppalachian Regional Development Act, an attempt to "address the persistent poverty and growing economic despair of the Appalachian Region".[100] It defines 29 Ohio counties as part of Appalachia.[101] While 1/3 of Ohio's land mass is part of the federally defined Appalachian region, only 12.8% of Ohioans live there (1.476 million people.)[102]
Significant Ohio rivers include theCuyahoga River,Great Miami River,Maumee River,Muskingum River, andScioto River. The rivers in northern Ohio drain into the northern Atlantic Ocean viaLake Erie and theSt. Lawrence River, and those in southern Ohio drain into theGulf of Mexico via theOhio River and theMississippi. Ohio also includesBass Islands andKelleys Island.[103]Grand Lake St. Marys in the west-central part of the state was constructed as a supply of water forcanals in the canal-building era of 1820–1850. This body of water, over 20 square miles (52 km2), was the largest artificial lake in the world when completed in 1845.[104]Ohio's canal-building projects were not the economic fiasco that similar efforts were in other states. Some cities, such as Dayton, owe their industrial emergence to their location on canals, and as late as 1910 interior canals carried much of the bulk freight of the state.
Ohio has wide variety of unique animal species. Rare and endangered species include theEastern Hellbender, which is found in the Southeastern Appalachian region of Ohio and is classified as state endangered.[106] The Eastern Hellbender is the 3rd largestamphibian in the world, and can grow up to 27 inches in length. It is fully aquatic and breathes almost entirely through its skin. Due to this, it is only found in pristine, cool, clear, fast flowing streams and rivers. It is highly threatened byhabitat loss,water pollution, andsedimentation due to logging and other human activities.[107]
The climate of Ohio is ahumid continental climate (Köppen climate classificationDfa/Dfb) throughout most of the state, except in the extreme southern counties of Ohio'sBluegrass region section, which are located on the northern periphery of thehumid subtropical climate (Cfa) andUpland South region of the United States. Summers are typically hot and humid throughout the state, while winters generally range from cool to cold. Precipitation in Ohio is moderate year-round. Severe weather is not uncommon in the state, although there are typically fewertornado reports in Ohio than in states located in what is known as theTornado Alley. Severelake effect snowstorms are also not uncommon on the southeast shore ofLake Erie, which is located in an area designated as theSnowbelt.
Although predominantly not in a subtropical climate, some warmer-climate flora and fauna do reach well into Ohio. For instance, some trees with more southern ranges, such as theblackjack oak,Quercus marilandica, are found at their northernmost in Ohio just north of the Ohio River. Also evidencing this climatic transition from a subtropical to a continental climate, several plants such as the Southern magnolia(Magnolia grandiflora),Albizia julibrissin (mimosa),Crape Myrtle, and even the occasionalNeedle Palm are hardy landscape materials regularly used as street, yard, and garden plantings in theBluegrass region of Ohio; but these same plants will simply not thrive in much of the rest of the state. This interesting change may be observed while traveling through Ohio onInterstate 75 fromCincinnati toToledo; the observant traveler of this diverse state may even catch a glimpse of Cincinnati'scommon wall lizard, one of the few examples of permanent "subtropical" fauna in Ohio.
The worst weather disaster in Ohio history occurred along the Great Miami River in 1913. Known as theGreat Dayton Flood, the entireMiami River watershed flooded, including the downtown business district ofDayton. As a result, theMiami Conservancy District was created as the first major floodplain engineering project in Ohio and the United States.[112]
Although few have registered as noticeable to the average resident, more than 200 earthquakes with amagnitude of 2.0 or higher have occurred in Ohio since 1776.[113] The Western Ohio Seismic Zone and a portion of theSouthern Great Lakes Seismic Zone are located in the state, and numerousfaults lie under the surface.[113][114]
The most substantial known earthquake in Ohio history was theAnna (Shelby County) earthquake,[115] which occurred on March 9, 1937. It was centered in western Ohio, with a magnitude of 5.4, and was ofintensity VIII.[116] Other significant earthquakes in Ohio include:[117] one of magnitude 4.8 nearLima on September 19, 1884;[118] one of magnitude 4.2 nearPortsmouth on May 17, 1901;[119] and one of 5.0 inLeRoy Township in Lake County on January 31, 1986, which continued to trigger 13 aftershocks of magnitude 0.5 to 2.4 for two months.[120][121]
Notable Ohio earthquakes in the 21st century include one occurring on December 31, 2011, approximately 4 kilometers (2.5 mi) northwest ofYoungstown,[122] and one occurring on June 10, 2019, approximately 5 kilometers (3.1 mi) north-northwest ofEastlake underLake Erie;[123] both registered a 4.0 magnitude.
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found onPhabricator and onMediaWiki.org.
Graph of Ohio's population from 1800 to 2020 census.
Population growth by county in Ohio between the 2010 and 2020 censuses.
-10 to -5 percent
-5 to -2 percent
-2 to 0 percent
0 to 2 percent
2 to 5 percent
5 to 10 percent
10 to 20 percent
More than 20 percent
As of 2011, 27.6% of Ohio's children under the age of 1 belonged to minority groups.[135] Approximately 6.2% of Ohio's population was under five years of age, 23.7% under 18 years of age, and 14.1% were 65 or older; females made up an estimated 51.2% of the population.
Since 2016, data for births ofWhite Hispanic origin are not collected, but included in oneHispanic group; persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.
In 2010, there were 469,700 foreign-born residents in Ohio, corresponding to 4.1% of the total population. Of these, 229,049 (2.0%) were naturalizedU.S. citizens and 240,699 (2.1%) were not.[12] The largest groups were:[153] Mexico (54,166), India (50,256), China (34,901), Germany (19,219), Philippines (16,410), United Kingdom (15,917), Canada (14,223), Russia (11,763), South Korea (11,307), and Ukraine (10,681). Though predominantly white, Ohio has large black populations in all major metropolitan areas throughout the state, Ohio has a significant Hispanic population made up of Mexicans in Toledo and Columbus, and Puerto Ricans in Cleveland and Columbus, and also has a significant and diverse Asian population in Columbus.
About 6.7% of the population age 5 years and older reported speaking a language other than English, with 2.2% of the population speaking Spanish, 2.6% speaking other Indo-European languages, 1.1% speaking Asian and Austronesian languages, and 0.8% speaking other languages.[12] Numerically: 10,100,586 spokeEnglish, 239,229Spanish, 55,970German, 38,990Chinese, 33,125Arabic, and 32,019French. In addition, 59,881 spoke aSlavic language and 42,673 spoke anotherWest Germanic language according to the 2010 census.[155] Ohio also had the nation's largest population ofSlovene speakers, second largest ofSlovak speakers, second largest ofPennsylvania Dutch (German) speakers, and the third largest ofSerbian speakers.[156]
According to aPew Forum poll in 2014, a majority of Ohioans, 56%, felt religion was "very important", 25% that it was "somewhat important", and 19% that religion was "not too important/not important at all". Among them, 38% of Ohioans indicate that they attend religious services at least once weekly, 32% occasionally, and 30% seldom or never.[161]
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the total number of people employed in 2016 was 4,790,178. The total number of unique employer establishments was 252,201, while the total number of non-employer establishments was 785,833.[162] In 2010, Ohio was ranked second in the country for best business climate by Site Selection magazine, based on a business-activity database.[163] The state has also won three consecutive Governor's Cup awards from the magazine, based on business growth and developments.[164] As of 2016[update], Ohio's gross domestic product (GDP) was $626 billion.[165] This ranks Ohio's economy as the seventh-largest among all 50 states andWashington, D.C.[166]
The Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council ranked the state No. 10 for best business-friendly tax systems in their Business Tax Index 2009, including a top corporate tax and capital gains rate that were both ranked No. 6 at 1.9%.[167] Ohio was ranked No. 11 by the council for best friendly-policy states according to their Small Business Survival Index 2009.[168] The Directorship's Boardroom Guide ranked the state No. 13 overall for best business climate, including No. 7 for best litigation climate.[169] Forbes ranked the state No. 8 for best regulatory environment in 2009.[170] Ohio has five of the top 115 colleges in the nation, according toU.S. News & World Report's 2010 rankings,[171] and was ranked No. 8 by the same magazine in 2008 for best high schools.[172]
Ohio'sunemployment rate stands at 4.5% as of February 2018,[173] down from 10.7% in May 2010.[174][175] The state still lacks 45,000 jobs compared to the pre-recession numbers of 2007.[176] The labor force participation as of April 2015 is 63%, slightly above the national average.[176] As of 2023[update], Ohio's per capita income was $60,402, ranking 38th in the U.S., and the state'smedian household income was $65,720.[177][178] Also in 2023, 13.4% of the population was living below the poverty line.[179]
Themanufacturing andfinancial activities sectors each compose 18.3% of Ohio's GDP, making them Ohio's largest industries by percentage of GDP.[166] Ohio has the third largest manufacturing workforce behind California and Texas.[180][181] Ohio has the largest bioscience sector in the Midwest, and is a national leader in the "green" economy. Ohio is the largest producer in the country of plastics, rubber, fabricated metals, electrical equipment, and appliances.[182] 5,212,000 Ohioans are currently employed by wage or salary.[166]
By employment, Ohio's largest sector is trade/transportation/utilities, which employs 1,010,000 Ohioans, or 19.4% of Ohio's workforce, while thehealth care and education sector employs 825,000 Ohioans (15.8%).[166] Government employs 787,000 Ohioans (15.1%), manufacturing employs 669,000 Ohioans (12.9%), and professional and technical services employs 638,000 Ohioans (12.2%).[166] Ohio's manufacturing sector is the third-largest of all fifty United States states in terms of gross domestic product.[166] Fifty-nine of the United States' top 1,000 publicly traded companies (by revenue in 2008) are headquartered in Ohio, includingProcter & Gamble,Goodyear Tire & Rubber,AK Steel,Timken,Abercrombie & Fitch, andWendy's.[183]
Ohio is also one of 41 states with its own lottery,[184] theOhio Lottery.[185] As of 2020[update], the Ohio Lottery has contributed more than $26 billion to education beginning in 1974.[186]
Income inequality in Ohio, both before and after taxes, has risen significantly since the 1970s.[187] Ohio's overall income grew in Ohio from 2009 to 2012, with an overall 7.1% increase in income growth. The top 1% had a 37.0% in income growth, while the bottom 99% grew their income by only 2.3%. The top 1% accounted for 71.9% of the overall shared income during this period.[188] The burden ofincome tax falls disproportionately on lower-incometax brackets. In 2018, the bottom 20% of earners contributed 12.3% of their income towards various taxes, while the top 1% only paid 6.5%.[189]
Culture
Art
With about 770,000 annual visitors, theCleveland Museum of Art is among the most visited art museums in the United States.[190]
Ohio is home to 30 art institutions, including the Columbus Museum of Art, Cincinnati Art Museum, Cleveland Museum of Art, and other entities. The full list includes:
TheCleveland Museum of Art is internationally renowned for its substantial holdings ofAsian andEgyptian art, and has a permanent collection of more than 61,000 works from around the world.[191] It is the fourth-wealthiest art museum in the United States.[192]
Cincinnati-style chili is a Greek-inspired meat sauce used as a topping for spaghetti or hot dogs. Additionally, red beans, chopped onions, and shredded cheese are offered as extra toppings referred to as "ways."[198] German immigrants in Cincinnati inventedgoetta, a breakfast sausage made of meat scraps, spices, and oats. It is typically eaten fried.[199][200][201]
ThePolish Boy, “the signature sandwich of Cleveland”,[202] is akielbasa sausage topped with coleslaw, French fries, and barbecue sauce and served on a bun.[203]
Johnny Marzetti is acasserole dish thought to have originated from Columbus and consisting of some variation of noodles, ground beef, tomatoes, and cheese.[204][205]
Ohio played a central role in the development of both Major League Baseball and the National Football League. Baseball's first fully professional team, theCincinnati Red Stockings of 1869, were organized in Ohio.[219] An informal early-20th-century American football association, theOhio League, was the direct predecessor of the modern NFL, although neither of Ohio's modern NFL franchises trace their roots to an Ohio League club. The NFL itself was founded inCanton in 1920 as the American Professional Football Conference.[71] The first official game occurred on October 3, 1920, when theDayton Triangles beat theColumbus Panhandles 14–0 in Dayton.[72] Canton was enshrined as the home of thePro Football Hall of Fame in 1963.[73]
Ohio has eightNCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football teams, divided among three differentconferences. It has also experienced considerable success in the secondary and tertiary tiers of college football divisions.
In order to be enacted into law, a bill must be adopted by both houses of the General Assembly and signed by the governor. If the governor vetoes a bill, the General Assembly can override the veto with a three-fifths supermajority of both houses. A bill will also become a law if the governor fails to sign or veto it within 10 days of its being presented. Thesession laws are published in the officialLaw of Ohio.[232] These in turn have beencodified in theOhio Revised Code.[233] The General Assembly, with the approval of the governor, draws the U.S. congressional district lines for Ohio's 16 seats in theUnited States House of Representatives. TheOhio Apportionment Board draws state legislative district lines in Ohio.
There are three levels of the Ohio statejudiciary. The lowest is the court of common pleas: each county maintains its own constitutionally mandated court of common pleas, which maintain jurisdiction over "all justiciable matters".[234] The intermediate-level court system is the district court system.[235] Twelve courts of appeals exist, each retaining jurisdiction over appeals from common pleas, municipal, and county courts in a set geographical area.[234] A case heard in this system is decided by a three-judge panel, and each judge is elected.[234]
The state's highest-ranking court is theOhio Supreme Court.[236] A seven-justice panel composes the court, which, by its owndiscretion, hears appeals from the courts of appeals, and retains original jurisdiction over limited matters.[237]
There are also several levels of local government in Ohio:counties, municipalities (cities andvillages),townships, special districts, and school districts.
Ohio is divided into 88 counties.[238] Ohio law defines a structure for county government, although they may adopt charters for home rule.[239][240]Summit County[239] andCuyahoga County[241] have chosen an alternate form of government. The other counties have a government with a three-member board of county commissioners,[242] a sheriff,[243] coroner,[244] auditor,[245] treasurer,[246] clerk of the court of common pleas[247] prosecutor,[248] engineer,[249] and recorder.[250]
There are two kinds of incorporated municipalities, 251 cities and 681 villages.[239][251][252] If a municipality has five thousand or more residents as of the lastUnited States Census it is a city, otherwise it is a village.[239][253] Municipalities have full home rule powers, may adopt a charter, ordinances and resolutions for self-government.[254] Each municipality chooses its own form of government, but most have elected mayors and city councils or city commissions. City governments provide much more extensive services than county governments, such as police forces and paid (as opposed to volunteer) fire departments.
The entire area of the state is encompassed by townships.[239] When the boundaries of a township are coterminous with the boundaries of a city or village, the township ceases to exist as a separate government (called apaper township).[239] Townships are governed by a three-member board of township trustees.[239] Townships may have limited home rule powers.[255]
There are more than 600 city, local, and exempted village school districts providing K-12 education in Ohio, as well as about four dozen joint vocation school districts, which are separate from the K-12 districts. Each city school district, local school district, or exempted village school district is governed by an elected board of education.[239] A school district previously under state supervision (municipal school district) may be governed by a board whose members either are elected or appointed by the mayor of the municipality containing the greatest portion of the district's area.[239]
HistorianR. Douglas Hurt asserts that not sinceVirginia "had a state made such a mark on national political affairs" as Ohio.[257]The Economist notes that "This slice of the mid-west contains a bit of everything American—part north-eastern and part southern, part urban and part rural, part hardscrabble poverty and part booming suburb".[258]
Ohio is considered a moderatelyRepublican-leaning state politically.[91][259][260] It had been aswing state in the late 20th and early 21st centuries; this status was called into question after the state voted for RepublicanDonald Trump at larger margins than the nation as a whole in the2016,2020 and2024 presidential elections.[261][262] It is also considered abellwether state.[263][264] Since1896, Ohio has had only three misses in the general election (1944,1960,2020) and had the longest perfect streak of any state, voting for the winning presidential candidate in each election from1964 to2016 and in 34 of the 39 held since theAmerican Civil War. No Republican has ever won the presidency without winning Ohio.
As of 2024, there are more than 8 million registered Ohioan voters, of which over 70% are not affiliated with any political party. They are disproportionate in age, with a million more over 65 than there are 18- to 24-year-olds.[265] Since the2010 midterm elections, Ohio's voter demographic has leaned towards the Republican Party.[266]
The governor,Mike DeWine, is Republican, as are all other non-judicial statewide elected officials. In theOhio State Senate the Republicans are the majority, 25–8, and in theOhio House of Representatives the Republicans control the delegation 64–35.
In a 2020 study, Ohio was ranked as the 17th hardest state for citizens to vote in.[271] Since 1994, the state has had a policy of purging infrequent voters from its rolls. In April 2016, a lawsuit was filed, challenging this policy on the grounds that it violated theNational Voter Registration Act (NVRA) of 1993[272] and theHelp America Vote Act of 2002.[273] In June, the federal district court ruled for the plaintiffs and entered a preliminary injunction applicable only to the November 2016 election. The preliminary injunction was upheld in September by theCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Had it not been upheld, thousands of voters would have been purged from the rolls just a few weeks before the election.[272][274]
Oberlin College in northeast Ohio was the first college in the US to admit women.[276]
Ohio's system ofpublic education is outlined in Article VI of thestate constitution, and in Title XXXIII of theOhio Revised Code. Substantively, Ohio's system is similar to those found inother states. At the State level, theOhio Department of Education governs primary and secondary educational institutions. At the municipal level, there are approximately 700 school districts statewide. TheOhio Board of Regents coordinates and assists with Ohio's institutions of higher education.
Ohio is home to several public and private institutions of higher learning. Prior to statehood, theNorthwest Ordinance of 1787 included a provision to establish an institution of higher education in the region, resulting in the establishment ofOhio University in 1804 as Ohio's first college.[277][278][279] TheUniversity System of Ohio includes all of Ohio's public institutions of higher education. It includes 14 four-yearresearch universities, 24 branch and regional campuses, and 23community colleges andtechnical colleges.Ohio State University is the largest of the system, with over 60,000 students at its main campus in Columbus.[275]
Kenyon College is the state's oldest privateliberal arts college, established in 1824 by anEpiscopal bishop to train clergy on the Ohio frontier.Oberlin College, established in 1833, was among the earliest colleges in the US to admit African Americans in 1835, and became the first to admit women in 1837.[276]
TheOhioLINK library consortium provides Ohio's college and university libraries with mutual access to their collections. The program allows researchers access to books and other media that might not be otherwise available.CLEVNET, another major library consortium, is based at the Cleveland Public Library and includes 47 public library systems in Northeast Ohio.[282]
Transportation
Map of Ohio showing Interurban Railwaysc. 1907Ohio welcome sign in 2019
Many major east–west transportation corridors go through Ohio. One of those pioneer routes, known in the early 20th century as "Main Market Route 3", was chosen in 1913 to become part of the historicLincoln Highway which was the first road across America, connecting New York City to San Francisco. In Ohio, the Lincoln Highway linked many towns and cities together, includingCanton,Mansfield,Wooster,Lima, andVan Wert. The Lincoln Highway's arrival in Ohio was a major influence on the state's development. Upon the advent of the federal numbered highway system in 1926, the Lincoln Highway through Ohio becameU.S. Route 30.
Ohio has a highly developed network of signed state bicycle routes. Many of them followrail trails, with conversion ongoing. TheOhio to Erie Trail (route 1) connects Cincinnati, Columbus, and Cleveland.U.S. Bicycle Route 50 traverses Ohio fromSteubenville to the Indiana state line outsideRichmond.[283]
Ohio has several long-distance hiking trails, the most prominent of which is theBuckeye Trail, which extends 1,444 mi (2,324 km) in a loop around the state. Part of it is on roads and part on wooded trail. Additionally, theNorth Country Trail (the longest of the 11National Scenic Trails authorized byCongress) and theAmerican Discovery Trail (a system of recreational trails and roads that collectively form a coast-to-coast route across the mid-tier of theUnited States) pass through Ohio. Much of these two trails coincide with the Buckeye Trail.
^According to the U.S. Census,[7] Greater Columbus is the largestMetropolitan statistical area (MSA) that isentirely within Ohio, with a population of 2,078,725; and Greater Cincinnati is the largest MSA that isat least partially within Ohio, with a population of 2,179,082, approximately 25% of which is in Indiana or Kentucky. Which MSA is the largestin Ohio depends on the context.
^"Native Ohio".American Indian Studies.Ohio State University. Archived fromthe original on February 2, 2007. RetrievedFebruary 25, 2007.Ohio comes from the Seneca (Iroquoian) ohiiyo' 'good river'
^White, Richard (1991).The Middle Ground: Indians, Empires, and Republics in the Great Lakes Region, 1650–1815. Cambridge University Press. p. 256.ISBN0-521-42460-7.
^Hubbard, Robert Ernest.General Rufus Putnam: George Washington's Chief Military Engineer and the "Father of Ohio," pp. 1–4, McFarland & Company, Inc., Jefferson, North Carolina.ISBN978-1-4766-7862-7.
^Hubbard, Robert Ernest.General Rufus Putnam: George Washington's Chief Military Engineer and the "Father of Ohio," pp. 2–4, 45–8,105–18, McFarland & Company, Inc., Jefferson, North Carolina.ISBN978-1-4766-7862-7.
^Hildreth, Samuel Prescott.Biographical and Historical Memoirs of the Early Pioneer Settlers of Ohio, pp. 34–7, 63–74, Badgley Publishing Company, 2011.ISBN978-0-615-50189-5.
^McCullough, David.The Pioneers: The Heroic Story of the Settlers Who Brought the American Ideal West, pp. 46–7, Simon & Schuster, Inc., New York, New York, 2019.ISBN978-1-5011-6870-3.
^Hubbard, Robert Ernest.General Rufus Putnam: George Washington's Chief Military Engineer and the "Father of Ohio," pp. 127–50, McFarland & Company, Inc., Jefferson, North Carolina.ISBN978-1-4766-7862-7.
^Hildreth, Samuel Prescott.Biographical and Historical Memoirs of the Early Pioneer Settlers of Ohio, pp. 69, 71, 81, 82, Badgley Publishing Company, 2011.ISBN978-0-615-50189-5.
^McCullough, David.The Pioneers: The Heroic Story of the Settlers Who Brought the American Ideal West, pp. 143–7, Simon & Schuster, Inc., New York, New York, 2019.ISBN978-1-5011-6870-3.
^An act to provide for the due execution of the laws of the United States, within the state of Ohio, ch. 7, 2 Stat.201 (February 19, 1803).
^abU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (January 1, 1976)."Unemployment Rate in Ohio".FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.Archived from the original on February 21, 2023. RetrievedFebruary 21, 2023.
^Ellerbrock, Matthew; Demko, Iryna; Lendel, Iryna; Henrichsen, Erica (March 1, 2021)."Economic Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Ohio".All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications:1–7.Archived from the original on April 5, 2023. RetrievedFebruary 22, 2023.
^"GCT-T1 Ohio County Population Estimates—2005", The United States Census Bureau, retrieved January 3, 2006. True summation of Ohio Appalachia counties population (1,476,384) obtained by adding the 29 individual county populations together (July 1, 2005, data). Percentage obtained by dividing that number into that table's estimate of Ohio population as of July 1, 2005 (11,464,042)
^Hamilton, B. E.; Martin, J. A.; Osterman, M. J.K.; Curtin, S. C.; Mathews, T.J. (January 15, 2015)."National Vital Statistics Reports"(PDF).Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Volume 64, Number 1.Archived(PDF) from the original on September 11, 2017. RetrievedJune 10, 2017.
^Hamilton, B. E.; Martin, J. A.; Osterman, M. J.K.; Curtin, S. C.; Mathews, T.J. (December 23, 2015)."National Vital Statistics Reports"(PDF).Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Volume 64, Number 12.Archived(PDF) from the original on February 14, 2017. RetrievedJune 10, 2017.
^Hamilton, B. E.; Martin, J. A.; Osterman, M. J.K.; Driscoll, A. K.; Mathews, T.J. (January 5, 2017)."National Vital Statistics Reports"(PDF).Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Volume 66, Number 1.Archived(PDF) from the original on August 31, 2017. RetrievedJune 10, 2017.
^Hamilton, B. E.; Martin, J. A.; Osterman, M. J.K.; Driscoll, A. K.; Drake, P. (January 31, 2018)."National Vital Statistics Reports"(PDF).Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Volume 67, Number 1.Archived(PDF) from the original on June 3, 2018. RetrievedMay 7, 2018.
^Hamilton, B. E.; Martin, J. A.; Osterman, M. J.K.; Driscoll, A. K.; Drake, P. (November 7, 2018)."National Vital Statistics Reports"(PDF).Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Volume 67, Number 8.Archived(PDF) from the original on February 1, 2019. RetrievedFebruary 21, 2019.
^Hamilton, B. E.; Martin, J. A.; Osterman, M. J. K.; Driscoll, A. K. (November 27, 2019)."National Vital Statistics Reports"(PDF).Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Volume 68, Number 13.Archived(PDF) from the original on November 28, 2019. RetrievedDecember 21, 2019.
^Hamilton, B. E.; Martin, J. A.; Osterman, M. J.K.; Driscoll, A. K. (March 23, 2021)."National Vital Statistics Reports"(PDF).Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Volume 70, Number 2.Archived(PDF) from the original on March 24, 2021. RetrievedApril 1, 2021.
^Hamilton, B. E.; Martin, J. A.; Osterman, M. J.K.; Driscoll, A. K.; Valenzuela, C. P. (February 7, 2022)."National Vital Statistics Reports"(PDF).Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Volume 70, Number 17.Archived(PDF) from the original on February 10, 2022. RetrievedFebruary 20, 2022.
^Hamilton, B. E.; Martin, J. A.; Osterman, M. J.K.; Driscoll, A. K.; Valenzuela, C. P. (January 31, 2023)."National Vital Statistics Reports"(PDF).Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Volume 72, Number 1.Archived(PDF) from the original on February 1, 2023. RetrievedFebruary 3, 2022.
^"Data"(PDF).www.cdc.gov.Archived(PDF) from the original on April 4, 2024. RetrievedApril 5, 2024.
^"Amish Population Profile, 2020".Elizabethtown College, the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies. August 18, 2019. Archived fromthe original on January 11, 2021. RetrievedFebruary 5, 2021.
^"Bureau of Economic Analysis".Bea.gov. US Department of Commerce, BEA, Bureau of Economic Analysis.Archived from the original on August 31, 2017. RetrievedMarch 10, 2018.
^abcdef"Economic Overview"(PDF). Ohio Department of Development. February 2009. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on March 26, 2009. RetrievedMarch 31, 2009.
^Account, Economic (March 29, 2024)."Personal Income by State".U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).Archived from the original on May 20, 2024. RetrievedMay 24, 2024.
^abAnn Heinrichs (January 1, 2003).Ohio. Capstone. p. 42.ISBN978-0-7565-0316-1.Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. RetrievedJune 16, 2015.
^Special Committee on U.S. Route Numbering (May 29, 2014)."Report to SCOH" (Report). Washington, DC: American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. Archived fromthe original(DOCX) on February 26, 2020. RetrievedJune 1, 2014.
Bibliography
Profiles of Ohio: history, statistics, demographics for all 1,339 populated places in Ohio, with detailed state and government histories, plus comparative statistics & rankings. (6th ed. Grey House Publishing, 2021). 828ppISBN1-64265-827-8; covers 88 counties, 248 cities and 689 villages.
Cayton, Andrew R. L. (2002).Ohio: The History of a People. Columbus, OH: The Ohio State University Press.ISBN0-8142-0899-1
Kern, Kevin F., and Gregory S. Wilson. (2013)Ohio: A History of the Buckeye State (Wiley-Blackwell, 2013), 544pp
Knepper, George W. (1989).Ohio and Its People. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press.ISBN978-0-87338-791-0
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