Summit County is an urban

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

in the U.S. state of

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 540,428, making it the fourth-most populous county in Ohio. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...

and largest city is Akron. The county was formed on March 3, 1840, from portions of Medina, Portage and Stark Counties. It was named Summit County because the highest elevation on the

Ohio and Erie Canal The Ohio and Erie Canal was a canal constructed during the 1820s and early 1830s in Ohio. It connected Akron with the Cuyahoga River near its outlet on Lake Erie in Cleveland, and a few years later, with the Ohio River near Portsmouth. It a ...

is located in the county. Summit County is part of the Akron, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH Combined Statistical Area.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.7%) is water. The largest portion of Cuyahoga Valley National Park is located in the northern part of the county. The southern border of the former Connecticut Western Reserve passes through the southern part of the county, leading to jogs in the east and west borders of the county.

Major highways

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Adjacent counties

* Cuyahoga County - northwest * Geauga County - northeast * Portage County - east * Stark County - south * Wayne County - southwest * Medina County - west

National protected area

* Cuyahoga Valley National Park (also extends north into Cuyahoga County)

Government

Summit County, along with Cuyahoga County, is one of two of Ohio's 88 counties that have a

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the re ...

government, as authorized by Article X of the

Ohio Constitution The Constitution of the State of Ohio is the basic governing document of the State of Ohio, which in 1803 became the 17th state to join the United States of America. Ohio has had three constitutions since statehood was granted. Ohio was crea ...

. Under its charter, rather than three elected commissioners, Summit County has an elected County Executive and an eleven-member County Council. Eight members of the council are elected from individual districts; the other three are elected at large. Summit County also has an appointed Medical Examiner rather than an elected Coroner, and an elected Fiscal Officer, who exercises the powers and performs the duties of a county auditor, treasurer and recorder. The remaining officials are similar to the officials in other counties. They include the following: Summit County Ohio Sheriffs Office SWAT vehicle

Summit County Ohio Sheriffs Office SWAT vehicle

* Clerk of Courts - Sandra Kurt (D) (elected) * Prosecuting Attorney - Sherri Bevan Walsh (D) (elected) * Engineer - Alan Brubaker (D) (elected) * Sheriff - Kandy Fatheree (D) (elected) * Fiscal Officer - Kristen Scalise (D) (elected) Summit County currently has 14 Common Pleas judges. They are: * Kelly McLaughlin (D), * Kathryn Michael (D), * Christine Croce (R), * Jennifer Towell (D), * Alison McCarty (R), * Tammy O'Brien (R), * Joy Oldfield (D), * Mary Margaret Rowlands (D), * Alison Breaux (D) * Susan Baker Ross (D) * Linda Tucci Teodosio (D) (Juvenile Court Judge) * Katarina Cook (R) (Domestic Relations Judge) * Susan Steinhauer (R) (Domestic Relations Judge) * Elinore Marsh Stormer (D) (Probate Judge)

Summit County Council

Summit County has an 11-member council. Three members are elected at-large in mid-term cycles, while eight members are elected from districts coinciding with the Presidential election. The current members of Summit County Council are: * Erin Dickinson (D) (at-large) * Elizabeth Walters (D) (at-large) * John Donofrio (D) (at-large) * Rita Darrow (D) (District 1) * John Schmidt (D) (District 2) * Gloria Rodgers (R) (District 3) ** Jeff Wilhite (D) (District 4) * Veronica Sims (D) (District 5) * Christine Higham (D) (District 6) * Beth McKenney (R) (District 7) *

Anthony Devitis Anthony DeVitis (born July 14, 1965) is a politician who was in the Ohio House of Representatives, representing the 36th District from his election in November 2012 until January 1, 2021. He was appointed to represent the 43rd District in Decembe ...

(R) (District 8) * Indicates Council President

County Executives

* John R. Morgan, 1981–1989 * Tim Davis, 1989–2001 * James B. McCarthy (D), 2001–2007 * Russell M. Pry (D), 2007-2016 *

Ilene Shapiro Ilene Shapiro (born 1947) is an American businessperson and politician. She has served as the Executive of Summit County, Ohio since August 1, 2016. Her predecessor Russell M. Pry died in office on July 31, 2016. She was elected in 2016 and ...

(D), 2016–present

Demographics

2010 census

As of the 2010 Census, there were 541,781 people, 222,781 households, and 141,110 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 245,109 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 80.6% white, 14.4% black or African American, 2.2% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.5% from other races, and 2.1% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.6% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 24.9% were

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

, 15.3% were Irish, 10.6% were

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

, 10.1% were Italian, 5.1% were Polish, and 4.5% were

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

. Of the 222,781 households, 29.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.3% were married couples living together, 13.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 36.7% were non-families, and 30.0% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.98. The median age was 40.0 years. The median income for a household in the county was $47,926 and the median income for a family was $62,271. Males had a median income of $47,892 versus $35,140 for females. The per capita income for the county was $26,676. About 10.0% of families and 13.8% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 19.8% of those under age 18 and 8.0% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Like much of Northeast Ohio, Summit is heavily Democratic. It has only voted Republican three times since 1932, all in national Republican landslides– Dwight D. Eisenhower's 1956 victory, and the 49-state sweeps by

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

and

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

in 1972 and 1984, respectively.

Education

Summit County Ohio and Surrounding Areas School DIstrict Map

School districts

School districts in Ohio do not strictly follow city corporation limits or township borders. Many of the school districts in Summit County overlap community borders. Below is a list of all public school districts in the county. *

Akron Public School District Akron Public Schools is a school district serving students in Akron, Ohio, United States, and nearby communities. It is located in the northeastern part of Ohio, less than south of Cleveland and north of Canton. The district encompasses an ...

Revere Local School District The Revere Local School District is a school district located in northeastern Ohio, between the cities of Akron and Cleveland, that was formed in the early 1950s after the communities of Bath and Richfield voted to combine their two smaller sch ...

* Copley–Fairlawn City School District *

Woodridge Local School District Woodridge Local School District is a public school district in Northeast Ohio, covering most of Peninsula and parts of Akron and Cuyahoga Falls Cuyahoga Falls ( or ) is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2020 census ...

* Hudson City School District * Stow-Munroe Falls City School District * Cuyahoga Falls City School District * Tallmadge City School District * Mogadore Local School District * Springfield Local School District * Coventry Local School District * Green Local School District * Manchester Local School District * Barberton City School District * Norton City School District * Twinsburg City School District * Nordonia Hills City School District

Colleges and universities

University of Akron The University of Akron is a public research university in Akron, Ohio. It is part of the University System of Ohio. As a STEM-focused institution, it focuses on industries such as polymers, advanced materials, and engineering. It is classifie ...

, Akron * Kent State University Twinsburg Academic Center, Twinsburg
Stark State College Akron

Recreation

* Summit Metro Parks

Communities

Cities

* Akron (county seat) * Barberton *

Cuyahoga Falls Cuyahoga Falls ( or ) is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 51,114. The second-largest city in Summit County, it is located directly north of Akron and is a suburb of the Akron metropol ...

* Fairlawn *

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combin ...

* Hudson * Macedonia * Munroe Falls * New Franklin * Norton (partly in Wayne County) * Reminderville * Stow * Tallmadge * Twinsburg

Villages

* Boston Heights * Clinton * Lakemore *

Mogadore Essaouira ( ; ar, الصويرة, aṣ-Ṣawīra; shi, ⵜⴰⵚⵚⵓⵔⵜ, Taṣṣort, formerly ''Amegdul''), known until the 1960s as Mogador, is a port city in the western Moroccan region of Marakesh-Safi, on the Atlantic coast. It ha ...

Northfield Northfield may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Northfield, Aberdeen, Scotland * Northfield, Edinburgh, Scotland * Northfield, Birmingham, England * Northfield (Kettering BC Ward), Northamptonshire, England United States * Northfield, Connect ...

Peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on a ...

* Richfield * Silver Lake

Townships

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

* Copley *

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

* Northfield Center * Richfield * Sagamore Hills * Springfield * Twinsburg

Defunct townships

* Franklin *

* Hudson * Norton *

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England ...

Portage Portage or portaging (Canada: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a ...

* Stow

Census-designated places

* Montrose-Ghent * Pigeon Creek * Portage Lakes * Sawyerwood * Twinsburg Heights

Unincorporated communities

* Botzum * Brandywine *

Comet A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena ...

* Copley * Everett *

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded i ...

* Greensburg * Montrose * Myersville * Western Star

References

External links

Official Summit County page

Akron-Summit Convention and Visitors Bureau

Summit Memory
an online scrapbook capturing the history of Summit County, Ohio by the Akron-Summit County Public Library {{Coord, 41.13, -81.53, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-OH_source:UScensus1990 1840 establishments in Ohio Populated places established in 1840