Garfield Heights is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. The population was 29,781 at the time of the 2020 census. A suburb of

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

, it is a part of the Cleveland metropolitan area. In 2025, the City of Garfield Heights was named as a Top 25 Best Suburbs of Cleveland, OH.

History

The area was originally part of Newburgh Township. The Village of South Newburgh was formed in 1907, and it was incorporated as Garfield Heights in 1930. The city is named after Garfield Park, which in turn was named in honor of President James A. Garfield, a native of nearby Orange Township.

Geography

Garfield Heights is located at (41.421423, -81.602682). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. The elevation of Garfield Heights is above sea level where it borders

, and its highest elevation is above sea level at the Garfield Heights Justice Center.

Demographics

The ethnic groups of Garfield Heights include Poles, Slovenes, Italians, Irish, and African-Americans. 93.4% spoke English, 2.8% Polish, 1.2% Italian, and 1.2% Spanish.

2020 census

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 28,849 people, 11,691 households, and 7,393 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 13,125 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 60.2%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 35.7%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.2% Native American, 1.3% Asian, 0.6% from other races, and 2.1% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 2.3% of the population. There were 11,691 households, of which 32.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.5% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 21.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 36.8% were non-families. 31.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 3.08. The median age in the city was 38.5 years. 25% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 25.1% were from 25 to 44; 26% were from 45 to 64; and 15.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 46.0% male and 54.0% female.

Economy

Marymount Hospital, part of the

Cleveland Clinic Cleveland Clinic is an American Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Academic health science center, academic Medical centers in the United States, medical center based in Cleveland, Ohio. Owned and operated by the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, an O ...

system, is the city's largest employer. The

Ohio Department of Transportation The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT; ) is the administrative department of the government of Ohio, Ohio state government responsible for developing and maintaining all state and U.S. roadways outside of municipalities and all List of In ...

has its District 12 headquarters in the city. In 2007, Garfield Heights and its neighbor Maple Heights were mentioned by

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

/ ''Money'' as two of America's most affordable communities. The Garfield Heights Chamber of Commerce was established in the 1960s and includes over 250 business members from the area. Chart Industries, a gas tank manufacturer, has its world headquarters located in Garfield Heights. The Ohio Catholic Federal Credit Union, one of the largest credit unions in Ohio, is based in Garfield Heights. As of 2011, it had 17,456 members and $155 million in assets. Garfield Heights is the site of the Highland Park, formerly City View Center that once was a planned regional power center built upon a former landfill in the mid-2000s. In 2020, the development was purchased from receivership and revitalized by Industrial Commercial Properties, Inc. In 2021, Mayor Matt Burke along with former Mayors Vic Collova and Thomas J. Longo, stood with Industrial Commercial Properties to cut the ribbon for the first new corporations to open in Highland Park including MPAC Switchback, MTech, Innoplast and Thermoprene.

Government

Garfield Heights has seven wards and a mayor-council form of government. The city's charter went into effect in 1956. The city also has a municipal court that serves several jurisdictions. The council president is selected by members of city council. If the mayor's seat is vacated, the council president would assume the duties, according to the city charter.

Mayors of Garfield Heights

Public safety

The city maintains its own police and fire departments. The city has a network of emergency warning sirens. The sirens are routinely tested at noon on the first Saturday of every month. A

Community Emergency Response Team In the United States, Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) can refer to * an implementation of Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA's National CERT Program, administered by a local sponsoring agency, which provides a standardized training ...

is in place. Garfield Heights uses

traffic signal preemption Traffic signal preemption (also called traffic signal prioritisation) is a system that allows an operator to override the normal operation of traffic lights. The most common use of these systems manipulates traffic signals in the path of an emerg ...

. In 2021, at the direction of Mayor Matt Burke and newly appointed Chief Mark Kaye, the city began a comprehensive Crime Reduction Plan. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine awarded $1.3 Million to the Garfield Heights Police Department through the Ohio Violent Crime Grant Reduction Program. The Garfield Heights Police Department installed a city-wide camera surveillance system, the Flock system, a comprehensive Drone Unit and most effectively, a Target Enforcement Unit. By 2023, the Garfield Heights Police Department reported a reduction of 33%.

Parks and recreation

The Dan Kostel Recreation Center is located on Turney Road at the Civic Center complex and includes an outdoor swimming pool open during summer season only and an indoor ice skating rink.City of Garfield Heights Parks and Recreation. http://www.garfieldhts.org/parks--recreation Garfield Park Reservation, part of the regional Cleveland Metroparks system, is located in the Northeast corner of Garfield Heights on its border with

. Wargo Farms, a 45 acre area of land was sold to the Cleveland Metroparks in 2023 to preserve green space and create walking trails and recreation. In 2024, Garfield Park Reservation's newly restored Boathouse and Pond was unveiled at a ceremony with Mayor Matt Burke and Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne.

Education

Garfield Heights has its own

public school system A state school, public school, or government school is a primary or secondary school that educates all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in part by taxation and operated by the government of the state. State-funded schools ar ...

comprising three elementary schools, one middle school, and one

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

. It is governed by a five-member elected board. There are two Catholic schools in the city; St. Benedict and

Trinity High School Trinity High School is the name of high schools: United Kingdom * Trinity High School, Renfrew, Renfrewshire, Scotland * Trinity High School, Rutherglen, Lanarkshire, Scotland * Trinity High School and Sixth Form Centre, in Redditch, England * Trin ...

. In 2001, Garfield Heights voters approved a levy to build a new high school. Construction of the school began soon thereafter and was completed in mid-2003. In 2006, ground was broken for the construction of the high school arts and drama complex, a $5 million building. Construction of the 750-seat Garfield Heights Matousek Center for the Performing Arts started in November 2006. The performing arts center opened on November 3, 2007. In 2010–11 school year both Elmwood Elementary and Maple Leaf Intermediate were renovated and Maple Leaf School gained more classrooms and a bigger gym. Maple Leaf School is the Garfield Heights City School District's oldest building built in 1925 and was the smallest until the current reconstruction.

Media

Garfield Heights is served by the Cleveland television stations and numerous cable and satellite providers. The ''Cleveland Plain Dealer'', and the ''Neighborhood News-Garfield Heights Tribune'' (published each Wednesday) are the main newspapers.

Notable people

Steve Bartek Steve Bartek (born January 30, 1952, in Garfield Heights, Ohio) is an American guitarist, film composer, conductor, and orchestrator. He is best known as the lead guitarist in the band Oingo Boingo and for his orchestration work with composer ...

, American guitarist, film composer, conductor * James Jude Courtney, American actor and stunt performer * William A. Foster, earned the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

* Dennis Fryzel, last football coach at the

University of Tampa The University of Tampa (UTampa, UT or Tampa U) is a private university in Tampa, Florida. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. UTampa offers more than 200 programs of study, including 19 master's degrees and a br ...

DeJuan Groce DeJuan Anthony Groce (born February 17, 1980) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Nebraska Cornhuskers. He earned first-team All-Ameri ...

, cornerback in the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

* Dale Miller, former Ohio State Senator * Gene Mruczkowski, former NFL offensive lineman and Super Bowl champ with the New England Patriots * Scott Mruczkowski, former football center for the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

* Phil Pozderac, former NFL offensive lineman and Super Bowl champ with the Dallas Cowboys * Jerry Schuplinski, former NFL QB and quality control coach for New England Patriots, Miami Dolphins and New York Giants * David J. Skal, American cultural historian, critic, writer * Wilma Smith, former Cleveland news anchor * James Glenwright Unger, American hockey player

Surrounding communities

References

* Garfield Heights History c. 1976 Garfield Heights Historical Society
Garfield Heights city data
at City-data.com
Cuyahoga Public Library - History of Garfield Heights Library

External links

* {{authority control Cities in Ohio Cities in Cuyahoga County, Ohio Populated places established in 1786 Polish communities in the United States Cleveland metropolitan area 1786 establishments in the Northwest Territory