Summit County is an urban
county
A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
located in the northeast region of the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...
of
Ohio
Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
. 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 parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
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 is 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, 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 county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.7%) is water.
The largest portion of
Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Cuyahoga Valley National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States in Ohio that reclaims and preserves the industrial, commercial, and rural landscape along the Cuyahoga River between Akron, Ohio, ...
is 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
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Adjacent counties
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Cuyahoga Countynorthwest
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Geauga Countynortheast
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Portage Countyeast
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Stark Countysouth
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Wayne Countysouthwest
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Medina Countywest
National protected area
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Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Cuyahoga Valley National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States in Ohio that reclaims and preserves the industrial, commercial, and rural landscape along the Cuyahoga River between Akron, Ohio, ...
(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 ...
government, as authorized by Article X of the
Ohio Constitution. 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:

* Clerk of courts
Tavia Galonski (D) (elected)
* Prosecuting attorneyElliot Kolkovich (D) (elected)
* EngineerAlan Brubaker (D) (elected)
* SheriffKandy Fatheree (D) (elected)
* Fiscal officerKristen 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)
* Kani Hightower (D) (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 midterm 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)
* David Licate (D) (District 3)
* Jeff Wilhite (D) (District 4)
* Brandon Ford (D) (District 5)
* Christine Higham (D) (District 6)
* Beth McKenney (R) (District 7)
* Joseph Kacyon (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
[Pry died in office on July 31, 2016, at age 58. ]
*
Ilene Shapiro (D), 2016–present
Politics
Like much of Northeast Ohio, Summit is heavily Democratic. It has voted Republican only three times since 1932, all in national Republican landslides–
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...
'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 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
and
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...
in 1972 and 1984, respectively.
Overall, the county long-term has trended red since 1988, due to both Ohio's increasingly Republican political environment and a pronounced trend occurring across Donald Trump's three Republican candidacies starting with a sudden 7.13% swing to the right in 2016. In contrast, the leftward swing and John Kerry's substantial margin in the Democratic stronghold even amidst a national loss contributed to Ohio being the tipping-point state in 2004. Even in losing years, Democrats could count on Summit's reliably large margins contributing to closer overall statewide results and Ohio's swing state status. From 1992 to 2012, Democratic strength was such that only twice did Summit County swing to the right, with Barack Obama's margins of victory in the county even averaging 1.14% greater than Bill Clinton's, showing an overall Democratic trend over the years initially. Trump's campaigns dramatically reduced the average Democratic margin to 8.43%, only briefly interrupted by a 1% swing to the left amid Joe Biden's 2020 victory sandwiched in the rightward trend.
Demographics
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 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, 15.3% were
Irish, 10.6% were
English, 10.1% were
Italian, 5.1% were
Polish, and 4.5% were
American.
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.
Education
Colleges and universities
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University of Akron
The University of Akron is a public university, public research university in Akron, Ohio, United States. It is part of the University System of Ohio. As a STEM fields, STEM-focused institution, it focuses on industries such as polymers, advance ...
, Akron
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Kent State University Twinsburg Academic Center, Twinsburg
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Stark State College Akron
Recreation
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Summit Metro Parks
Communities
Cities
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Akron (county seat)
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Barberton
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Cuyahoga Falls
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Fairlawn
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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 com ...
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Hudson
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Macedonia
Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to:
* North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia
* Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity
* Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...
*
Munroe Falls
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New Franklin
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Norton (partly in
Wayne County)
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Reminderville
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Stow
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Tallmadge
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Twinsburg
Twinsburg is a suburban city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, located midway between Akron, Ohio, Akron and Cleveland. The population was 19,248 as of the 2020 census. It is part of the Akron metropolitan area.
History
The first person to s ...
Villages
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Boston Heights
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Clinton
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Lakemore
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Mogadore
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Northfield
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Peninsula
A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula.
Etymology
The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...
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Richfield
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Silver Lake
Townships
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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 ...
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Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
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Copley
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Coventry
Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...
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Northfield Center
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Richfield
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Sagamore Hills
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Springfield
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Twinsburg
Twinsburg is a suburban city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, located midway between Akron, Ohio, Akron and Cleveland. The population was 19,248 as of the 2020 census. It is part of the Akron metropolitan area.
History
The first person to s ...
Defunct townships
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Franklin
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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 com ...
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Hudson
Hudson may refer to:
People
* Hudson (given name)
* Hudson (surname)
* Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back
* Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudson Rodrigues dos Santos, Brazilian f ...
*
Norton
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Northampton
Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...
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Portage
Portage or portaging ( CA: ; ) 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 '' ...
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Stow
Census-designated places
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Montrose-Ghent
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Pigeon Creek
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Portage Lakes
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Sawyerwood
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Twinsburg Heights
Unincorporated communities
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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 is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
*
Botzum
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Brandywine
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Comet
A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that warms and begins to release gases when passing close to the Sun, a process called outgassing. This produces an extended, gravitationally unbound atmosphere or Coma (cometary), coma surrounding ...
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Copley
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Everett
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Ghent
Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...
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Greensburg
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Montrose
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Myersville
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Western Star
See also
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National Register of Historic Places listings in Summit County, Ohio
References
External links
Official Summit County pageAkron-Summit Convention and Visitors BureauSummit 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