Cuyahoga County, Ohio

Cuyahoga County (/ˌkaɪ.əˈhɒɡə/ KY-ə-HOG-ə or /ˌkaɪ.əˈhoʊɡə/ KY-ə-HOH-gə, see Cuyahoga River § Pronunciation) is a large urban county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. The county seat and most populous city is Cleveland. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,264,817, making it the second-most populous county in the state.

Cuyahoga County is situated on the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S.–Canada maritime border. The county is bisected by the Cuyahoga River, after which it was named. "Cuyahoga" is an Iroquoian word meaning "crooked river". It is the core county of the Cleveland, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area and Cleveland–Akron–Canton, OH Combined Statistical Area.

The land that became Cuyahoga County was previously part of the French colony of Canada (New France), which was ceded in 1763 to Great Britain and renamed Province of Quebec. In the early 1790s, the land became part of the Connecticut Western Reserve in the Northwest Territory, and it was purchased by the Connecticut Land Company in 1795. Cleveland was established one year later by General Moses Cleaveland near the mouth of the Cuyahoga River.

Cuyahoga County was created on June 7, 1807, and organized on May 1, 1810. Cleveland (then known as "Cleaveland") was selected as the county seat in 1809. The county was later reduced in size by the creation of Huron, Lake, and Lorain counties.

In 1831, future U.S. President James A. Garfield was born in what was at the time Cuyahoga County's Orange Township.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has an area of 1,246 sq mi (3,230 km²), of which 457 sq mi (1,180 km²) are land and 788 sq mi (2,040 km²) (63%) are water. It is the second-largest county in Ohio by area. A portion of Cuyahoga Valley National Park is in the county's southeastern section.

As of the 2020 census, there were 1,264,817 people, 555,988 households, and 309,691 families residing in the county. The population density was 2,766.4 inhabitants per square mile (1,068.1/km²). There were 615,825 housing units. The racial makeup of the county was 58.2% White, 29.3% African American, 0.2% Native American, 3.5% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 2.8% from some other races and 5.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.6% of the population. 20.3% of residents were under the age of 18, 5.3% were under 5 years of age, and 19.6% were 65 and older.

As of the 2010 census, there were 1,280,122 people, 571,457 households, and 319,996 families were residing in the county. The population density was 2,800.0 people/sq mi (1,081.1 people/km²). The 621,763 housing units averaged 1,346 units per square mile (520 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 63.6% White, 29.7% African American, 0.2% Native American, 2.6% Asian (0.9% Indian, 0.7% Chinese, 0.3% Filipino, 0.2% Korean, 0.2% Vietnamese, 0.1% Japanese), 1.8% from other races, and 2.1% from two or more races. About 4.8% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race (3.1% Puerto Rican, 0.7% Mexican, 0.1% Dominican, 0.1% Guatemalan). Further, 16.5% were of German, 12.8% Irish, 8.8% Italian, 8.1% Polish, 5.9% English, 3.7% Slovak, and 3.1% Hungarian heritage.