State
Land Area
77.8 sq mi
Density
3,947.6/sq mi
2020 Growth Rate
0.54%
Growth Since 2010
3.48%
Rank in State
Rank in Country
Metro Population
2,239,750
Cincinnati is a city located in Ohio. With a 2020 population of 307,266, it is the 3rd largest city in Ohio (after Columbus and Cleveland) and the 64th largest city in the United States. Cincinnati is currently growing at a rate of 0.54% annually and its population has increased by 3.48% since the most recent census, which recorded a population of 296,943 in 2010. Cincinnati reached it's highest population of 503,998 in 1950. Spanning over 80 miles, Cincinnati has a population density of 3,948 people per square mile.
The average household income in Cincinnati is $65,213 with a poverty rate of 26.28%. The median rental costs in recent years comes to $738 per month, and the median house value is $138,000. The median age in Cincinnati is 32.2 years, 31.2 years for males, and 33.2 years for females. For every 100 females there are 93.8 males.
The city sits on the border of Ohio and Kentucky at the meeting of the Ohio River and the Licking River. Cincinnati's population is slowly declining.
Cincinnati has had a steadily declining population for several decades. Between 2000 and 2010, the population dropped from 331,300 to 296,900. While the worst of the decline seems to be over, Cincinnati still has not recovered its previous population.
Cincinnati has historically been predominantly white, with a 1940 white population accounting for 88% of the population. Cincinnati has dealt with strained race relations for much of its history, however. Due to its location on the Ohio River, the city was a border town between Kentucky, a slave state, and Ohio, with many residents playing a role in abolitionism. Many fugitive slaves also crossed at Cincinnati to escape North, and it had several stations on the Underground Railroad.
There have been many race riots in Cincinnati. The earliest occurred in 1829 when a riot broke out as anti-abolitionists attacked black people in the city, with other riots happening in 1836 and 1841.
One of the most recent racially-charged riots occurred in 2001 when police shot and killed a black man during a foot pursuit. Racial agitation again reared its head with the case of a university officer named Ray Tensing and his actions in the death of Samuel DuBose, which lead to some protests and two mistrials in court as juries became deadlocked and could not reach an agreement.
Like many other large industrial cities, Cincinnati recorded a peak population in 1950 and it has steadily lost people since. Cincinnati has lost 43% of its peak population, while its metropolitan area has doubled in population.
Municipal boundaries have remained unchanged since 1950, yet thousands of pre-war homes and apartments have now been replaced by non-residential structures, including expressways, hospitals, and universities.
Cincinnati is in a tight position, as increasing the population in the city proper would now require higher rents, increased traffic and most likely the demolition of many historic buildings for the construction of high-rise apartments.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently rated the U.S. metropolitan areas with the highest and lowest projected job growth. Cincinnati was ranked as one of the bottom ten urban areas for job growth, which does not bode well for increased population in the near future.
Cincinnati was founded in 1788. The original surveyor of the area, John Filson, originally named the settlement Losantiville, which combines four terms from different languages to mean "the town opposite the mouth of the Licking River." The agreement was renamed Cincinnati in 1790 by Arthur St. Clair to honor the Society of the Cincinnati, which honored General George Washington, who was considered a latter-day Cincinnatus.
By 1819, the city was incorporated. The introduction of steam navigation on the Ohio River helped Cincinnati grow to 115,000 people by 1850, and the area began to multiply. In its early history, Cincinnati depended heavily on trade with slave states to the south and African Americans began to settle the area in growing numbers. This led to tensions and racially-fueled riots.
Cincinnati later played a significant role in the Civil War, serving as a source for troops and supplies for the Union Army. While Cincinnati later made it through the Great Depression better than most large cities in the United States, it was devastated not long afterward by the flood of 1937, one of the worst floods in the history of the country.
Cincinnati was a major boomtown in the heart of the United States for the early part of the 19th century, but by the end of the city, as the country moved from steamboats to railroads, the city was surpassed in importance and population by other cities like Chicago.
According to the most recent ACS, the racial composition of Cincinnati was:
2019 and 2020 population is estimated by projecting the raw 2018 numbers.
Year | Total Population | Growth | Annual Growth Rate |
---|---|---|---|
2021 | 2,239,750 | 9,270 | 0.41% |
2020 | 2,230,480 | 9,270 | 0.42% |
2019 | 2,221,210 | 9,270 | 0.42% |
2018 | 2,211,940 | 9,380 | 0.42% |
2017 | 2,202,560 | 10,990 | 0.50% |
2016 | 2,191,570 | 10,140 | 0.46% |
2015 | 2,181,430 | 9,240 | 0.42% |
2014 | 2,172,190 | 10,130 | 0.47% |
2013 | 2,162,060 | 9,510 | 0.44% |
2012 | 2,152,550 | 6,340 | 0.29% |
2011 | 2,146,210 | 5,490 | 0.26% |
2010 | 2,140,720 | 0.00% |
Race | Population | Percentage |
---|---|---|
White | 152,952 | 50.75% |
Black or African American | 127,343 | 42.25% |
Two or More Races | 11,244 | 3.73% |
Asian | 6,577 | 2.18% |
Some Other Race | 2,786 | 0.92% |
American Indian and Alaska Native | 337 | 0.11% |
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander | 155 | 0.05% |
Type | Count | Average Size | Owned |
---|---|---|---|
All | 137,333 | 2.1 | 37.8 |
Non Family | 75,107 | 1.28 | 27.1 |
Married | 32,098 | 2.98 | 72.3 |
Female | 24,016 | 3.23 | 26.9 |
Male | 6,112 | 3.15 | 30.7 |
2.99
Average Family Size
2.1
Average Household Size
Education Attained | Count | Percentage |
---|---|---|
Less Than 9th Grade | 6,135 | 3.15% |
9th to 12th Grade | 17,030 | 8.75% |
High School Graduate | 47,509 | 24.42% |
Some College | 37,188 | 19.12% |
Associates Degree | 14,491 | 7.45% |
Bachelors Degree | 41,688 | 21.43% |
Graduate Degree | 30,482 | 15.67% |
Name | Total | High School | Bachelors |
---|---|---|---|
White | 102,026 | 94,559 | 54,270 |
Black | 78,951 | 65,491 | 11,463 |
Hispanic | 5,297 | 3,877 | 1,641 |
Asian | 4,478 | 4,168 | 3,613 |
Multiple Races | 4,010 | 3,472 | 1,230 |
Other Race | 1,386 | 899 | 328 |
Native American | 266 | 254 | 46 |
Islander | 92 | 77 | 53 |
The highest rate of high school graduation is among native american people with a rate of 95.49%.
The highest rate of bachelors degrees is among asian people with a rate of 80.68%.
$36,648
Average Earnings
$40,610
Average Male
$32,332
Average Female
91.52% of Cincinnati residents speak only English, while 8.48% speak other languages. The non-English language spoken by the largest group is Spanish, which is spoken by 3.18% of the population.
Name | Total | In Poverty | Poverty Rate |
---|---|---|---|
Black | 124,835 | 43,295 | 34.68% |
White | 137,625 | 23,592 | 17.14% |
Hispanic | 11,076 | 4,189 | 37.82% |
Multiple | 10,754 | 3,765 | 35.01% |
Asian | 6,167 | 1,497 | 24.27% |
Other | 2,694 | 837 | 31.07% |
Native | 332 | 24 | 7.23% |
Islander | 155 | 15 | 9.68% |
26.28%
Overall Poverty Rate
25.00%
Male Poverty Rate
27.48%
Female Poverty Rate
The race most likely to be in poverty in Cincinnati is Hispanic, with 37.82% below the poverty level.
The race least likely to be in poverty in Cincinnati is Native, with 7.23% below the poverty level.
The poverty rate among those that worked full-time for the past 12 months was 4.19%. Among those working part-time, it was 33.22%, and for those that did not work, the poverty rate was 39.45%.
28.3%
Overall Marriage Rate
29.9%
Male Marriage Rate
26.8%
Female Marriage Rate
The age group where males are most likely to be married is Over 65, while the female age group most likely to be married is 35-44.
Name | Veterans | % of Total |
---|---|---|
White | 6,322 | 4.89% |
Black | 5,625 | 6.12% |
Hispanic | 278 | 4.01% |
2 or More | 232 | 4.08% |
Asian | 65 | 1.10% |
Other | 47 | 2.67% |
Indian | 16 | 5.84% |
16.47%
Veteran Poverty Rate
29.89%
Veteran Disability Rate
66.1%
Labor Force Participation
60.8%
Employment Rate
8%
Unemployment Rate
Non citizens include legal permanent residents (green card holders), international students, temporary workers, humanitarian migrants, and illegal immigrants.
94.00%
Native Born
6.00%
Foreign Born
3.77%
Non Citizen
2.23%
Naturalized
94.00% of Cincinnati residents were born in the United States, with 70.47% having been born in Ohio. 3.77% of residents are not US citizens. Of those not born in the United States, the largest percentage are from Asia.
Year | Population | Growth | Annual Growth Rate |
---|---|---|---|
2021 | 307,266 | 1,663 | 0.54% |
2020 | 305,603 | 1,663 | 0.55% |
2019 | 303,940 | 1,663 | 0.55% |
2018 | 302,277 | 690 | 0.23% |
2017 | 301,587 | 1,839 | 0.61% |
2016 | 299,748 | 309 | 0.10% |
2015 | 299,439 | 813 | 0.27% |
2014 | 298,626 | 721 | 0.24% |
2013 | 297,905 | 1,005 | 0.34% |
2012 | 296,900 | 713 | 0.24% |
2011 | 296,187 | -793 | -0.27% |
2010 | 296,980 | -34,305 | -1.09% |
2000 | 331,285 | -32,755 | -0.94% |
1990 | 364,040 | -21,369 | -0.57% |
1980 | 385,409 | -68,105 | -1.61% |
1970 | 453,514 | -49,036 | -1.02% |
1960 | 502,550 | -1,448 | -0.03% |
1950 | 503,998 | 48,388 | 1.01% |
1940 | 455,610 | 4,450 | 0.10% |
1930 | 451,160 | 49,913 | 1.18% |
1920 | 401,247 | 37,656 | 0.99% |
1910 | 363,591 | 37,689 | 1.10% |
1900 | 325,902 | 28,994 | 0.94% |
1890 | 296,908 | 41,769 | 1.53% |
1880 | 255,139 | 38,900 | 1.67% |
1870 | 216,239 | 55,195 | 2.99% |
1860 | 161,044 | 45,609 | 3.39% |
1850 | 115,435 | 69,097 | 9.56% |
1840 | 46,338 | 21,507 | 6.44% |
1830 | 24,831 | 15,189 | 9.92% |
1820 | 9,642 | 7,102 | 14.27% |
1810 | 2,540 | 0.00% |