Cleveland is a city located in Cuyahoga County Ohio. Cleveland has a 2023 population of 360,040. It is also the county seat of Cuyahoga County.Cleveland is currently declining at a rate of -1.09% annually and its population has decreased by -3.22% since the most recent census, which recorded a population of 372,032 in 2020.
The average household income in Cleveland is $49,942 with a poverty rate of 31.36%. The median rental costs in recent years comes to - per month, and the median house value is -. The median age in Cleveland is 36.2 years, 35.7 years for males, and 36.8 years for females.
Cleveland, or The Forest City, is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie about 60 miles west of the Pennsylvania border.
Cleveland has an estimated population of {pop}, down from 396,000 at the 2010 census and its record high of 914,000 in 1950. The city proper has a population density of 5,107 people per square mile. The Greater Cleveland Metro area is the 28th largest metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. with a population of just over 2 million. The larger Cleveland-Akron-Canton Combined Statistical Area (CSA) has a population of 3.5 million, and it is the 15th largest CSA in the country.
Major ethnic groups include German (9.2%), Irish (8.2%), Poles (4.8%), Italians (4.6%), and English (2.8%). 4.5% of Cleveland's population was foreign-born as of 2000, with 41% born in Europe, 29% born in Asia, 22% born in Latin America, 5% in Africa and 1.9% in North America.
Cleveland is also home to several small communities of Slovaks, Slovenes, French, Hungarians, Arabs, Dutch, Czechs, Ukrainians, Scottish, Russian, Scotch Irish, Croats, Puerto Ricans, West Indians, Romanians, Greeks, and Lithuanians. At one time, Cleveland had the highest number of Hungarians outside of Budapest. Between just 1920 and 1960, the black population in the city rose from 35,000 to 251,000.
Between 2000 and 2010, Cleveland lost 17% of its population, and some neighborhoods -- including Glenville and Hough -- lost up to 38% of their population between 2000 and 2007, although downtown Cleveland has gained population. This puts Cleveland in the same category as Youngstown, Ohio, and Detroit in terms of population decline.
Despite the bleak picture, Cleveland has been revitalizing its downtown area since the 1990s and more than $3.5 billion has been invested in redeveloping the area. Forbes recently ranked Cleveland as one of the top 15 emerging downtown cities in the country. In 2013, downtown Cleveland also saw record growth, both in terms of its economy and population. The city's core daily population has reached 125,000, which is the highest ever for the city.
Cleveland got its start in 1796, when surveyors for the Connecticut Land Company laid out the area into townships and a capital they called "Cleaveland" after the leader, General Moses Cleaveland. The village of Cleaveland was incorporated in 1814, and its prime waterfront location quickly presented itself as an advantage. The region proliferated after the Ohio and Erie Canal was completed in 1832, linking the Ohio River and the Great Lakes to Cleveland and the Atlantic Ocean. Growth picked up even further when the railroad links were added, and it was incorporated as a city in 1836.
With its prime location, Cleveland served as a transportation hub on the Great Lakes, which helped it develop as a significant commercial center. It also became important in the American manufacturing industry at the beginning of the 20th century. Cleveland reached a population peak of 914,000 in 1950, but by the 1960s the economy had slowed, and residents fled to the suburbs.
After years of decline, Cleveland is today viewed as a great example of revitalization, and it now ranks as one of the most livable cities in the United States.
According to the most recent ACS, the racial composition of Cleveland was:
3.17
Average Family Size
2.15
Average Household Size
41.2%
Rate of Home Ownership
Married
Male
Female
NonFamily
owner
renter
Only English
Spanish
Other Indo-European Languages
Asian and Pacific Island Languages
Other Languages
85.39% of Cleveland residents speak only English, while 14.61% speak other languages. The non-English language spoken by the largest group is Spanish, which is spoken by 9.17% of the population.
31.36%
Overall Poverty Rate
30.23%
Male Poverty Rate
32.41%
Female Poverty Rate
The race most likely to be in poverty in Cleveland is Islander, with 158% below the poverty level.
The race least likely to be in poverty in Cleveland is White, with 21.91% below the poverty level.
The poverty rate among those that worked full-time for the past 12 months was 5.71%. Among those working part-time, it was 32.44%, and for those that did not work, the poverty rate was 45.15%.
Married
Widowed
Divorced
Separated
NeverMarried
24.0%
Overall Marriage Rate
25.2%
Male Marriage Rate
22.8%
Female Marriage Rate
male
female
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 45-54.
Married
Widowed
Divorced
Separated
NeverMarried
Less Than 9th Grade
High School Graduate
Some College
Bachelors or Greater
18.32%
Veteran Poverty Rate
34.88%
Veteran Disability Rate
LaborForceParticipation
59.4%
Labor Force Participation
52%
Employment Rate
12.4%
Unemployment Rate
LaborForceParticipation
LaborForceParticipation
Europe
Asia
Africa
Oceania
Latin America
North America
Non citizens include legal permanent residents (green card holders), international students, temporary workers, humanitarian migrants, and illegal immigrants.
Europe
Asia
Africa
Oceania
Latin America
North America
74.06%
Born in Cleveland
95.79%
Native Born
6.08%
Foreign Born
3.1%
Non Citizen
2.98%
Naturalized
95.79% of Cleveland residents were born in the United States, with 74.06% having been born in Ohio. 3.1% of residents are not US citizens. Of those not born in the United States, the largest percentage are from Asia.