Cleveland, Ohio Population 2023

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.

Population Size and Density in Cleveland Metro

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.

Cleveland Diversity

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.

Cleveland Population Growth

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.