County profile

Lorain County

Ohio · ACS 2020–2024

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Latest estimates

At a glance

U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates.

Total population
317,129
Median household income
$73,347
People below poverty
12.1%
Median home value
$223,200

Income

The median income of households in Lorain County, Ohio was $73,347. An estimated 5.1% of households had income below $10,000 a year and 10.1% had income of $200,000 or more.

Household Income in Lorain County, Ohio in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than $10,000 5.1
$10,000 to $14,999 4
$15,000 to $24,999 6.5
$25,000 to $34,999 7.8
$35,000 to $49,999 11.5
$50,000 to $74,999 16.3
$75,000 to $99,999 12.8
$100,000 to $149,999 17.7
$150,000 to $199,999 8.3
$200,000 or more 10.1

Median Earnings for Full-Time Year-Round Workers by Sex in Lorain County, Ohio in 2020-2024

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Dollars
Male 66725
Female 53323

An estimated 72.2% of households received earnings. An estimated 34.9% of households received Social Security and an estimated 29.4 % of households received retirement income other than Social Security. The average income from Social Security was $24,657. These income sources are not mutually exclusive; that is, some households received income from more than one source.

Proportion of Households with Various Income Sources in Lorain County, Ohio in 2020-2024

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Percent
Earnings 72.2
Social Security 34.9
Retirement income 29.4
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) 5.4
Cash public assistance income 2.8

Poverty and Participation in Government Programs

In 2020-2024, 12.1 % of people were in poverty. An estimated 17.7% of children under 18 were below the poverty level, compared with 10.7% of people 65 years old and over. An estimated 10.5% of people 18 to 64 years were below the poverty level.

Poverty Rates in Lorain County, Ohio in 2020-2024

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Percent
People in poverty 12.1
Children under 18 years below poverty 17.7
People 65 years old and over below poverty 10.7
People 18 to 64 years below poverty 10.5

In 2020-2024, 11.4 % of households received SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). An estimated 46.6% of households that received SNAP had children under 18, and 35.4% of households that received SNAP had one or more people 60 years and over. An estimated 40% of all households receiving SNAP were families with a female householder and no spouse present.


Among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in Lorain County, Ohio in 2020-2024, 94.7% had health insurance coverage and 5.3% did not have health insurance coverage. Private coverage was 69.4% and public coverage was 39.5%, respectively. The percentage of children under the age of 19 with no health insurance coverage was 3.2%.


In 2020-2024, Lorain County, Ohio had a total population of 317,129 - 159,912 (50.4%) females and 157,217 (49.6%) males. The median age was 42.1 years. An estimated 21.5% of the population was under 18 years, 29.7% was 19 to 44 years, 26.6% was 45 to 64 years, and 19.8 % was 65 years and older.

Population by Age and Sex for Lorain County, Ohio in 2020-2024

Male Female
Under 5 8761 8213
5 to 9 9227 9145
10 to 14 10813 9789
15 to 19 10434 9550
20 to 24 9566 8800
25 to 29 9096 8793
30 to 34 9375 9435
35 to 39 9221 8974
40 to 44 10418 10396
45 to 49 9730 9609
50 to 54 10583 10280
55 to 59 11196 11196
60 to 64 10478 11149
65 to 69 9702 10530
70 to 74 7990 9285
75 to 79 4926 5800
80 to 84 3124 4239
85 and over 2577 4729

Hispanic Origin and Race

For people reporting one race alone, 78% were White; 7.7% were Black or African American; 7.1% were American Indian and Alaska Native; 1.4% were Asian; 2.8% were Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and 0% were Some Other Race. An estimated 10.1% reported Two or More Races. An estimated 11% of the people in Lorain County, Ohio were Hispanic or Latino. An estimated 75.5% of the people in Lorain County, Ohio were White alone, non-Hispanic. People of Hispanic origin may be of any race.


Households and Families

In 2020-2024, there were 127,544 households in Lorain County, Ohio. The average household size was 2.42 people.

Married-couple households made up 46.4% of the households in Lorain County, Ohio while cohabiting couple households made up 7.8% of households. Female householders with no spouse or partner present were 28.4% of all households, while 17.4% of households had male householders with no spouse or partner present. Some households had one person, as 13.7% of households were male householders living alone, and 17.9% were female householders living alone, for a total of 31.6% of all households.

In Lorain County, Ohio, 27.6% of all households had one or more people under the age of 18; 34.8% of all households had one or more people 65 years and over.

Types of Households in Lorain County, Ohio in 2020-2024

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Percent
Married-couple households 46.4
Cohabiting Couples 7.8
Male Householder
No spouse/partner present
17.4
Female Householder
No spouse/partner present
28.4

Marital Status

Among persons 15 and older, 49% of males and 46.9% of females were currently married.

Population 15 years and over Percent
Males
Percent
Females
Never married 35.1 29.1
Now married, except separated 49 46.9
Separated 1.1 1.4
Widowed 3.7 9.9
Divorced 11.2 12.7

Grandparents and Grandchildren

In Lorain County, Ohio, 4,872 grandparents lived with their grandchildren under 18 years old. Of those grandparents, 39.6% were responsible for the basic needs of their grandchildren.


Nativity and Foreign-Born

In 2020-2024, an estimated 96.9% of the people living in Lorain County, Ohio were U.S. natives. 77.3% of the Lorain County, Ohio population were living in the state where they were born.

Approximately 3.1% of Lorain County, Ohio residents in 2020-2024 were foreign-born. 62.4% of foreign-born were naturalized U.S. citizens and an estimated 70.8 % entered the country before the year 2010.

Foreign-born residents of Lorain County, Ohio come from different parts of the world. The bar graph below displays the percentage of foreign-born from each world region of birth in 2020-2024 for Lorain County, Ohio.

Region of Birth for the Foreign-Born Population in Lorain County, Ohio in 2020-2024

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Percent
Latin America 24.1
Asia 37.5
Europe 31
Africa 3.3
Northern America 3.6
Oceania 0.5

Language

Among people at least five years old living in Lorain County, Ohio in 2020-2024, 7.8 % spoke a language other than English at home. Spanish was spoken by 5.1% of people at least five years old; 2.5% reported that they did not speak English "very well."

Percentage of the Population 5 years and over who Speak a Language other than English in Lorain County, Ohio in 2020-2024

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Percent
Spanish 5.1
Other Indo-European languages 1.6
Asian and Pacific Islander languages 0.7
Other languages 0.4

Geographic Mobility

In 2020-2024, 90.9 % of the people at least one year old living in Lorain County, Ohio were living in the same house one year earlier.

Geographic Mobility of Residents of Lorain County, Ohio in 2020-2024

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Percent
Same house 90.9
Different house, same county 4.7
Different county, same state 3.1
Different state 1.1
Abroad 0.2

Education

In 2020-2024, 91.8 % of people 25 years and over had at least graduated from high school and 28.5% had a bachelor's degree or higher. An estimated 8.1% did not complete high school.

The total school enrollment in Lorain County, Ohio was 73,263 in 2020-2024. Nursery school enrollment was 4,646 and kindergarten through 12th grade enrollment was 50,039. College or graduate school enrollment was 18,578.

Educational Attainment of People in Lorain County, Ohio in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than high school diploma 8.1
High school diploma or equivalency 30.8
Some college, no degree 22.1
Associate's degree 10.4
Bachelor's degree 17.8
Graduate or professional degree 10.7

Disability

In Lorain County, Ohio, among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in 2020-2024, 15.3 % reported a disability. The likelihood of having a disability varied by age - from 6.4% of people under 18 years old, to 12.9% of people 18 to 64 years old, and to 32.1% of those 65 and over.


Employment Status and Type of Employer

In Lorain County, Ohio, 58.4 % of the population 16 and over were employed; 38.9% were not currently in the labor force.

An estimated 81.7% of the people employed were private wage and salary workers; 14% were federal, state, or local government workers; and 4.1 % were self-employed in their own (not incorporated) business.

Class of worker Number Percent
Private wage and salary workers 122,390 81.7
Federal, state, or local government workers 21,030 14
Self-employed workers in own not incorporated business 6,067 4.1

Industries

In 2020-2024, the civilian employed population 16 years and older in Lorain County, Ohio worked in the following industries:

Percent by Industry in Lorain County, Ohio in 2020-2024

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Percent
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining 0.4
Construction 6.3
Manufacturing 15.8
Wholesale trade 2.1
Retail trade 11.3
Transportation and warehousing, and utilities 4.9
Information 1.3
Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing 5.7
Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services 10.2
Educational services, and health care and social assistance 24.7
Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation, and food services 8.3
Other Services, except public administration 3.9
Public administration 5.1

Occupations

Occupations for the Civilian Employed Population 16 Years and over in Lorain County, Ohio in 2020-2024

Civilian employed population 16 years and over Number Percent
Management, business, sciences, and arts occupations 58,243 38.9
Service occupations 24,304 16.2
Sales and office occupations 31,454 21
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations 12,368 8.3
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations 23,407 15.6

Commuting to Work

An estimated 77.9% of Lorain County, Ohio workers drove to work alone in 2020-2024, and 7.5% carpooled. Among those who commuted to work, it took them on average 25.4 minutes to get to work.

Percent of Workers 16 and over Commuting by Mode in Lorain County, Ohio in 2020-2024

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Percent
Car, truck, van -- drove alone 77.9
Car, truck, van -- carpooled 7.5
Public transportation (excluding taxicab) 0.2
Walked 1.5
Other means 1.2
Worked from home 11.7

In 2020-2024, Lorain County, Ohio had a total of 136,548 housing units. Of these housing units, 82.6% were single-family houses either not attached to any other structure or attached to one or more structures (commonly referred to as "townhouses" or "row houses"). 15.5% of the housing units were located in multi-unit structures, or those buildings that contained two or more apartments. 1.9% were mobile homes, while any remaining housing units were classified as "other," which included boats, recreational vehicles, vans, etc.

Types of Housing Units in Lorain County, Ohio in 2020-2024

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Percent
Single-family houses 82.6
Apartments in multi-unit structures 15.5
Mobile homes 1.9
Boat, RV, van, etc 0

8.5% of the housing inventory was comprised of houses built since 2010, while 13.9% of the houses were first built in 1939 or earlier. The median number of rooms in all housing units in Lorain County, Ohio was 6.1 rooms, and of these housing units 70.5% had three or more bedrooms.


In 2020-2024, Lorain County, Ohio had 127,544 housing units that were occupied or had people living in them, while the remaining 9,004 were vacant. Of the occupied housing units, the percentage of these houses occupied by owners (also known as the homeownership rate) was 74% while renters occupied 26%. The average household size of owner-occupied houses was 2.52 and in renter-occupied houses it was 2.14.

3.5% of householders of these occupied houses had moved into their house since 2021, while 12.4% moved into their house in 1989 or earlier. Households without a vehicle available for personal use comprised 5.7% and another 21.3% had three or more vehicles available for use.

The following chart provides the primary fuel used to heat houses in Lorain County, Ohio:

House Heating Fuel Used in Lorain County, Ohio in 2020-2024

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Percent
Gas 79.8
Electricity 18
Fuel oil, kerosene, etc 0.5
All other fuels 1.3
No fuel used 0.4

In 2020-2024, the median property value for owner-occupied houses in Lorain County, Ohio was $223,200.

Of the owner-occupied households, 62.2 % had a mortgage. 37.8% owned their houses "free and clear," that is without a primary mortgage or loan on the house. The median monthly housing costs for owners with a mortgage was $1,525 and for owners without a mortgage it was $629.

For renter-occupied houses, the median gross rent for Lorain County, Ohio was $966. Gross rent includes the monthly contract rent and any monthly payments made for electricity, gas, water and sewer, and any other fuels to heat the house.