Lorain County, OH

County Profile

317,129 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Lorain County, OH.

Several figures AreaProfile publishes are measured by county and nowhere finer — death rates by intent among them. On this page those describe the geography they are printed on, which is not true of the city and ZIP pages that inherit them.

69out of 100
Area Score
Top 17% of 1,453 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
OpportunityTop 27% of 1,463 counties measured67
Schools1,089th of 1,377 counties measured27
GrowthTop 14% of 1,453 counties measured70
Housing affordabilityTop 42% of 1,462 counties measured75
Climate959th of 1,463 counties measured63
Physical resilienceTop 2% of 1,463 counties measured96
AccessTop 14% of 1,463 counties measured95
Economic stabilityTop 44% of 1,463 counties measured64
The quick read

Unemployment is 3.2% and median household income $73,347, putting employment conditions in the middle range of counties measured.

In the public schools here, 60% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 16.9 students for every teacher.

Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 1,424 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 38% on the prior year.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
317,129
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$73,347
Top 30% nationally
Density
646/sq mi
490.5 sq mi of land
Median age
42.1
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Lorain County
Ohio
Metro area
Cleveland, OH
Nearest major airport
CLE
17 mi · Cleveland-Hopkins Intl
Median home value
$223,200
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.2%, lower than in 84% of the 1,467 measured US counties.

Employment fell 1.3% over the past year, to 154,557 employed residents.

29% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 73% of measured US counties.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023$69,45672nd percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023$66,05270th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$1,5012024 ACS 5-Year$73,347Top 30%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,0162024 ACS 5-Year$40,798Top 23%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per-capita personal income2023$58,992Top 40%of 1,3892023
Poverty rate ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year11.9%Top 42%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.4 min2024 ACS 5-Year26.7 minBottom 44%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year28.5%Top 27%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year77.9%52nd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 2026154,557Top 16%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+1.0%Top 38%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−1.3%Bottom 36%of 1,467July 2026
Labor forceJuly 2026159,69484th percentileof 1,467July 2026
Labor force participation ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year78.3%Top 36%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.1%2024 ACS 5-Year0.2%48th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−1.3%Top 5%of 1,467July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20263.2%Top 16%of 1,467July 2026
Worked from home ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year11.7%74th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/076.43.0
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.2% in July 2026. It has been falling, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202473k62k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $73,347 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Cleveland, OH

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
General and Operations Managers29,510$97,750
Registered Nurses28,240$83,940
Fast Food and Counter Workers28,010$28,750
Retail Salespersons24,650$31,000
Stockers and Order Fillers22,660$36,290
Home Health and Personal Care Aides19,400$34,520

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

60% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 65% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 16.9 students for every full-time teacher across 86 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
86
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
16.9
across all schools here
Math proficiency
60.5%
Bottom 28% in Ohio
Reading proficiency
64.9%
Bottom 28% in Ohio
The 12 largest of 86 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
North Ridgeville Academic CenterNorth Ridgeville City1,85520.471%71%
Lorain High SchoolLorain City1,77317.923%38%
Elyria High SchoolElyria City Schools1,54012.828%53%
Avon High SchoolAvon Local1,41720.576%89%
North Ridgeville High SchoolNorth Ridgeville City1,24819.257%71%
William R BurtonLorain County JVS1,19412.8——
Powers Elementary SchoolAmherst Exempted Village1,10420.4——
Avon Lake High SchoolAvon Lake City1,05416.776%85%
Marion L Steele High SchoolAmherst Exempted Village1,01419.556%79%
Avon Heritage Elementary SchoolAvon Local97720.890%88%
Avon Middle SchoolAvon Local97618.487%89%
Amherst Junior High SchoolAmherst Exempted Village85921.085%80%

32.7% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Ohio’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 7% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 92.9, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Cleveland, OH Metro Area is up 48% over five years, and up 4.4% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $3,055 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.37% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,279, some 32% above the $966 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,279 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $51,200 a year, about 70% of the median household income here of $73,347.

The typical renter household here spends 29% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $966 a month.

A median home at $223,200 costs 2.5 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $89,532, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
92.9

Prices here run about 7% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Cleveland, OH Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
28.8%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.5×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,279
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$966
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$223,200
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Lorain County’s median household income of $73,347, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Cleveland, OH Metro Area’s figure202392.9Top 41%of 8872023
Home price change (1 year)the Cleveland, OH Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+4.4%68th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Cleveland, OH Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+48.1%65th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Cleveland, OH Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+99.8%57th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.12024 ACS 5-Year2.5Top 49%of 3,2172024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year74.0%47th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±1292024 ACS 5-Year136,54893rd percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,058Bottom 39%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,646Bottom 41%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,279Bottom 38%of 1,423FY2026
Median gross rent ±$212024 ACS 5-Year$966Bottom 35%of 3,2152024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$3,7472024 ACS 5-Year$223,20064th percentileof 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$662024 ACS 5-Year$3,05585th percentileof 3,1722024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$2,0222024 ACS 5-Year$89,532Top 25%of 3,2182024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.04%2024 ACS 5-Year1.37%85th percentileof 3,1262024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year28.8%Bottom 40%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±2262024 ACS 5-Year72968th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.5%13th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year6.1%25th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±7552024 ACS 5-Year9,00489th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

70/ 100
Top 14% of 1,453 published county profiles
Permitting has been rising for the last 2 years of a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 3% since 2020, reaching 322,030 in 2024.

Federal tax returns show Lorain County gained about 0.6% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $69,456, above the $66,052 of households that moved out.

At 4.5 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US counties.

Units permitted
1,424
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
4.5
Top 32% nationally
Year over year
+38%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
21.1%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

20202021202220232024322k314k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.6%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
29%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$69,456
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$66,052
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Cuyahoga County, OH 4,971 people · 43% of arrivals
  2. Medina County, OH 614 people · 5.4% of arrivals
  3. Erie County, OH 493 people · 4.3% of arrivals
  4. Summit County, OH 256 people · 2.2% of arrivals
  5. Franklin County, OH 249 people · 2.2% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Cuyahoga County, OH 3,270 people · 33% of departures
  2. Medina County, OH 505 people · 5.2% of departures
  3. Erie County, OH 498 people · 5.1% of departures
  4. Huron County, OH 256 people · 2.6% of departures
  5. Franklin County, OH 253 people · 2.6% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

2020202120222023202420251k987
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−9%).

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 82°F and January a low of 20°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 36.7 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 39, in the Good band, and no day in the year passed 100.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station ELYRIA LORAIN CO AP, 6.4 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND3.9"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year512024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals36.7"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals20°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals82°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year02024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year392024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals46°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
39
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
51
90th percentile index
Days above 100
0
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

96 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and cold wave, with inland flooding alone responsible for 65% of it. Inland flooding and cold wave are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 98% of measured US counties.

Strong windModerate
Ice stormModerate
HailModerate
TornadoModerate
Winter weatherModerate
Heat waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: inland flooding, cold wave, lightning, earthquake, hurricane, wildfire, landslide, coastal flooding, drought, tsunami, volcanic activity, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). These are FEMA’s own figures for this county rather than a value derived from surrounding geographies. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Lorain County records 4.1 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 18.9 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 20.8 per 100,000 residents in Lorain County.

Homicide
4.1
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
18.9
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
20.8
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
20.1
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe Lorain County as a whole. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

6 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Cleveland-Hopkins Intl at 17 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±0.6%2024 ACS 5-Year88.9%Top 34%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle17 miTop 21%of 1,463NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle6Top 13%of 1,463NASR current cycle
No internet access ±0.6%2024 ACS 5-Year7.1%Top 24%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Cleveland-Hopkins IntlCLE17 mi9,953 ft
Mansfield Lahm RgnlMFD46 mi9,001 ft
Akron-Canton RgnlCAK53 mi8,204 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
69
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
Housing, IncomeU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

ZIP areas

Only ZIP areas whose income or home value differ from their city’s by at least ten percent get a profile of their own, so this is a selection rather than every ZIP code in the county.