CENSUS Counties show a drop in youngest children

Cuyahoga leads the way among the most populous counties.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- In a twist to the story of Ohio's stagnant population, only 16 counties registered an increase in children under 5 years old from 2000 to 2003, and of those only 10 counties saw growth above 1 percent, new Census data show.
Ohio's population of children under 5 was 740,300 in 2003, a 2 percent drop from 2000, the data showed. At the same time, Ohio lost 79,011 people aged 20-44, a drop of nearly 2 percent.
"When you've got your younger population even through the mid-40s moving someplace else, who's left having these kids 0 to 4?" said Rosemary Gliem, director of Ohio State University's Extension Data Center.
By contrast, the number of Ohioans on the other end of the spectrum analyzed by the Census -- those aged 80 to 84 -- increased to an estimated 234,043 in 2003, up 8 percent from 2000.
Overall, Ohio grew to 11,435,798 people in 2003, a 0.06 percent increase.
The state's minimal growth worries business and political leaders, concerned about the loss of young people -- and the earning potential they take with them -- to other states. Gov. Bob Taft's $1.6 billion Third Frontier proposal, with its emphasis on pushing high-tech research, was largely aimed at trying to stem this tide.
Hamilton, Lucas, Mahoning and Summit counties were among the state's most populous counties that saw a decrease in the number of youngest Ohioans during that time. The number of children up to age 4 in Cuyahoga dropped the most of big counties -- 2,355, or a decrease of 2.6 percent, the data show.
Booming counties
Counties already recognized for booming populations -- including Delaware and Morrow counties in central Ohio and Butler and Warren counties in southwestern Ohio -- were among those with an increase in the zero to four age group.
In the suburban neighborhoods of Delaware, young children are everywhere, said Bret Crow, who moved to a new house in 1999 in the rapidly growing county. His daughter, Faith, was born in 2000; his son, David, last fall.
"There's a heck of a lot of babies on our street," said Crow, 35, an assistant communications director for the state Board of Regents. "Faith can pick any number of kids her age, a little older or a little younger, to play with."
The number of children in Delaware County under five grew to 9,200 in 2003, a 4.5 percent increase from 2000, according to Census data.
Richland County
Not long ago Crow was commuting to Columbus from Mansfield in Richland County, where the picture is not nearly as positive.
Richland County had 7,962 children under five in 2003, a drop of 3.5 percent.
"Richland county is very much a stable place, if that's the optimistic word you want to use," said Richard Adair, executive director of the county's Regional Planning Commission. Population growth is "about the same for the last 30 years with some minor variations."
Not all counties whose populations are growing showed a similar increase in the five and under age group. Geauga, Lorain and Medina were among those that showed declines.
"It appears to me to be a pretty young and growing population," said Tom Russell, a planner in the Medina County Department of Planning Services. "I'm baffled."
Surprise
One county that surprised demographers by its increase in under five growth was Meigs in southern Ohio. The county added 89 children for a 6.9 percent increase, the data showed.
County commissioner Mick Davenport speculated that new housing on the county's western edge, near growing Athens County, was responsible.
While good news for some counties, the data underscore the fact that Ohio's population is more or less static. And an analysis last year by the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency found that part of the population increase in counties like Medina and Geauga is coming at the expense of the Cleveland area, not because of other growth patterns like migration from outside Ohio.
"The surrounding counties are feeling fat and comfortable because they're growing in population, but if you take out that feed from the central urban counties, they're still losing migration-wise," said Mark Salling, a demographer at Cleveland State University's Northern Ohio Data and Information Service.