Data show big gains in Valley as well

Staff report

Despite an overall drop in population for Mahoning County, a few cities and townships saw significant gains.

Canfield Township’s population increased by 19 percent, Smith grew by 12.9 percent and Green increased its population by 14 percent.

The biggest increase in Mahoning County was Milton Township. Its population jumped 31.8 percent from 2,853 in the 2000 census to 3,759 in the 2010 census, released Wednesday.

Poland Township also saw a 4.7 percent boost from 11,845 in 2000 to 12,405 in 2010.

Poland Trustee Robert J. Lidle Jr. credited the township, school system and area’s geography for the gain.

“All those things come into play — the services that the township and school system provide — and that’s probably why we’ve had gains where other parts [of Mahoning County] maybe had losses,” Lidle said.

He said continued development has caused the township’s population to change drastically in the last 30 years.

Those areas with the biggest decreases included the city of Campbell, down 1,225 people from 9,460 in 2000 to 8,235 in 2010.

Boardman and Austintown townships each had about a 3 percent decrease in population from 2000.

Boardman dipped from 42,518 in 2000 to 40,889 in 2010, which was not as high of a decrease as some early projections of 38,000.

“I would take [the numbers] to mean that we are steady, secure,” said Boardman Trustee Thomas Costello.

He added that Boardman has an aging population and has lost older residents to warmer climates and younger residents to economic opportunity.

“People are going where they can find good, steady work that will provide them benefits, and right now, we have not been creating those jobs,” Costello said.

Some of the biggest losers of population in Trumbull County were in Brookfield and Warren townships and the cities of Girard and Niles.

For Newton Falls, the 4.1 percent drop is more symbolic, as its number is below 5,000, meaning it will now be the village of Newton Falls instead of the city of Newton Falls.

Among the most significant population gain is Howland Township, which grew 8.9 percent from 2000 to 2010.

The 2010 count of 19,106 residents in Howland means the township has nearly returned to its 1990 population level after dropping 13.5 percent the previous decade.

“This is good news for us. It says good things about us when this happens,” said Darlene St. George, township administrator. “It makes you feel like your efforts are paying off.”

The biggest increase in population in Trumbull County was Farmington Township.

The population grew by 21.5 percent during the decade from 1,834 residents to 2,728.

The township, which has ready access to U.S. Route 422 and the Cleveland area, also had a 33.4 percent population gain between 1990 and 2000.

Warren Township saw the largest loss of residents in Trumbull County with a 29 percent decline.

Brookfield’s population dropped 10.8 percent, while Girard lost 8.7 percent of its population and Niles saw an 8 percent decline.

In Columbiana County, East Liverpool lost 1,894 people, down from 13,089 in 2000 to 11,195 in 2010. Significant gains included the city of Columbiana, up 749 people from 5,635 in 2000 to 6,384 in 2010.

Contributors: Ed Runyan, Ashley Luthern, Kristine Gill, David Skolnick