Ohio rural, urban areas lose out to suburbs

Associated Press

TOLEDO

Ohio’s population — and its political clout — have moved away from industrial centers and rural counties in the northern part of the state to suburbs, especially those around Columbus and Cincinnati.

Cleveland’s population dropped by 17 percent over the past decade to just under 400,000. That’s now almost half the size of Columbus, the state’s largest city, with 787,000 people. Columbus was the only major city in the state to gain people. Cincinnati, the state’s third-biggest city, saw its population drop by 10 percent to 296,000.

Around the state, 33 counties lost people over the past decade, including seven out of Ohio’s 10 biggest counties, the census found.