Rich Exner, cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Shrinking Cuyahoga County lost another 4,514 residents last year, yet – as the population shifted – there was little change in the total population for the seven-county Cleveland-Akron area, estimates released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau show.

Cuyahoga, with the ninth largest drop nationally, now is America’s 35th largest county with an estimated 1,243,857 residents. Cuyahoga ranked 33rd a year earlier, before being passed by Travis County, Texas, and Hennepin County, Minnesota.

At the time of the 2010 census, Cuyahoga ranked 29th nationally and first in Ohio with 1,280,122 residents. Cuyahoga is down 36,265 since then, dropping six spots in the national rankings and to second in Ohio behind Franklin County.

Only Wayne County, Michigan, which includes Detroit, has lost more people since the 2010 census, falling by 66,691 to 1,753,893. Last year, the biggest drop was in Cook County (Chicago), which was down 24,009 but remains the nation's second largest county.

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Related coverage

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Cleveland-Akron area as a whole more stable

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This map shows the population shift in the Cleveland-Akron area from 2017 to 2018. (Rich Exner, cleveland.com)

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For the seven-county Cleveland-Akron area consisting of Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Medina, Portage and Summit counties, the population was down 1,062 last year to 2,761,854.

The seven counties have lost a combined 18,586 residents since the census in 2010, despite shifts that have resulted in gains of 6,814 for Medina County and 8,105 for Lorain County.

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The total population for the seven-county Cleveland-Akron area is essentially unchanged since 1970. (Rich Exner, cleveland.com)

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Components of change

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Births outnumbered deaths by 629 in Cuyahoga County from 2017 to 2018, a number far below the net changes for most other large urban counties regionally. (Rich Exner, cleveland.com)

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Cuyahoga’s decline is attributable in part to smaller household sizes in combination with the lack of open land for new suburban developments. But other factors are at play as well.

For example, Cuyahoga County last year added 3,846 residents through international migration, but lost 8,971 through moves to and from other places regionally and across the United States.

And Cuyahoga births outnumbered deaths by just 629. Virtually every other large county regionally in Ohio and neighboring states gained more sharply this way, with births outnumbering deaths by:

8,881 in Franklin County (Columbus).

5,819 in Marion County (Indianapolis).

3,929 in Wayne County (Detroit).

2,601 in Hamilton County (Cincinnati).

2,051 in Jefferson County (Louisville).

The exception was Allegheny County (Pittsburgh), with a net natural loss of 1,045.

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Each major county regionally lost to domestic migration

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Each of the large urban counties regionally lost more residents to moves elsewhere in the United States than they gained from people moving in from other U.S. places from 2017 to 2018. (Rich Exner, cleveland.com)

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What each of the seven largest counties regionally did have in common were net losses from migration to and from other places in the United States. This was true for even the growing counties. The losses through domestic migration ranged 10,413 in Wayne County to 213 in Franklin County.

For international moves, however, each gained, with net pickups from 2,062 for Hamilton County to 5,967 for Franklin County. Cuyahoga’s net gain from international migration of 3,846 was third highest among these seven counties.

Overall, Cuyahoga County at just over 1.2 million is larger than the home counties for Louisville (770,517), Cincinnati (816,684), Indianapolis (954,670) and Pittsburgh (1,218,452), but smaller than the counties that include Columbus (1,310,300) and Detroit (1,753,893).

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Calculating the changes

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The population estimates the Census Bureau produces each year for counties typically prove to be more accurate than city estimates when checked against the official census counts every 10 years.

This is because of available records at the county level for births and deaths, plus the use of other known data such as where people are enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid.

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Cuyahoga County details

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Here are the latest population estimates for Cuyahoga County. Each year when new estimates are made, the Census Bureau adjusts estimates for previous years. (Rich Exner, cleveland.com)

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Looking back over the last few years, here’s how Cuyahoga County’s population has changed, according to the estimates.

Overall losses by year: 4,144 (2012), 602 (2013), 2,195 (2014), 4,360 (2015), 4,441 (2016), 6,111 (2017) and 4,514 (2018).

Domestic migration net losses: 8,044 (2012), 5,534 (2013), 7,546 (2014), 9,852 (2015), 9,612 (2016), 10,090 (2017) and 8,971 (2018).

International migration net gains: 2,936 (2012), 3,948 (2013), 3,695 (2014), 4,062 (2015), 4,070 (2016), 3,321 (2017) and 3,846 (2018).

Births outnumbering deaths: 979 (2012), 1,079 (2013), 1,723 (2014), 1,444 (2015), 1,118 (2016), 673 (2017) and 629 (2018).

A small number for the total change from one year to the next is not specifically attributed by the Census Bureau to births, deaths or migration.

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Snapshot of Ohio

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Rich Exner, cleveland.com

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In Ohio, growth was concentrated along what could be called the Interstate 71 corridor, extending from Northeast Ohio to the Cincinnati area, while nearly every county in eastern and southeastern Ohio lost population, according to the estimates.

The fastest growing counties in Ohio last year were Franklin County (up 14,594 to just over 1.3 million) and Delaware County just north of Franklin (up 4,284 to 204,826). For percentage growth, Delaware was No. 1 at 2.1 percent, followed by neighboring Union County at 1.8 percent.

While Cuyahoga lost more people that any other county, 21 counties fell in population at higher rates than Cuyahoga’s loss of 0.4 percent. These counties - all in eastern or southeastern Ohio - were Athens (down 1.3 percent), Monroe (down 1.1 percent), Carroll (down 1 percent), Jefferson (down 0.9 percent) and Trumbull (down 0.7 percent).

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Details for all 88 Ohio counties

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Below are the latest estimates for all 88 Ohio counties, listed from largest to smallest.

Notes:

The number for births vs. deaths shows how many more births there were than deaths. A negative number means deaths exceeded births.

U.S. migration is the net change in population from all moves to and from other places in the United States.

International migration is the net change in population to and from other countries.

Reasons for a small portion of the annual changes are not specified.

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U.S. Census Bureau and cleveland.com

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Rich Exner, data analysis editor for cleveland.com, writes about numbers on a variety of topics. Follow on Twitter @RichExner. Find data-related stories at cleveland.com/datacentral.

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Previously: Census 2020 Q&A: Who gets counted, new chance to complete online, iPhone 8-equipped enumerators and more

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Results of the last census and what they mean for the makeup of the U.S. House of Representatives are released in December 2010. (U.S. Census Bureau)

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Previously: There’s still a chance Ohio could keep 16 U.S. House seats after the 2020 census, new estimates show

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The number of Ohio congressional seats has dropped from 24 to a projected 15 after the 2020 census. But if reapportionment were done today with 2018 population estimates, Ohio would hold on to 16 seats. (Rich Exner, cleveland.com)

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Previously: Many Americans fail basic test about use of confidential census data, survey finds

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U.S. Census Bureau