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Ohio’s population continues to become more diverse, mostly because of growth in the numbers of Asian and Hispanic residents, new census estimates show.
The Hispanic population grew in every county in Ohio between the 2010 census and July 1, 2017, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates of population based on race and Hispanic origin released Thursday. The state’s Hispanic population grew by 86,212 people and bolstered populations in some places that would otherwise be in steeper decline. Asians were the fastest-growing group, growing by 38.1 percent, or 73,871 people, statewide since 2010. That growth occurred mostly in counties that contain Columbus, Cincinnati and Cleveland.
Though both groups grew as a percentage of the state’s population, they remain relatively small: Hispanics made up 3.8 percent of the state’s population, up from 3.1 percent in 2010, and non-Hispanic Asians made up 2.3 percent of Ohioans, up from 1.7 percent in 2010.
All but 15 counties in Ohio showed declines in the population of non-Hispanic white residents, and Ohio has lost more than 153,000 white residents since 2010, nearly the number of Asian and Hispanic residents the state added. Still, whites continue to be the majority in every county and made up 79.1 percent of the state’s residents last year, down from 81.2 percent in 2010.
Columbus is the state capital of and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a population of 879,170 as of 2017 estimates, it is the 14th-most populous city in the United States and one of the fastest growing large cities in the nation. This makes Columbus the third-most populous state capital in the US (after Phoenix, Arizona and Austin, Texas) and the second-most populous city in the Midwest (after Chicago, Illinois). It is the core city of the Columbus, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses ten counties. With a population of 2,078,725, it is Ohio’s second-largest metropolitan area.
The city has a diverse economy based on education, government, insurance, banking, defense, aviation, food, clothes, logistics, steel, energy, medical research, health care, hospitality, retail, and technology. Columbus Region is home to the Battelle Memorial Institute, the world’s largest private research and development foundation; Chemical Abstracts Service, the world’s largest clearinghouse of chemical information; NetJets, the world’s largest fractional ownership jet aircraft fleet; and The Ohio State University, one of the largest universities in the United States. As of 2018, the metro area serves as the headquarters to several U.S. Fortune 500 companies:
In 2016, Money Magazine ranked Columbus as one of “The 6 Best Big Cities”, calling it the best in the Midwest, citing a highly educated workforce and excellent wage growth. In 2012, Columbus was ranked in BusinessWeek’s 50 best cities in the United States. In 2013, Forbes gave Columbus an “A” grade as one of the top cities for business in the U.S., and later that year included the city on its list of Best Places for Business and Careers. Columbus was also ranked as the No. 1 up-and-coming tech city in the nation by Forbes in 2008, and the city was ranked a top-ten city by Relocate America in 2010.
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