Greater Cleveland

Combined Statistical Area

The larger Cleveland-Akron-Canton Combined Statistical Area is the 15th-largest Combined Statistical Area in the United States, and includes the above counties plus Ashtabula County, Carroll County, Erie County, Huron County, Portage County, Stark County, Summit County, and Tuscarawas County, with a population of 3,515,646.

The Cleveland-Akron-Canton television Designated Market Area covers this area, and all of Northeast Ohio except for the Youngstown/Warren region. It is the 18th largest in the United States, according to Nielsen Media Research. Changes in house prices for Greater Cleveland are publicly tracked on a regular basis using the Case–Shiller index; the statistic is published by Standard & Poor's and is also a component of S&P's 20-city composite index of the value of the U.S. residential real estate market. The Greater Cleveland area is also part of the larger Great Lakes Megalopolis.

Northeast Ohio

Northeast Ohio consists of 16 counties (Ashland, Ashtabula, Carroll, Columbiana, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Mahoning, Medina, Portage, Richland, Stark, Summit, Trumbull and Wayne counties) and includes the cities of Akron, Ashland, Ashtabula, Brunswick, Canton, Cleveland, Elyria, Lorain, Mansfield, Medina, Wadsworth, Wooster, Warren, and Youngstown. Northeast Ohio is home to approximately 4 million people, has a labor force of almost 2 million, and a gross regional product of nearly $170 billion. Other counties are sometimes considered to be in Northeast Ohio. These include Erie, Holmes, Huron and Tuscarawas counties, and their inclusion makes the total population of the entire northeastern section of Ohio well over 4.5 million people.

Counties

Cities by population

These, in decreasing order of population, are the eight largest cities in Greater Cleveland of (2010):

Demographics

According to the 2010 United States Census, the population was 2.077 million in the five-county MSA of the Greater Cleveland Area, making it the largest metropolitan-statistical area entirely within the state of Ohio. Approximately 48.1% of the population was male and 51.9% were female. In 2010 the racial makeup of the five-county Area was 71.7% (1,490,074) Non-Hispanic Whites, 19.7% (409,582) Non-Hispanic Blacks or African Americans, 0.2% (4,056) American Indians and Alaskan Natives, 2.0% (40,522) Asian (0.7% Asian Indian 0.5% Chinese 0.2% Filipino, 0.1% Korean, 0.1% Vietnamese, 0.1% Japanese, 0.0% (398) Pacific Islander, 1.7% (35,224) from other races, and 2.0% (42,130) from two or more races. 4.7% (98,133) of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race (2.8% Puerto Rican, 1.0% Mexican, 0.1% Dominican, and 0.1% Cuban).

The median income for a household in Greater Cleveland was $46,231 and the median income for a family, $59,611. The per capita income was $25,668. Persons living below the poverty line was 15.1%. According performed by Capgemini and the World Wealth Report by Merrill Lynch, the Cleveland area has nearly 54,000 millionaire household, and is expected to continue to grow at seventeen percent over the next five years.

For the past thirty years the Greater Cleveland area population has been in decline especially in terms of non-Hispanic whites all the while still being the most diverse region in the State. But at the same time has become even more increasingly diverse as well. As of 2010 both the Hispanic and Asian population in the Cleveland-Akron-Ashtabula area grew by almost 40%, Hispanics now number at 112,307 (up from 80,738 in 2000). And Asian alone accounts for 55,087 (up from 39,586 in 2000) but people who cite Asian and other ethnicites enumerate 67,231. The Chinese Americans are the oldest Asian group residing in Northeast Ohio, most visible in Cleveland's Chinatown. Nevertheless, the area is also home to hundreds of Thais, Taiwanese, Pakistanis, Laotians, Cambodians, and Burmese peoples as well.

The Cleveland area is also home to some of the nation's largest Italian (numbering over 205,000), Slavic, and Hungarian populations. The Hungarian population was so great at one time that Cleveland boasted of having the highest concentration of Hungarians outside of Budapest. Cleveland-Akron area is home to a large Slavic population (17.2% far higher than the nation's rate of 6%). The Greater Cleveland area is home to roughly 171,000 Polish, 38,000 Slovaks, 66,000 Slovenes 38,000 Czechs, 31,000 Russians, and 23,000 Ukrainians. Slavic Village and Shaker Square once had some of the larger concentration in the city of Cleveland. Today, Slavic Village still continues to be home to many Slavic Ohioans. The Greater Cleveland area is home to the largest Slovak, Slovene, and Hungarian community in the world, outside of Slovakia, Slovenia, and Hungary. In addition Slovenia maintains a Consulate-General in Downtown Cleveland. The city of Cleveland has also received visits from the Presidents of Hungary and Poland.

Greater Cleveland is home to a sizable Jewish community. According to the North American Jewish Data Bank, an estimated 86,600 people or 3.0% as of 2011, above the nation's 1.7%, and up from 81,500 in 1996. The highest proportion in Cuyahoga County at 5.5% (of the county's total population). Today 23 percent of Greater Cleveland's Jewish population is under 17. Twenty-seven percent of Jewish people reside in The Heights (Cleveland Heights, Shaker Heights, and University Heights). In 2010 nearly 2,600 people spoke Hebrew and 1,100 Yiddish.

Ancestry

The top largest ancestries in the Greater Cleveland MSA, were the following:

Place of birth

Approximately 94.1% of the metropolitan area's population was native to the United States. Approximately 92.8% were born in the U.S. while 1.3% were born in Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory, or born abroad to American parents. The rest of the population (5.9%) were foreign-born. The highest percentages of immigrants came from Europe (46.2%), Asia (32.7%), Latin America (14.3%); smaller percentages of newcomers came from Africa (3.6%), other parts of North America (3.0%), and Oceania (0.3%).

According to the American Community Survey 2006-2010, the number of Greater Cleveland area residents born overseas was 119,136 and the leading countries of origin were India (10,067), China (7,756), Mexico (6,051), Ukraine (7,211), Germany (5,742), Italy (4,114), Canada (4,102), United Kingdom (4,048), Romania (3,947), Poland (3,834), Russia (3,826), and Yugoslavia (3,820).

Language spoken at home

English is by far the most commonly spoken language at home by residents in the Cleveland-Akron-Elyria area; approximately 91.2% of the population over the age of five spoke only English at home. Spanish speakers made up 2.8% of the population; speakers of Asian languages made up 1.1% of the population; speakers of other Indo-European languages made up 3.9% of the population. Individuals who spoke languages other than the ones above represented the remaining 1.0% of the populace. As of 2011, individually in addition to English, 2.7% spoke Spanish, 0.6% German, 0.5% Arabic, and 0.5% Chinese. 1.4% also spoke a Slavic language. In 2007, Cleveland area was home to the nation's 3rd highest proportion of Hungarian speakers.

Area codes

In the 1950s, AT&T assigned Greater Cleveland Area code 216, which included all of Northeast Ohio. In 1996, Area code 216 was reduced in size to cover the northern half of its prior area, centering on Cleveland and its lake shore suburbs. Area code 330 was introduced for the southern half of Greater Cleveland, including Medina County. The western half of the region, including Ashland and Richland counties, and parts of Huron, Wayne, and Erie counties, are assigned area codes 419 and 567.

In 1997, area code 216 was further split as the need for additional phone numbers grew. Area code 216 was reduced in geographical area to cover the city of Cleveland and its inner ring suburbs. Area code 440 was introduced to cover the remainder of was what previously area code 216, including all of Lorain, Geauga, and Lake counties, and parts of Cuyahoga County. Some communities, such as Parma, and Parma Heights were divided between the 216 and 440 area codes. In 1999, Congressman Dennis Kucinich introduced federal legislation to protect small and medium-sized cities from being split into two or more area codes.

In 2000, it was anticipated that the available phone numbers in area code 330 would be exhausted, and an overlay area code was introduced. Area code 234 was assigned to overlap existing area code 330. With the creation of area code 234, any new phone number in the geographical area formerly covered by area code 330 could be assigned a phone number in either the 234 or 330 area codes, with no change in local or long distance toll status. This made necessary the use of ten-digit dialing within the 330/234 area code region. After the introduction of area code 234, assignments of new telephone numbers in the area did not continue at an accelerated pace, and new phone numbers for area code 234 were not assigned until 2003.

Economy

In 2011 the Greater Cleveland area had a GDP of $134.4 billion (up from $130.7 billion in 2008), which would rank 57th among countries. Cleveland also has the twelfth highest merchandise value at $109.2 billion.

Business and industry

More than 37% of Fortune 500 companies are present in Northeast Ohio, through corporate headquarters, major divisions, subsidiaries, and sales offices. In addition, more than 150 international companies have a presence there. As of 2006, Northeast Ohio serves as the corporate headquarters of 25 Fortune 1000 firms (shown with 2006 rankings below):

Other large employers include:

Small businesses and startups

The Council of Smaller Enterprises coordinates and advocates for small businesses in the region. Many of the area's sustainability-oriented companies are tied into the network Entrepreneurs for Sustainability.

Shopping

Cleveland area has many options for shopping. Some of the well known shopping areas include:

Colleges and universities

Greater Cleveland is home to a number of higher education institutions, including:

Airports

Greater Cleveland is served by international, regional and county airports, including:

Highways

Highway notes

Public transit

The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority operates a bus system and heavy and light rail in Cuyahoga County. Other transit agencies serve the surrounding counties and provide connections with RTA, including Laketran in Lake County, and Lorain County Transit in Lorain County. Cleveland's RTA Red Line which started in 1955, is the eighth oldest heavy rail rapid transit in the Country In 2007, RTA was named the best public transit system in North America by the American Public Transportation Association, for "demonstrating achievement in efficiency and effectiveness."

Theater

Playhouse Square Center is the epicenter of the Cleveland Theater District and the second largest theater district in the United States.

Playhouse Square Theaters

In addition, Greater Cleveland has additional theaters throughout the region.

Theaters

Theatrical companies

Music

Cleveland is home to the Cleveland Orchestra, widely considered one of the finest orchestras in the world, and often referred to as the finest in the United States. It is one of the "Big Five" major orchestras in the United States. The Orchestra plays at Severance Hall in University Circle during the winter and at Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls during the summer. The city is also home to the Cleveland Pops Orchestra.

Art

There are two main art museums in Cleveland. The Cleveland Museum of Art is a major American art museum, with a collection that includes more than 40,000 works of art ranging over 6,000 years, from ancient masterpieces to contemporary pieces. Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland showcases established and emerging artists, particularly from the Cleveland area, through hosting and producing temporary exhibitions.

Sports and recreation

Cleveland's professional sports teams include the Cleveland Indians (Major League Baseball), Cleveland Browns (National Football League), and Cleveland Cavaliers (National Basketball Association). The Lake County Captains, a Single-A minor league affiliate of the Cleveland Indians, play in Eastlake at Classic Park. Additionally, the Lake Erie Crushers of the Frontier League play at Sprenger Stadium in Avon.

Minor league hockey is represented in the area by the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League. They began play in the 2007–08 AHL season at the Quicken Loans Arena. The team is the top minor league affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League.

The Cleveland Metroparks are a system of nature preserves that encircle the city, and the Cuyahoga Valley National Park encompasses the Cuyahoga River valley between Cleveland and Akron. The region is home to Mentor Headlands Beach, the longest natural beach on the Great Lakes.