Following passage of the Northwest Ordinance in 1787, people from the eastern states, including Anglo-Americans and Afro-Americans, began to move into the Ohio Country. These people were followed by various groups of immigrants throughout the 1800s. Included were people from Germany, Ireland, France, Switzerland and Wales. As settlement grew and moved westward some Ohioans moved on but the population of the state continued to grow. Between the mid-1800s and the First World War, many rural Ohioans moved to cities. And from the early 1900s through about 1970, Appalachians from Kentucky and West Virginia moved into Ohio's industrial centers.The Ohio Historical Society's Campus Martius Museum highlights migration in Ohio's history from the late 1700s through most of the 1900s. The museum is located in Marietta on the site of the first organized American settlement in the Northwest Territory.
Ohio's Population, 1800-1990
| 1800: | 42,1591810 |
| 1810: | 230,7601820 |
| 1820: | 581,434 1830 |
| 1830: | 937,9031840 |
| 1840: | 1,519,4671850 |
| 1850: | 1,980,3291860 |
| 1860: | 2,339,511 |
| 1870: | 2,665,260 |
| 1880: | 3,198,062 |
| 1890: | 3,672,329 |
| 1900: | 4,157,545 |
| 1910: | 4,767,121 |
| 1920: | 5,759,394 |
| 1930: | 6,646,697 |
| 1940: | 6,907,612 |
| 1950: | 7,946,627 |
| 1960: | 9,706,397 |
| 1970: | 10,652,017 |
| 1980: | 10,797,630 |
| 1990: | 10,847,115 |
Population in 1990
| Urban: | 8,039,409 |
| Rural: | 2,807,706 |
| Male: | 5,226,340 |
| Female: | 5,620,775 |
| Total: | 10,847,115 |
Population Density in 1990
People per square mile
| Ohio | 264.9 |
| Pennsylvania | .265 |
| West Virginia: | 5 |
| Kentucky: | 93 |
| Indiana: | 155 |
| Michigan: | 164 |
| Canada: | 7 |
Families in 1990
People per square mile
| Married Couples | 2,294,111 |
| - With Children | 1,098,530 |
| Female Householder - No Spouse | 478,070 |
| - With Children | 312,217 |
| Male Householder - No Spouse | 123,042 |
| - With Children | 61,946 |
| Total Families | 2,895,223 |
| Average Family | 3.12 persons |
Educational Attainment in 1990
Persons 25 Years & Over
| Less Than 9th Grade: | 546,954 (7.9%)< |
| 9th to 12th Grade: | 1,137,934 (16.4%) |
| High School Graduate: | 3,695,396 (53.4%) |
| Associate Degree: | 369,144 (5.3%) |
| Bachelor's Degree | 767,845 (11.1%) |
| Graduate or Professional Degree | 407,491 (5.9%) |
Resources
- O'Bryant, MichaelThe Ohio Almanac;Orange Frazer Press, Willimington, Ohio; 1997.
- Peacefull, Leonard, ed.A Geography of Ohio;Kent State University Press, Kent, Ohio; 1996.
See Also
