Northwest Ohio, or Northwestern Ohio, consists of multiple counties in the northwestern corner of the US state of Ohio. This area borders Lake Erie, Southeast Michigan, and northeastern Indiana. Some areas are also considered the Black Swamp area. The Toledo metropolitan area is part of the region.
Northwest Ohio's population in 2000 was 1,639,144 and is declining, specifically in the northern regions (counties shaded in the darker blue and Allen County). However, southern areas, such as Marion and Morrow counties, and the city of Findlay are growing.
Largest municipalities Toledo is the principal city of Northwest Ohio. Most of the region's television channels and radio stations are licensed in Toledo, Perrysburg or nearby Bowling Green. Though Toledo is an industrial city, Northwest Ohio is primarily agricultural with small centers of commerce distributed across region. Since the 1970s, the population of Lucas County and the Toledo metropolitan area has declined, though Wood and Hancock counties have had moderate population growth.
2018 rankCityCounty2018 estimate2010 CensusChangeHighest Population (Year)Metropolitan Statistical Area1ToledoLucas 383,818 (1970)Toledo, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area2FindlayHancock 41,324 (2018)Findlay, OH Micropolitan Statistical Area3LimaAllen 53,734 (1970)Lima, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area4Bowling GreenWood 31,578 (2018)Toledo, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area5PerrysburgWood 21,570 (2018)Toledo, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area6SylvaniaLucas 19,030 (2018)Toledo, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area7TiffinSeneca 21,596 (1970)Tiffin, OH Micropolitan Statistical Area8DefianceDefiance 16,783 (1980)Defiance, OH Micropolitan Statistical Area9FremontSandusky 18,767 (1960)Fremont, OH Micropolitan Statistical Area10MaumeeLucas 15,937 (1970)Toledo, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area
Places considered within northwest Ohio
These places are or may be classified as being in Northwestern Ohio, depending on the definition being applied:
Counties and county seats Allen – Lima Auglaize – Wapakoneta Defiance – Defiance Fulton – Wauseon Hancock – Findlay Hardin – Kenton Henry – Napoleon Huron – Norwalk Lucas – Toledo Marion – Marion Mercer – Celina Morrow – Mount Gilead Ottawa – Port Clinton Paulding – Paulding Putnam – Ottawa Sandusky – Fremont Seneca – Tiffin Van Wert – Van Wert Williams – Bryan Wood – Bowling Green Wyandot – Upper Sandusky
Other cities, villages, and townships If a city is a county seat, it has been listed above according to the county in which it lies. Many of the cities, townships, and villages in Northwest Ohio are clustered in the Toledo MSA. This list is incomplete.
Cities Bellevue Clyde Crestline Delphos Fostoria GalionHolland Huron Maumee Northwood Ontario OregonPerrysburg Rossford Sandusky Shelby St. Marys Sylvania Vermilion Willard
Villages Ada Alger Antwerp Arcadia Archbold Arlington Attica Bailey Lakes Bairdstown Bay View Beaverdam Bellville Belmore Benton Ridge Berkey Berlin Heights Bettsville Blakeslee Bloomdale Bloomville Bluffton Bradner Broughton Buckland Burgoon Burkettsville Butler Cairo Caledonia Cardington Carey Castalia CecilChatfield Chesterville Chickasaw Clay Center Cloverdale Coldwater Columbus Grove Continental Convoy Cridersville Custar Cygnet Delta Deshler Dunkirk Dupont Edgerton Edison Edon Elgin Elida Elmore Fayette Florida Forest Fort Jennings Fort Recovery Fort Shawnee Fulton Genoa Gibsonburg GilboaGlandorf Grand Rapids Green Camp Green Springs Greenwich Grover Hill Hamler Harbor View Harpster Harrod Haskins Haviland Hayesville Helena Hicksville Holgate Holiday City Hoytville Jenera Jeromesville Jerry City Kalida Kelleys Island Kirby Lafayette LaRue Latty Leipsic Lexington Liberty Center LindseyLoudonville Lucas Luckey Lyons Malinta Marblehead Marengo Marseilles McClure McComb McGuffey Melrose Mendon Metamora Middle Point Mifflin Milan Millbury Miller City Milton Center Minster Monroeville Montezuma Montpelier Morral Mount Blanchard Mount Cory Mount Victory Nevada New Bavaria New BloomingtonNew Bremen New Knoxville New London New Riegel New Washington Ney North Baltimore North Fairfield North Robinson Oak Harbor Oakwood Ohio City Ottawa Ottoville Pandora Patterson Payne Pemberville Perrysville Pioneer Plymouth Polk Portage Prospect Put-in-Bay Rawson Republic Ridgeway Risingsun Rockford Rocky RidgeSavannah Scott Sherwood Shiloh Sparta Spencerville St. Henry Stryker Swanton Sycamore Tiffin Tiro Tontogany Uniopolis Van Buren Vanlue Venedocia Wakeman Walbridge Waldo Waterville Wayne Waynesfield West Leipsic West Millgrove Weston West Unity Wharton Whitehouse Willshire Woodville Wren
Townships Amanda Township, Allen County Amanda Township, Hancock County American Township, Allen County Auglaize Township, Allen County Auglaize Township, Paulding County Bath Township, Allen County Bay Township, Ottawa County Bloom Township, Wood County Clear Creek Township, Ashland County Erie Township, Ottawa County Green Township, Ashland County Hanover Township, Ashland County Jackson Township, Allen County Jackson Township, Ashland County Jackson Township, Auglaize County Jackson Township, Crawford County Jackson Township, Hancock County Jackson Township, Hardin County Jackson Township, Paulding County Jackson Township, Putnam County Jackson Township, Richland County Jackson Township, Sandusky County Jackson Township, Seneca County Jackson Township, Van Wert County Jackson Township, Wood County Jackson Township, Wyandot County Lake Township, Ashland County Lake Township, Wood County Marion Township, Allen County Marion Township, Hancock County Marion Township, Hardin County Marion Township, Henry County Marion Township, Marion County Marion Township, Mercer County Mifflin Township, Ashland County Mifflin Township, Richland County Mifflin Township, Wyandot County Milton Township, Ashland County Mohican Township, Ashland County Monroe Township, Allen County Monroe Township, Henry County Monroe Township, Putnam County Monroe Township, Richland County Montgomery Township, Ashland County Orange Township, Ashland County Perry Township, Allen County Perry Township, Ashland County Perry Township, Morrow County Perry Township, Putnam County Perry Township, Richland County Portage Township, Ottawa County Richland Township, Allen County Richland Township, Defiance County Richland Township, Marion County Richland Township, Wyandot County Ruggles Township, Ashland County Shawnee Township, Allen County Sullivan Township, Ashland County Troy Township, Ashland County Troy Township, Richland County Troy Township, Wood County Vermillion Township, Ashland County
Toledo area townships Monclova Township Perrysburg Township Springfield Township Sylvania Township Washington Township
Other places Nankin Nova Sullivan Ridgeville
Extreme Northwest Ohio
Extreme Northwest Ohio, or Far Northwestern Ohio, is a portion of Northwest Ohio best known as the Great Black Swamp area due to its natural history. The counties of Defiance, Fulton, Henry, Paulding, Putnam, Van Wert, and Williams in the state of Ohio are usually classified as Extreme Northwest Ohio.
According to the 2000 Census, the population of this portion of NW Ohio is 234,660. When Allen and Hancock counties are included, the population is 414,428. Just like any other region, there is no universally agreed-upon line for Northwestern Ohio, as the entire area is defined differently by the opinions of multiple people.
Principal Cities City Population (2010 Census) Bryan (Williams County) 8,545 Defiance (Defiance County) 16,494Findlay (Hancock County) 41,202 Lima (Allen County) 38,771
Politics Northwest Ohio Election Results + Northwest Ohio Presidential election resultsYearDemocraticRepublicanThird parties199645.04% 265,56042.71% 251,80612.25% 72,248200042.88% 260,23753.96% 327,4773.17% 19,218200444.03% 310,48055.54% 391,6760.43% 3,031200849.41% 351,88748.59% 346,0621.99% 14,163201247.81% 327,68249.99% 342,5922.20% 15,076201636.63% 245,61557.08% 382,7116.29% 42,206202037.58% 264,38060.58% 426,1211.84% 12,934202436.09% 249,29962.45% 431,3611.45% 10,024
Transportation Transit Local transit is available in three urban areas within Northwest Ohio. The Toledo Area Regional Transit Authority serves Toledo, the Allen County Regional Transit Authority serves Lima, and the Sandusky Transit System serves Sandusky.
Airports
Toledo Express Airport (TOL), in suburban Swanton, is the largest airport in northwest Ohio. Toledo Express is served by seven major passenger airlines, and has been named one of the five best small airports in the Midwest. Toledo Express is also a major air cargo center, serving as the international hub for BAX Global. Toledo Express has begun a $22 million renovation project; As of 2007, the airport has expanded and renovated the central gate area of its single terminal, and is seeking an airline to offer direct service to New York City.
Toledo Express also hosts the corporate flight departments of Owens-Illinois, Owens-Corning, Pilkington, and Dana Holding Corporation. Grand Aire Express offers charter and air taxi services from its base at the airport. In education, the airport is a base of operations for FlightSafety International and Toledo Public Schools' aviation program, with flight instruction also offered by the airport's two fixed-base operators, who also provide fuel, repair, and storage for general aviation aircraft. Additionally, Toledo Express is a base for F-16 fighter jets of the Ohio Air National Guard, which has provided the airport additional funding for runway lengthening and safety enhancements.
Detroit Metropolitan Airport to the north, Port Columbus International Airport to the southeast, and Cleveland Hopkins International Airport to the east are the major or hub airports serving residents of Northwest Ohio. Detroit Metro is a "fortress hub" for Delta Air Lines and offers both domestic and international flights. Cleveland Hopkins is a hub for United Airlines and offers both domestic and international flights.
Charter and air taxi service is also available at several smaller airports, such as Toledo Metcalf Field, Findlay Airport, and Lima Allen County Airport. General aviation users can also land at any one of approximately 40 public-use airports (both publicly and privately owned) in Northwest Ohio.
KFDY (Findlay Airport) has both the second and third largest runway in Northwest Ohio with runway 18/36 at 6449 x 100 ft and runway 7/25 at 5883 x 100 ft. Runway 18/36 is capable of allowing aircraft such as the Boeing 767-200 to land and then take-off at MTOW if needed. KTOL (Toledo Express) has the largest runway in Northwest Ohio at 10,600 x 150 ft, making it capable of handling nearly any aircraft at MTOW.
Roads Interstate 90 runs east-west through the upper part of Northwest Ohio. Interstate 75 runs from the Michigan border, through Toledo, south to Findlay, Lima, and to southwest Ohio.
Railroads Amtrak serves the passenger train, the Lake Shore Limited in Bryan in the Extreme Northwest. Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza in Toledo and Sandusky host Amtrak's Lake Shore Limited and Capitol Limited.
Notable people
Neil Armstrong, the first person to walk on the Moon, was born in Wapakoneta in Auglaize County, and spent time as a child in Upper Sandusky. The Neil Armstrong Air and Space Museum is named to honor his achievements. Singer and Grammy winner Anita Baker was born in Toledo in Lucas County. Figure skater Alissa Czisny is from Bowling Green in Wood County. She won a bronze medal at the 2007 United States Figure Skating Championships in Spokane. Actor Jamie Farr, best known as Corporal Maxwell Klinger from the TV series M*A*S*H, is from Toledo.