Census: Population in Ohio, area counties grows, but only slightly

Apr. 6, 2012, Lancaster Eagle Gazette

By Jessica Alaimo
CentralOhio.com

Central Ohio continues to grow.

Franklin County and surrounding communities in Licking, Fairfield, Knox and Delaware counties all saw population increases between 2010 and 2011, according to estimates released Wednesday by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Officials in Fairfield and Licking counties say Columbus commuters are driving the growth, and the population hikes are a boon to the local economies.

Read more in the Lancaster Eagle Gazette. 

Census: Crawford County lost 366 people

The jobs left the area. And now the population is leaving too.

Crawford and Richland counties lost the third- and fourth-largest percentages of their population between 2010 and 2011 of all Ohio counties, estimates released Thursday from the U.S. Census Bureau show.

Crawford County lost 366 people. Richland County lost 753 people, and Marion County lost 265 people...

Read more in the Bucyrus Telegraph Forum. 

Sweet home far away from work

Mar. 6, 2011, Marion Star

BY JESSICA ALAIMO

CentralOhio.com

MARION — Jessica Abrams has a job she enjoys.

But to maintain gainful employment, she spends two hours in her car each day. She doesn’t want to move from Marion to Columbus.

The cost of living is lower where she lives, and she prefers the school system. But it puts a strain on her family.

“I don’t think I could find a job here making the kind of money that I do now, but I hope to eventually,” said Abrams, 31.

The average commute for Ohio workers has increased from 20 minutes in 1990 to 22.6 minutes in the past five years, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.

It doesn’t sound like much on the surface, but that amounts to an additional 21 hours in the car each year.

Unmarried men outnumber unhitched women

Dec. 18, 2010, Port Clinton News Herald

BY JESSICA ALAIMO

Special to the News Herald

Guys, a word of advice: If you like it, put a ring on it. Because in Ohio, women can be picky — especially those with a college education.

According to data just released in the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, there are more unmarried men than women in Ohio. Statewide, there are 11 unhitched men ages 15 to 44 to every 10 available women.

More men than women have never been married. Only 50 percent of households have a married couple. Only 20 percent of households have a married couple and a child younger than 18, according to the census data.