Hamilton County, Ohio

Hamilton County is a located in the southwest corner of the  of,. The is, and as of 2000, the population was 845,303. This made it the third most populous county in Ohio (and Ohio's second most densely populated county). The county is for the first Secretary of the Treasury,.

History
Most of Hamilton County was originally owned and surveyed by, and the region was a part of the. The first settlers came down the in, and established the towns of Losantiville (later Cincinnati) and.

In, Hamilton County was organized as the second county in the. At that time its area included about an eighth of Ohio, and had 2,000 inhabitants (not counting Native Americans). Since then, other counties have been organized and its area reduced to its current size. Rapid growth occurred during the 1830s and 1840s as the area became a magnet for German and Irish immigrants.

During the, (a Confederate cavalry assault) passed through the northern part of the county in.

Government
Main article: .



, the members of the Hamilton Board of County Commissioners include, Phil Heimlich, and Todd Portune. Heimlich was elected in 2002, replacing Tom Neyer, Jr., who was president from through. Since, the Board has employed an administrator to run the day-to-day operations of the county. In November 2006, Heimlich was defeated by challenger who replaced Heimlich in January, 2007.

Other elected officers include Dusty Rhodes (auditor), (prosecutor) and  (sheriff).

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 1,069 (413 ). 1,055 km² (407 sq mi) of it is land and 14 km² (5 sq mi) of it (1.31%) is water.

Geographic features
The county lies in a region of gentle hills formed by the slopes of the Ohio River valley and its tributaries. The, the , and the also contribute to this system of hillsides and valleys. Some steep hillsides reflect rapid changes in elevation but are usually confined to the nature of one sided hills.

The county boundaries include the lowest point in Ohio, where the Ohio River passes the Indiana border.

Major highways
,, , and  serve the county. The and  are also prominent east-west thoroughfares in the county.

Railroads
,, , and. Railroads of Cincinnati



Adjacent counties

 * - north
 * - northeast
 * - east
 * - southwest
 * - south
 * - southeast
 * - west

Demographics
As of, there were 845,303 people, 346,790 households, and 212,582 families residing in the county. The was 801/km² (2,075/sq mi). There were 373,393 housing units at an average density of 354/km² (917/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 72.93%, 23.43% or , 0.18% , 1.61% , 0.03% , 0.51% from , and 1.32% from two or more races. 1.13% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 346,790 households out of which 30.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.40% were living together, 14.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.70% were non-families. 32.90% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 3.07.

In the county the population was spread out with 25.80% under the age of 18, 9.60% from 18 to 24, 29.70% from 25 to 44, 21.50% from 45 to 64, and 13.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 91.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $40,964, and the median income for a family was $53,449. Males had a median income of $39,842 versus $28,550 for females. The for the county was $24,053. About 8.80% of families and 11.80% of the population were below the, including 16.20% of those under age 18 and 8.70% of those age 65 or over.

Census-designated places

 * † Only partially in Hamilton County

Education
Public elementary and secondary education is provided by a number of independent school districts, supplemented by a county vocational school district, the. The parochial schools of various denominations add to this base. Among these the maintains a system of 108 elementary and 22 secondary schools, the ninth largest private system in the United States. Cincinnati public schools are 71% African American while most suburban school districts are overwhelmingly White.

Recreation
The county, in cooperation with the City of Cincinnati, operates the system with a main library and 41 branches. Major sports teams are listed under the communities in which they are located, primarily Cincinnati. The County Park District maintains a series of preserves and educational facilities. The three major parks within the system are Miami Whitewater Forest, Winton Woods, and Sharon Woods.