Mentor, Ohio

Mentor is a city in Lake County, Ohio, United States. Mentor was first settled in 1797. The population was 47,159 at the 2010 census. In July 2006, CNNMoney.com ranked Mentor 68th in a list of the Top 100 Best Places to Live in America. Just four years later in July 2010, CNNMoney.com ranked Mentor 37th on the same list.

In 1876 James A. Garfield purchased a home in Mentor, from which he conducted the first successful front porch campaign for the presidency. Garfield coined the term 'Mentorite' when referring to a native of Mentor. That home is now maintained as the James A. Garfield National Historic Site. The city is home to Headlands Beach State Park, the longest public swimming beach in Ohio. The city is a major center of retail stores, ranking seventh-largest in Ohio, and restaurants, ranking eighth-largest in the state. US 20 (Mentor Avenue) is the major retail center, which includes the Great Lakes Mall, with additional shopping and strip malls found along most major roads. Convenient Food Mart is based in Mentor. Major products include medical related, polymers, plastics, electric boards and other peripherals that generally serve the computer and automation industries. Two major railroads pass through the city, CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern.

Mentor's school system consists of 9 elementary schools, three middle schools, and Mentor High School. Like many school systems in Ohio, Mentor Schools suffered a financial crisis in the early 2000s, but passed a large levy and is now largely on solid footing - one of the fastest Ohio school systems ever to emerge from fiscal emergency. The financial difficulties were due in part to years of accounting fraud.

City government is based on a city manager executive appointed by city council. The city encourages development of light industry, which is reflected in its diverse economy and very low property taxes.

Many bike paths have been built in Mentor in recent years.

The pronunciation of the city's name is a shibboleth, with some residents pronouncing it as "men-ner" and outsiders using the more conventional "men-tore", while in the media and among most residents, "men-ter" is prominent. The city's slogan, "It's better in Mentor," reflects this fact.

Mentor is named after the Greek figure Mentor, in keeping with the Connecticut Western Reserve settlers' tradition, as well as that of most other Americans at the time, of celebrating aspects of Greek classicism (nearby Solon, Macedonia, Euclid, and Akron also were named using that principle).

Geography
Mentor is a far eastern suburb of Cleveland and is located on the south shore of Lake Erie.

The Mentor Headlands area of Mentor, located in the northeast portion of the city, was settled in 1797 by Connecticut Land Company surveyors.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 28.00 sqmi, of which, 26.65 sqmi is land and 1.35 sqmi is water.

2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 47,159 people, 19,166 households, and 13,339 families residing in the city. The population density was 1769.6 PD/sqmi. There were 20,218 housing units at an average density of 758.6 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 96.3% White, 1.0% African American, 0.1% Native American, 1.4% Asian, 0.3% from other races, and 1.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.3% of the population.

There were 19,166 households of which 28.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.4% were married couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 30.4% were non-families. 25.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.94.

The median age in the city was 44.8 years. 21.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.3% were from 25 to 44; 33.2% were from 45 to 64; and 16.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.4% male and 51.6% female.

2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 50,278 people, 18,797 households, and 14,229 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,878.2 people per square mile (725.2/km²). There were 19,301 housing units at an average density of 721.0 per square mile (278.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.30% Caucasian, 0.64% African American, 0.05% Native American, 1.19% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.18% from other races, and 0.61% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.72% of the population. 19.8% were of German, 15.1% Italian, 13.1% Irish, 8.8% English, 6.5% Polish, 5.5% Slovene and 5.4% American ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 18,797 households out of which 35.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.6% were married couples living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.3% were non-families. 20.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.08.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.9% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 29.0% from 25 to 44, 26.3% from 45 to 64, and 12.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 94.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $57,230, and the median income for a family was $65,322. Males had a median income of $44,021 versus $31,025 for females. The per capita income for the city was $24,592. About 1.8% of families and 2.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.8% of those under age 18 and 4.4% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

 * James A. Garfield, twentieth President of the United States of America
 * Robyn Haines, Michigan this Morning news anchor
 * Bob Hallen, NFL football player
 * Joe Jurevicius, NFL football player
 * Dustin Kirby, MLS soccer player
 * Dan Ryczek, NFL football player
 * Paul Ryczek, NFL football player
 * Michael Salinger, poet
 * Katie Spotz, endurance rower
 * Ricky Stanzi, Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback (2013–present)
 * Jim Tressel, Ohio State University football coach (2001–2010)

Schools
Mentor Public Schools Elementary Schools:
 * Bellflower Elementary
 * Brentmoor Elementary
 * Fairfax Elementary
 * James A. Garfield Elementary
 * Hopkins Elementary
 * Lake Elementary
 * Sterling Morton Elementary
 * Orchard Hollow Elementary
 * Dale R. Rice Elementary

Middle Schools:
 * Memorial Middle School
 * Ridge Middle School
 * Shore Middle School

Special Needs Schools:
 * CARES

High Schools:
 * Mentor High School


 * Private Schools:
 * Lake Catholic High School
 * Mentor Christian School (K-12)
 * St.Marys Mentor (K-8)
 * Mentor Heritage Christian Academy (K-12)

Churches
Assemblies of God:
 * Lakeshore Assembly of God

Episcopal:
 * St. Andrew Episcopal Church (actually in The Village of Kirtland Hills, Lake County, OH)

Baptist:
 * Mentor Baptist Church
 * Trinity Baptist Church

Catholic:
 * St. Bede the Venerable
 * St. Gabriel (actually in Concord Township, Lake County, Ohio)
 * St. John Vianney
 * St. Mary of the Assumption

Jewish:
 * Temple Am Shalom

Lutheran:
 * Advent Lutheran
 * Faith Lutheran Church
 * Good Shepherd Lutheran Church

Lutheran Brethren:
 * Pilgrim Lutheran Brethren Church

Methodist:
 * Mentor Plains United Methodist Church
 * Hope Ridge United Methodist Church
 * Mentor United Methodist Church
 * North Mentor Centenary United Methodist Church

Non-Denominational
 * Abundant Joy Church
 * Grace Church of Mentor
 * Holy Spirit of the Mighty Savior Christ Our Lord
 * Prince of Peace