# Fairfield County, Ohio

Fairfield County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 158,921. Its county seat and largest city is Lancaster. Its name is a reference to the Fairfield area of the original Lancaster. Fairfield County is part of the Columbus, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area.

## History

Fairfield County originally encompassed all or parts of present day Knox, Hocking, Licking, Perry, and Pickaway Counties. Fairfield is a descriptive name referring to the beauty of their fields.

## Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 509 square miles (1,320 km$^2$), of which 504 square miles (1,310 km$^2$) is land and 4.2 square miles (11 km$^2$) (0.8%) is water.
Fairfield County sits just on the edge of Ohio's Appalachian region. While the once-glaciated northern portion of the county is fairly flat, as one travels south along U.S. 33 one can easily recognize the foothills of a mountainous region beginning around the village of Carroll. Although not officially part of the state or federal definition of Appalachia, certain areas of Fairfield County—particularly those south of U.S. 22—bear a distinctly Appalachian feel in both physical geography and demographics.
The scenic Hocking Hills region lies immediately to the south, mostly in neighboring Hocking County. A large portion of Buckeye Lake is located in northeastern Fairfield County.
Mudhouse Mansion, an allegedly haunted house, was located in the county.

### Adjacent counties

* Licking County (north)
* Perry County (east)
* Hocking County (south)
* Pickaway County (southwest)
* Franklin County (northwest)

## Demographics
### 2000 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 146,156 people, 54,310 households, and 39,846 families living in the county. The population density was 289 inhabitants per square mile (112/km$^2$). There were 58,678 housing units at an average density of 116 units per square mile (45/km$^2$). The racial makeup of the county was 90.02% White, 6.00% Black or African American, 0.20% Native American, 1.10% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.23% from other races, and 1.90% from two or more races. 1.70% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 54,310 households, out of which 34.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.30% were married couples living together, 11.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.60% were non-families. 21.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.07.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 26.30% under the age of 18, 8.00% from 18 to 24, 30.20% from 25 to 44, 23.90% from 45 to 64, and 12.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.30 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $47,962, and the median income for a family was $55,539. Males had a median income of $39,566 versus $27,353 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,671. About 4.50% of families and 5.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.40% of those under age 18 and 6.20% of those age 65 or over.

### 2010 census

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 146,156 people, 54,310 households, and 39,846 families living in the county. The population density was 289.8 inhabitants per square mile (111.9/km$^2$). There were 58,687 housing units at an average density of 116.3 units per square mile (44.9 units/km$^2$). The racial makeup of the county was 90.2% white, 6.0% black or African American, 1.1% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.6% from other races, and 1.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.7% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 31.2% were German, 16.2% were Irish, 11.7% were English, 8.6% were American, and 5.2% were Italian.
Of the 54,310 households, 37.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.3% were married couples living together, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 26.6% were non-families, and 21.9% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.07. The median age was 38.2 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $56,796 and the median income for a family was $65,835. Males had a median income of $49,314 versus $37,209 for females. The per capita income for the county was $26,130. About 7.5% of families and 10.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.7% of those under age 18 and 6.7% of those age 65 or over.

## Politics

United States presidential election results for Fairfield County, Ohio :
| Year | Republican | Republican | Democratic | Democratic | Third party(ies) | Third party(ies) |
| Year | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % |
| 2024 | 51,999 | 61.57% | 31,695 | 37.53% | 763 | 0.90% |
| 2020 | 50,797 | 60.97% | 31,224 | 37.48% | 1,290 | 1.55% |
| 2016 | 44,314 | 60.25% | 24,881 | 33.83% | 4,359 | 5.93% |
| 2012 | 41,034 | 56.82% | 29,890 | 41.39% | 1,296 | 1.79% |
| 2008 | 41,580 | 57.63% | 29,250 | 40.54% | 1,317 | 1.83% |
| 2004 | 42,715 | 62.93% | 24,783 | 36.51% | 384 | 0.57% |
| 2000 | 33,523 | 61.97% | 19,065 | 35.24% | 1,506 | 2.78% |
| 1996 | 26,850 | 52.98% | 18,821 | 37.13% | 5,013 | 9.89% |
| 1992 | 24,125 | 47.50% | 14,249 | 28.06% | 12,415 | 24.44% |
| 1988 | 29,208 | 69.46% | 12,504 | 29.74% | 339 | 0.81% |
| 1984 | 30,843 | 75.17% | 9,817 | 23.92% | 373 | 0.91% |
| 1980 | 24,096 | 60.98% | 13,144 | 33.26% | 2,275 | 5.76% |
| 1976 | 19,098 | 57.73% | 13,361 | 40.39% | 620 | 1.87% |
| 1972 | 21,909 | 71.67% | 7,746 | 25.34% | 913 | 2.99% |
| 1968 | 14,810 | 52.03% | 9,533 | 33.49% | 4,124 | 14.49% |
| 1964 | 11,480 | 42.38% | 15,611 | 57.62% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1960 | 17,743 | 66.03% | 9,128 | 33.97% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1956 | 15,647 | 65.24% | 8,337 | 34.76% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1952 | 15,027 | 62.18% | 9,140 | 37.82% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1948 | 9,471 | 50.09% | 9,375 | 49.58% | 61 | 0.32% |
| 1944 | 11,135 | 56.89% | 8,439 | 43.11% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1940 | 10,813 | 48.90% | 11,298 | 51.10% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1936 | 8,062 | 38.70% | 12,322 | 59.16% | 446 | 2.14% |
| 1932 | 8,050 | 43.04% | 10,410 | 55.66% | 244 | 1.30% |
| 1928 | 12,072 | 67.87% | 5,619 | 31.59% | 97 | 0.55% |
| 1924 | 8,281 | 53.80% | 5,890 | 38.26% | 1,222 | 7.94% |
| 1920 | 7,572 | 46.46% | 8,610 | 52.83% | 116 | 0.71% |
| 1916 | 3,380 | 34.69% | 6,172 | 63.34% | 192 | 1.97% |
| 1912 | 1,672 | 18.83% | 5,101 | 57.45% | 2,106 | 23.72% |
| 1908 | 4,023 | 40.24% | 5,821 | 58.22% | 154 | 1.54% |
| 1904 | 4,084 | 45.26% | 4,632 | 51.33% | 308 | 3.41% |
| 1900 | 3,738 | 40.14% | 5,431 | 58.32% | 144 | 1.55% |
| 1896 | 3,432 | 39.20% | 5,250 | 59.96% | 74 | 0.85% |
| 1892 | 3,004 | 37.83% | 4,650 | 58.56% | 287 | 3.61% |
| 1888 | 3,058 | 37.64% | 4,846 | 59.65% | 220 | 2.71% |
| 1884 | 3,210 | 38.94% | 4,922 | 59.70% | 112 | 1.36% |
| 1880 | 3,103 | 38.91% | 4,842 | 60.72% | 29 | 0.36% |
| 1876 | 2,770 | 37.57% | 4,597 | 62.36% | 5 | 0.07% |
| 1872 | 2,540 | 39.40% | 3,888 | 60.31% | 19 | 0.29% |
| 1868 | 2,439 | 37.44% | 4,076 | 62.56% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1864 | 2,427 | 40.87% | 3,512 | 59.13% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1860 | 2,178 | 37.66% | 3,249 | 56.18% | 356 | 6.16% |
| 1856 | 1,700 | 30.12% | 3,233 | 57.28% | 711 | 12.60% |
Prior to 1944, Fairfield County was Democratic in presidential elections, only voting for Republicans twice from 1856 to 1940. Starting with the 1944 election, the county has become a Republican stronghold in presidential elections, with Lyndon B. Johnson being the only Democrat to win since then, but Harry S. Truman came within 96 votes of winning it in 1948.

## Government

Roster of County Officials (as of Feb. 2019):
* Commissioners: David L. Levacy (R), Steve Davis (R), Jeffrey Fix (R)
* Prosecutor: Kyle Witt (R)
* Sheriff: Alex Lape (R)
* Auditor: Carri Brown, PhD (R)
* Treasurer: James Bahnsen, CPA (R)
* Recorder: Lisa R. McKenzie (R)
* Clerk of Courts: Branden Meyer (R)
* Engineer: Jeremiah Upp (R)
* Coroner: Dr. L. Brian Varney, M.D. (R)
* Judge, Common Pleas Court: David A. Trimmer (R)
* Judge, Common Pleas Court: Richard Berens (R)
* Judge, Common Pleas Court (General/Domestic Relations): Laura B. Smith (R)
* Judge, Common Pleas Court (Juvenile/Probate): Terre L. Vandervoort (R)

## Education
### School districts and state schools

School districts include:
* Amanda-Clearcreek Local School District
* Berne Union Local School District
* Bloom-Carroll Local School District
* Canal Winchester Local School District (Franklin & Fairfield)
* Fairfield Union Local School District
* Lancaster City School District
* Liberty Union-Thurston Local School District
* Northern Local School District
* Pickerington Local School District
* Reynoldsburg City School District
* Southwest Licking Local School District
* Teays Valley Local School District (Almost entirely Pickaway)
* Walnut Township Local School District

### Elementary schools

* St. Mary's School
* St. Bernadette School
* Mount Pleasant Elementary
* Medill Elementary (housed at former East Elementary location during reconstruction)
* Sanderson Elementary (to be closed upon completion of Medill Elementary reconstruction)
* Tallmadge Elementary (housed at former West Elementary location during reconstruction)
* Tarhe Trails Elementary
* Gorsuch West Elementary
* Pleasantville Elementary
* Bremen Elementary

### High schools

* Amanda-Clearcreek Digital Academy
* Amanda-Clearcreek High School
* Liberty Union High School
* Bloom-Carroll High School
* Fairfield Career Center
* Fairfield Christian Academy
* Fairfield Union High School
* Lancaster Fairfield Alternative School
* Lancaster High School
* Millersport Jr/Sr High School
* Walnut Township Academy
* Pickerington Alternative School
* Pickerington High School Central
* Pickerington High School North
* Berne Union High School
* William V. Fisher Catholic High School

## Communities
### Cities

* Columbus (mostly in Franklin County and partly in Delaware County)
* Lancaster (county seat)
* Pickerington
* Reynoldsburg
* Canal Winchester

### Villages

* Amanda
* Baltimore
* Bremen
* Buckeye Lake
* Carroll
* Lithopolis
* Millersport
* Pleasantville
* Rushville
* Stoutsville
* Sugar Grove
* Tarlton
* Thurston
* West Rushville

### Townships

* Amanda
* Berne
* Bloom
* Clearcreek
* Greenfield
* Hocking
* Liberty
* Madison
* Pleasant
* Richland
* Rush Creek
* Violet
* Walnut

### Census-designated places

* Fairfield Beach
* Hide-A-Way Hills

### Unincorporated communities

* Cedar Hill
* Clearport
* Colfax
* Delmont
* Drinkle
* Dumontsville
* Geneva
* Greencastle
* Hamburg
* Havensport
* Hooker
* Horns Mill
* Jefferson
* Lockville
* Marcy
* New Salem
* North Berne
* Oakland
* Oakthorpe
* Revenge
* Royalton
* Waterloo
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