
Map of the Cleveland-Akron-Elyria
CSA
Greater Cleveland
is a nickname for the metropolitan area surrounding Cleveland
, Ohio
.
Northeast Ohio refers to a similar but
substantially larger area as described below.
This article covers
the area generally considered to be Greater Cleveland, but includes
information on the entire region of Northeast Ohio which includes
the cities of Cleveland
, Akron
, Canton
, Elyria
, Lorain
, Warren
, and
Youngstown
.
According
to the 2000 Census, the
five-county Cleveland
-Elyria
-Mentor
Metropolitan Statistical
Area (MSA) consists of Cuyahoga County
, Geauga County
, Lake County
, Lorain County
, and Medina County
, and has a population of 2,250,871. Greater
Cleveland is the largest metropolitan area in Ohio.
The larger
Cleveland-Akron
-Elyria
Combined Statistical Area
is the 14th-largest Combined Statistical Area in the United States
, and includes the above counties plus Ashtabula
County
, Portage County
and Summit County
, with a population of 2,945,831.
The
Cleveland-Akron-Canton
television Designated Market Area covers this
area, and all of Northeast Ohio except for the Youngstown/Warren
region. It is the 16th largest in the United States,
according to
Nielsen Media
Research.
However, the areas commonly understood as
Greater
Cleveland or
Northeast Ohio are not precisely
defined. Most often, Greater Cleveland is understood as referring
to all of Cuyahoga County, and a number of surrounding communities.
The Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor MSA covers most of this area and some
smaller outlying communities.
Northeast
Ohio consists of 13 counties and includes the cities of Cleveland
, Akron
, Canton
, Lorain
, Elyria
, Medina
, Ashtabula
, Youngstown
, and Warren
.
Northeast Ohio is home to approximately 4.5 million people, has a
labor force of almost 2 million, and a gross regional product of
more than
US$134 billion.
Additional counties are often (but not always) considered to be in
Northeast Ohio.
These locations include Ashland
County
, Carroll County
, Columbiana County
, Erie County
, Holmes County
, Huron County
, Richland County
, Tuscarawas County
, and Wayne County
, thus making the total population of the entire
Northeastern section of Ohio well over 5 million
people.
The areas commonly referred to as
Greater Cleveland or
Northeast Ohio are not precisely the same as either the
Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor MSA or the Cleveland-Akron-Elyria Combined
Statistical Area defined by the
U.S. Census Bureau.
The region is considered by some to be a part of a
megalopolis.
Some geographers
describe the area stretching from Cleveland to Pittsburgh
as the "Steel City Corridor", encompassing the
cities of Akron, Canton, and Youngstown. Others characterize
it as part of a larger megalopolis that connects
Chicago to Pittsburgh.
Counties
Cities and villages
Cuyahoga County
Geauga County
Lake County
Lorain County
Medina County
Portage County
Summit County
Area codes
In the 1950s,
AT&T assigned Northeast
Ohio the 216
area
code, and in 1996, Northeast Ohio was divided into two area
codes.
Area code 216 was reduced in
size to cover the northern half of its prior area, centering on
Cleveland and its suburbs.
Area code
330 was introduced for remaining outlying areas formerly
covered by area code 216, including Akron, Canton, and
Youngstown.
In 1997, area code 216 was further split as the need for additional
phone numbers grew. Area code 216 was again reduced in geographical
area to cover the city of Cleveland and its
inner ring suburbs.
Area code 440 was introduced to cover the
remainder of was what previously area code 216, including Lake,
Lorain, Ashtabula, Geauga, and other Greater Cleveland counties.
Some
communities, such as Parma
, were
divided into multiple area codes. In 1999, Congressman
Dennis Kucinich introduced federal
legislation to protect small and medium-sized cities from being
split into two or more area codes.
In 2000, it was anticipated that the available phone numbers in
area code 330 would be exhausted, and an
overlay area code was introduced.
Area code 234 was assigned to overlap existing
area code 330. With the creation of area code 234, any new phone
number in the geographical area formerly covered by area code 330
could be assigned a phone number in either the 234 or 330 area
codes, with no change in local or long distance toll status. This
made necessary the use of
ten-digit
dialing within the 330/234 area code region. After the
introduction of area code 234, assignments of new telephone numbers
in the area did not continue at an accelerated pace, and new phone
numbers for area code 234 were not assigned until 2003.
Business and industry
More than 37% of
Fortune 500
companies are present in Northeast Ohio, through corporate
headquarters, major divisions, subsidiaries, and sales offices. In
addition, more than 150 international companies have a presence
there. , Northeast Ohio serves as the
corporate headquarters of 25
Fortune 1000 firms (shown with 2006 rankings
below):
- (#112) Goodyear Tire and Rubber
Company (Akron
,
rubber)
- (#153) Progressive Insurance (Mayfield
Village
, insurance)
- (#184) FirstEnergy (Akron,
utilities)
- (#210) Eaton Corporation
(Cleveland, motor vehicle parts)
- (#213) National City Corporation
(Cleveland
, banking)
- (#279) Parker-Hannifin (Mayfield
Heights
, aerospace)
- (#311) Sherwin-Williams
(Cleveland, paint)
- (#325) KeyCorp (Cleveland,
banking)
- (#417) The Timken
Company (Canton
, specialty
steel)
- (#486) Lubrizol
Corporation (Wickliffe
, lubricants and chemicals)
- (#589) Nacco Industries
(Cleveland, industrial equipment)
- (#671) Diebold
(Green
, electronics)
- (#674) PolyOne Corporation (Avon
Lake
, chemicals)
- (#678) RPM
International (Medina
, chemicals)
- (#704) Aleris
International, Inc. (Beachwood
, metals)
- (#765) The J.M. Smucker Co. (Orrville
, food consumer products)
- (#825) American Greetings
(Cleveland, greeting cards)
- (#839) Jo Ann
Stores (Hudson
, specialty retailer)
- (#846) Medical Mutual of
Ohio (Cleveland, health insurance)
- (#878) Cleveland-Cliffs
(Cleveland, mining and crude oil)
- (#888) Applied
Industrial Technologies (Cleveland, bearings)
- (#922) Agilysis (Mayfield Heights,
electronics)
- (#928) Lincoln Electric
(Cleveland, arc welding equipment)
- (#955) Invacare
(Elyria
, medical
products and equipment)
- (#995) A. Shulman (Akron, chemicals)
Other large employers include:
- Babcock
& Wilcox (Barberton
, engineering)
- Cafaro Corp (Youngstown, mall
management and properties)
- Cleveland Clinic
(Cleveland, health care)
- Developers
Diversified Realty Corporation (Beachwood, real estate
development)
- DeBartolo-York Corp
(Boardman Township, Youngstown, mall management and
properties)
- Exal Corp Aluminum Production
(Youngstown, metals)
- FirstMerit (Akron, banking)
- Forest City Enterprises
(Cleveland, real estate development)
- Gojo (Akron, chemicals)
- Home Savings and Loan
(Youngstown, banking)
- IMG (Cleveland, sports marketing
and management)
- Jones Day (Cleveland, legal
services)
- Roadway Express (Akron,
logistics)
- (#429 in 2009) Rockwell Automation (Mayfield
Heights
, industrial controls)
- University
Hospitals of Cleveland (Cleveland, health care)
- InkStop, Inc. (Warrensville Hts.,
office products retailer. Closed all stores on October 1,
2009.)
Small businesses and startups
The
Council of Smaller
Enterprises is coordinates and advocates for small businesses
in the region. Many of the area's
sustainability-oriented companies are tied
into the network
Entrepreneurs for
Sustainability.
Colleges and universities
Greater Cleveland is home to a number of higher education
institutions, including:
Transportation
Airports
Greater Cleveland is served by international, regional and county
airports, including:
Highways

The Greater Cleveland highway
network
Highway notes
Public transit
The
Greater
Cleveland Regional Transit Authority operates a bus system and
heavy and light rail in
Cuyahoga County. Other transit agencies serve the surrounding
counties and provide connections with RTA, including
Laketran in Lake County,
Metro in Summit County,
PARTA
in Portage County,
SARTA in Stark County,
and
Lorain County Transit in
Lorain County.
Culture
Theater
In
addition to Playhouse Square Center
, the second largest theater district in the
United States, Greater Cleveland has a vibrant theater community
throughout the region.
Theaters
Theatrical companies
Sports and recreation
's
professional sports teams
include the
Cleveland Indians
(
Major League Baseball),
Cleveland Browns (
National Football League), and
Cleveland Cavaliers (
National Basketball
Association).
The Indians have two minor league affiliates in the area,
the AA Akron Aeros and the Single-A
Lake County Captains, who play
in Eastlake
. Additionally, there is an independent
baseball team, the Lake Erie
Crushers, in Avon
.
Minor league hockey is represented in the area by the
Lake Erie Monsters of the
American Hockey League. They began
play in the 2007–08 AHL season at the Quicken Loans Arena. The team
is the minor league affiliate of the
Colorado Avalanche of the
NHL.
Motorsports venues in the region include
Mid-Ohio Sports Car
Course in Lexington
and Summit
Motorsports Park in Norwalk
, a major NHRA
venue.
The
Cleveland Metroparks are a
system of nature preserves that encircle the city, and the Cuyahoga
Valley National Park
encompasses the Cuyahoga River
valley between Cleveland and Akron.
The
region is home to Mentor Headlands
Beach, the longest natural beach on the Great Lakes
.
Famous natives
See also
References
- Team NEO: Northeast Ohio Profile. Retrieved May 22, 2006.
- http://kucinich.house.gov/Issues/Issue/?IssueID=1571
- Colleen Mulcahy, "Benefits administrator blasts health
mandates. (John Polk)", National Underwriter Property &
Casualty-Risk & Benefits Management, Oct. 14,
1991.
- Shannon Mortland, "COSE to help push ideas for
reforming health care.(Health Care)(Council of Smaller
Enterprises)(Brief Article)", Crain's Cleveland Business,
Aug. 8, 2005.
- "GROWING GREENER GOOD FOR BUSINESS GROUP HOPING TO
FIND NEW WAYS TO TURN WASTE MATERIAL INTO PROFIT", Akron Beacon
Journal (OH), May 5, 2008.
- "Making Change: Sustainable Businesses", 90.3 WCPN
ideastream, Wednesday, May 28, 2003.
External links