Start Strong in Stark County
Stark County population and other statistics show that we’re a favorable location for your business.
Stark County is the eighth most populous and the eleventh largest county in Ohio. Stark County offers a stable and accessible labor market within a broader regional workforce that supports a range of industrial and service sector operations.
The county has a population of approximately 374,000 residents (which works out to 650.4 people-per-square mile) and is part of a larger Northeast Ohio labor shed that provides access to a significantly broader workforce base. This scale allows employers to recruit across multiple communities while maintaining reasonable commute times.
Key characteristics of the market include:
- Established population base with multi-generational workforce presence
- Access to a broader regional labor pool within commuting distance
- Workforce experience in manufacturing, healthcare, logistics, and support services
- Competitive wage structure relative to major metropolitan markets
The region’s demographic profile supports both entry-level hiring and experienced-workforce recruitment, with the ability to scale operations through regional labor access.
For companies evaluating location decisions, Stark County provides a balance of workforce availability, cost competitiveness, and long-term labor stability.
This is a helpful summary of some important factors that define Stark County:
- Our largest industries are manufacturing; healthcare and social assistance; and retail trade
- Highest paying industries are management of companies and enterprises; utilities; and mining, quarrying, and oil/gas extraction
- Largest universities are Stark State College, Walsh University, and University of Mt. Union
- Stark County has a relatively short commute time for our workforce, 21.7 minutes vs. the U.S. average of 26.4 minutes
Stark County is the Perfect Homebase for Many Reasons
Let’s take a look at some key figures from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Stark County residents stay here. Our population has strong roots and a great sense of community. Here are some Stark County population highlights:
157,500 households and a total of 169,000 housing units, with a strong homeownership rate of 69.2%
94.4% have a high school or higher educational level, which is 4.5% higher than the U.S. average
The medium property value is $186,400, a 4.9% increase from the prior year
7.8% of our population are Veterans, a service level that’s both 25% more than Ohio’s average and 1.3 times the average U.S. rate