Today the Cuyahoga County Planning Commission released Our Communities: The 2020 Data Book, the first in an annual series of data books providing insights into the communities that comprise Cuyahoga County.

The Data Book covers 36 metrics in five categories, with each metric mapped and displayed as a list by community. This resource can be used by local governments, community organizations and others interested in learning more about our communities. It can also be used as a resource in preparing grant applications, understanding community changes and identifying issues to address.

The five categories include:

1. Demographics—Covers benchmarks of the population including its size and its racial and age composition. It also covers communities’ households and their size.
2. Economy—Presents metrics that measure the economic systems of our communities, including the location of job centers and the income, education and occupation of residents.
3. Housing— Covers metrics that describe living situations, including the type of housing, whether it is owned or rented, and how much it costs to live in communities.
4. Land Use—Describes generalized land use in communities, tree canopy coverage and change, and the availability of parkland and vacant land.
5. Transportation—Measures transportation networks, how we get to work, and the availability of vehicles and alternative transportation for residents.

Information in the Data Book comes from a variety of sources, including U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates and the 5-Year American Community Survey, Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics, the Northern Ohio Data and Information Service, and the County Fiscal Office, among others.

“Timely and easily accessible data helps us understand our communities,” said Patrick Hewitt, Interim Executive Director of the Planning Commission. “This Data Book provides insights into how residents of Cuyahoga County live, work, and travel, and we are excited to see this data help to inform decisions.”