Fulton County, Ohio

Fulton County is a county in Ohio, United States, about 31 miles west of Toledo. It had a
population of 42,713 at the 2020 census, an estimated 42,240 by 2024, and covers 407 square miles
(1,050 km2) centred near 41°36′N 84°07′W.

Wauseon is the county seat and the county’s largest city; its postal code is 43567. The
county holds 1 city, 6 incorporated villages and a handful of smaller communities across 12
townships, and it runs on Eastern Time.

Towns & Villages in Fulton County

Fulton County has 19 named places on record: 1 city, 6 incorporated villages, 2 census
designated places and 10 unincorporated communities with no local government of their own. CDP
stands for census designated place; Unincorp. covers crossroads and rural communities with no
formal boundary.

Swanton straddles the Fulton–Lucas county line. Its 3,897-resident population figure above
is citywide; the larger share of the village sits in Lucas County, with only the western edge
reaching into Fulton. The old list on this page also carried a long run of mobile-home-park and
subdivision names inside Delta — Delta Heights, South Delta, West Delta, Dover Glen,
Colony Meadows Trailer Court and similar — that are residential developments inside Delta’s
limits, not separate settlements, so they are not listed as their own places here.

ZIP Codes

• 43567 — Wauseon
• 43502 — Archbold
• 43558 — Swanton
• 43515 — Delta
• 43521 — Fayette
• 43533 — Lyons
• 43540 — Metamora
• 43553 — Pettisville

Tedrow, Ottokee, Winameg, Advance, Denson, Inlet, Oakshade, Assumption, Burlington, Elmira and
Lytton have no ZIP code of their own; mail there is delivered under the nearest incorporated
village or Wauseon’s code.

Townships

Geography

Fulton County lies in the flat, glacially levelled Maumee Lake Plain of northwest Ohio. Of its
407 square miles, 405 are land and 1.8 are water, about 0.4 percent, reflecting the county’s
lack of any large natural lake — most surface water runs off through Bad Creek, Tiffin
River and Swan Creek toward the Maumee River. Chesterfield and Franklin townships sit on the old
Ohio–Michigan boundary dispute line from the 1835–36 Toledo War.

Lenawee County and Hillsdale County, both in Michigan, border the county to the north, Lucas
County lies to the east, Henry County to the south, and Williams County to the west. Lenawee County, Hillsdale County, Lucas County, Henry County and Williams County all border Fulton
directly.

Demographics

Fulton County had a population of 42,713 at the 2020 census, and the latest estimate puts the
county near 42,240 residents, a slight decline. Wauseon and Archbold are the two largest
communities, together holding well over a quarter of the county’s population. Median
household income runs $72,864, higher than Ohio’s 2023 ACS statewide figure of $67,769.
Population density works out to roughly 105 people per square mile of land, low even by rural
Ohio standards — the Wikipedia count for the county put 82.2 percent of residents in rural
areas.

Economy & Local Life

Manufacturing employs the most workers in the county, about 4,388 people, followed by health
care and social assistance at 2,713 and retail trade at 2,156. Sauder Woodworking, founded in
Archbold in 1934 by Erie J. Sauder, grew into one of the largest ready-to-assemble furniture
makers in the country and remains German Township’s largest employer. The county’s
biggest annual event is the Fulton County Fair in Wauseon each September, one of Ohio’s
oldest continuously running county fairs. Wauseon also hosts the AMCA National Motorcycle Meet, a
major antique motorcycle gathering.

History

The Ohio General Assembly formed Fulton County on 1 April 1850, carving it out of Henry, Lucas
and Williams counties. It was named for Robert Fulton, the inventor of the steamboat. Ottokee
served as the original county seat, with a wooden courthouse built in 1851, until railroad
development favored Wauseon; voters relocated the seat there in 1871 and the current courthouse
was built in 1872.

Archbold’s worst single loss of life came on 4 January 1948, when a farmer’s tractor
pulling thirteen schoolchildren stalled on an unguarded New York Central railroad crossing near
the village; ten children died in the collision, the largest loss of life in county history.

Getting There

The Ohio Turnpike (I-80/I-90) crosses the county’s northern townships. US Routes 20, 20A
and 127 run through the county, along with State Routes 2, 64, 66, 108, 109 and 120.

• Toledo — about 31 miles east
• Bryan — about 18 miles west
• Napoleon — about 20 miles south
• Adrian, Michigan — about 20 miles north

Toledo Express Airport, roughly 20 miles east of Wauseon, is the nearest commercial airport.
Amtrak does not serve Fulton County directly; the nearest station is in Toledo.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Fulton County located?
It sits in the flat Maumee Lake Plain of northwest Ohio, about 31 miles west of Toledo, bordered
by Lenawee and Hillsdale counties in Michigan and Lucas, Henry and Williams counties in Ohio.

What is the population of Fulton County?
42,713 at the 2020 census, with a 2024 estimate near 42,240.

How big is Fulton County?
407 square miles (1,050 km2), of which 405 square miles are land.

What is the county seat of Fulton County?
Wauseon is the county seat, a role it took over from Ottokee in 1871.

How many towns and villages are in Fulton County?
One city, Wauseon, and six incorporated villages — Archbold, Swanton (partly), Delta,
Fayette, Lyons and Metamora — plus the census designated places of Pettisville and Tedrow
and several unincorporated communities including Ottokee and Winameg.

What ZIP codes does Fulton County use?
43567 for Wauseon, 43502 for Archbold, 43558 for Swanton, 43515 for Delta, 43521 for Fayette,
43533 for Lyons, 43540 for Metamora and 43553 for Pettisville.

What is Fulton County known for?
Sauder Woodworking, one of the country’s largest ready-to-assemble furniture makers,
founded in Archbold in 1934, and the Fulton County Fair, one of Ohio’s oldest.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Ohio.