Ashtabula County, Ohio

Ashtabula County is a county in Ohio, United States, about 55 miles northeast of Cleveland, in
Ohio’s extreme northeast corner along Lake Erie. It had a population of 97,574 at the 2020
census, an estimated 96,713 by 2024, and covers 702 square miles of land (1,820 km2) —
Ohio’s largest county by total area — centred near 41°53′N 80°46′W.

Jefferson is the county seat; its postal code is 44047. The county holds 3 cities, 7
incorporated villages and 4 census-designated places across 28 townships, and it runs on Eastern
Time. Its FIPS code is 39007.

Towns & Villages in Ashtabula County

Ashtabula County has 14 named places on record: 3 cities, 7 incorporated villages and 4
unincorporated census-designated places. CDP stands for census designated place, a Census
Bureau statistical boundary with no local government of its own.

Two name pairs cause confusion here. Kingsville is a census-designated place inside Kingsville
Township, while North Kingsville, three miles north on Lake Erie, is a separately incorporated
village — they are not the same place despite sharing a root name. Geneva, the city, and
Geneva-on-the-Lake, a lakefront resort village, are likewise distinct: Geneva-on-the-Lake sits
inside Geneva Township but has run its own government since 1927. Roaming Shores is the only
place on the list that spans two townships, Rome and Morgan, rather than sitting inside one.

Townships

ZIP Codes

• 44004 — Ashtabula (also serves Edgewood and Saybrook-on-the-Lake)
• 44005 — Ashtabula’s second ZIP
• 44030 — Conneaut
• 44041 — Geneva (also serves Geneva-on-the-Lake)
• 44047 — Jefferson
• 44068 — North Kingsville
• 44076 — Orwell
• 44084 — Rock Creek (also serves most of Roaming Shores)
• 44085 — Roaming Shores’ second ZIP
• 44048 — Kingsville
• 44010 — Austinburg
• 44003 — Andover

Cherry Valley, Dorset, Eagleville, Footville, Kelloggsville, Pierpont, Unionville, West
Andover, Williamsfield and Windsor are unincorporated hamlets with no ZIP code of their own;
mail there is delivered under the nearest incorporated village or city’s code.

Geography

Ashtabula County sits on Ohio’s Lake Erie shore in the Appalachian Plateau’s
northern edge, a landscape of low hills, river valleys and glacial ridges. Of its 1,368 square
miles, 702 are land and 666 are water — 49 percent, unusually high for an Ohio county
— because the county’s northern boundary runs well out into Lake Erie rather than
stopping at the shoreline. The Grand River and Ashtabula River drain the county’s
interior, and Pymatuning Creek feeds Pymatuning Reservoir near the Pennsylvania line. The
region has nineteen surviving covered bridges, more than any other Ohio county.

Lake County and Geauga County border Ashtabula to the west, Trumbull County lies to the
south, and Crawford County and Erie County, both in Pennsylvania, lie to the east. Lake Erie
forms the entire northern edge. Lake
County, Geauga County, Trumbull County, Crawford County,
Pennsylvania and Erie
County, Pennsylvania all border Ashtabula directly.

Demographics

Ashtabula County had a population of 97,574 at the 2020 census, and the Census Bureau’s
latest vintage estimate puts the county at 96,713 residents by 2024, a slight decline. Ashtabula
and Conneaut are the two largest communities, together home to about 31 percent of the
county’s population. Median household income runs $57,728, below Ohio’s 2023 ACS
figure of $67,769. Population density works out to roughly 145 people per square mile of land,
one of the lower figures among Ohio counties outside its far southeast.

Economy & Local Life

Manufacturing employs the most workers in the county, about 9,596 people, followed by health
care and social assistance at 6,137 and retail trade at 4,919. Grapes are a major crop along the
Lake Erie shore; the lake’s microclimate moderates frost and extends the growing season,
supporting a cluster of wineries across Harpersfield, Geneva and Kingsville townships.
Ashtabula’s harbor handled iron ore and coal shipping for generations and still carries
freight traffic today. The county also carries a strong Finnish American heritage from
early-1900s immigration, visible in local church and community organizations around
Ashtabula.

History

Ohio’s legislature created Ashtabula County in 1808, organizing it fully in 1811 out of
land formerly attached to Geauga and Trumbull counties. The name comes from a Lenape word,
rendered “ashte-pihële,” meaning roughly “always enough fish to go
around,” after the river the Lenape fished before Connecticut Land Company surveyors
arrived in 1795 as part of the Connecticut Western Reserve.

The county was a center of anti-slavery activity before the Civil War: abolitionist John
Brown’s son John Jr. and brother Owen both lived here, and Ashtabula’s Hubbard House
sheltered freedom seekers on the Underground Railroad before they crossed Lake Erie to Canada.
On December 29, 1876, a railroad bridge over the Ashtabula River collapsed under a passing
train, and the wooden cars caught fire from overturned stoves and lamps — the Ashtabula
River railroad disaster killed about 92 people and remains one of the deadliest bridge failures
in US railroad history.

Getting There

Interstate 90 crosses the county’s northern half, linking Cleveland and Erie. US Routes
6, 20 and 322 also cross the county, along with state routes 7, 11, 45, 46, 84, 85, 86, 167,
193, 307, 531 and 534.

• Cleveland — about 55 miles west
• Erie, Pennsylvania — about 45 miles east
• Youngstown — about 45 miles south
• Pittsburgh — about 110 miles southeast

Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, roughly 60 miles west of Ashtabula, is the nearest
major commercial airport. Northeast Ohio Regional Airport, in Jefferson, handles general
aviation traffic. Amtrak’s Lake Shore Limited stops at Union Station in Erie,
Pennsylvania, connecting to Cleveland, Chicago, New York and Boston.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Ashtabula County located?
It sits in Ohio’s extreme northeast corner on Lake Erie, about 55 miles northeast of
Cleveland, bordered by Lake, Geauga and Trumbull counties and, across the Pennsylvania line,
Crawford and Erie counties.

What is the population of Ashtabula County?
97,574 at the 2020 census, with a 2024 estimate near 96,713.

How big is Ashtabula County?
1,368 square miles total — 702 square miles of land and 666 square miles of Lake Erie
water — making it Ohio’s largest county by total area.

What is the county seat of Ashtabula County?
Jefferson, a village of 3,226 people, though Ashtabula is the county’s largest city.

How many towns and villages are in Ashtabula County?
Three cities — Ashtabula, Conneaut and Geneva — seven incorporated villages, and
four census-designated places, spread across 28 townships.

What ZIP codes does Ashtabula County use?
44003, 44004, 44005, 44010, 44030, 44041, 44047, 44048, 44068, 44076, 44084 and 44085 among
others, one for each incorporated place plus the larger CDPs.

What is Ashtabula County known for?
Nineteen surviving covered bridges, Lake Erie wineries, and the 1876 Ashtabula River railroad
disaster, one of the deadliest bridge collapses in US rail history.

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