Seneca County, Ohio

Seneca County is a county in Ohio, United States, about 40 miles south of Toledo. It had a
population of 55,069 at the 2020 census, an estimated 54,522 by 2024, and covers 551 square miles
(1,430 km2) centred near 41°08′N 83°08′W.

Tiffin is the county seat; its postal code is 44883. The county holds 3 cities, 6 incorporated
villages and roughly 30 smaller communities across 15 townships, and it runs on Eastern Time. Its
FIPS code is 39147.

Towns & Villages in Seneca County

Seneca County has 39 named places on record: 9 incorporated cities and villages, 7 census
designated places and 23 unincorporated crossroads communities with no local government of their
own. CDP stands for census designated place; Unincorp. covers hamlets and rural crossroads with
no formal boundary.

Three places on this list straddle county lines. Fostoria’s population figure above is
citywide — most of the city sits in Seneca County, but it also reaches into Hancock and
Wood counties. Bellevue’s 8,249 residents are spread across four counties (Erie, Huron,
Sandusky and Seneca), with only a slice of the city inside Seneca. McCutchenville straddles
Seneca and Wyandot counties, with the larger share of its households in Wyandot. Green Springs
also splits, sitting in both Sandusky and Seneca counties.

Townships

ZIP Codes

• 44883 — Tiffin
• 44830 — Fostoria
• 44811 — Bellevue
• 44836 — Green Springs
• 44807 — Attica
• 44818 — Bloomville
• 44815 — Bettsville
• 44867 — Republic
• 44853 — New Riegel

Fort Seneca, Flat Rock, Kansas, Melmore, Old Fort, McCutchenville, Bascom, Alvada and the
county’s smaller unincorporated crossroads have no confirmed ZIP code of their own on
record; mail there is delivered under a nearby post-office town’s code.

Geography

Seneca County sits in northwest Ohio on the till plains left by glaciers, mostly flat farmland
with a low ridge of higher ground along its eastern edge. Of its 553 square miles, 551 are land
and 1.8 are water, about 0.3 percent, in line with a county that has no large natural lake. The
Sandusky River crosses the county from southwest to northeast through Tiffin, and Rock Creek and
Wolf Creek feed into it; nearly 80 percent of the county’s total land is farmed.

Sandusky County lies to the north, Huron County to the northeast, Crawford County to the
southeast, Wyandot County to the south, Hancock County to the southwest and Wood County to the
west. Sandusky County, Huron County, Crawford County, Wyandot County, Hancock County and Wood County all border Seneca directly.

Demographics

Seneca County had a population of 55,069 at the 2020 census, down from a peak of 61,901 in
1980, and the latest estimate puts the county near 54,522 residents. Tiffin and Fostoria are by
far the two largest communities, together holding well over half the county’s population.
Median household income runs below Ohio’s statewide figure of $67,769 (2023 ACS), typical
for a rural, agriculture-heavy county in the region. Population density works out to roughly 100
people per square mile of land, well below the state average.

Economy & Local Life

Farmland covers close to 80 percent of the county, and agriculture remains a core part of the
local economy alongside manufacturing and rail. Fostoria sits at the “Iron Triangle,”
where CSX, Norfolk Southern and Chessie System lines cross, and about 100 freight trains pass
through the city each day — a major source of rail-related jobs. Tiffin is home to two
private universities, Heidelberg University, founded in 1850, and Tiffin University, founded in
1888, both significant local employers. Ballreich’s Bros., a potato-chip maker founded in
Tiffin in 1920, still operates there today. Tiffin was historically known for glass and porcelain
manufacturing, an industry that shaped the city’s early 20th-century growth.

History

The Ohio legislature authorized Seneca County in 1820 and it was fully organized in 1824,
named for the Seneca Indians, the westernmost nation of the Iroquois Confederacy, who once held
land in the area. General William Henry Harrison built a supply fort near the Sandusky River in
July 1813, during the War of 1812; the community that grew up near the site later took the name
Fort Seneca. Tiffin was platted as the county seat in the 1820s.

In 1889, roughly 900 immigrants from Luxembourg settled in Seneca County, building substantial
churches and schools that still stand in several of the county’s townships. Tiffin suffered
heavy damage in the Great Flood of 1913, which caused more than a million dollars in property
loss and 19 deaths in the city.

Getting There

US 224 and State Routes 4, 12, 18, 19, 53, 100, 101 and 231 cross the county; no interstate
highway runs through Seneca County.

• Toledo — about 40 miles north
• Findlay — about 20 miles southwest
• Fremont — about 20 miles north
• Bucyrus — about 25 miles southeast

Toledo Express Airport, roughly 45 miles north of Tiffin, is the nearest major commercial
airport. Seneca County Airport, a general-aviation field, sits just west of Tiffin. Amtrak has no
station in Seneca County; the nearest stops are in Toledo and Sandusky.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Seneca County located?
It sits in northwest Ohio, about 40 miles south of Toledo, bordered by Sandusky, Huron, Crawford,
Wyandot, Hancock and Wood counties.

What is the population of Seneca County?
55,069 at the 2020 census, with a 2024 estimate near 54,522.

How big is Seneca County?
553 square miles (1,430 km2), of which 551 square miles are land.

What is the county seat of Seneca County?
Tiffin is the county seat, home to Heidelberg University and Tiffin University.

How many towns and villages are in Seneca County?
Three cities — Tiffin, Fostoria and Bellevue (partly) — plus six villages: Green
Springs (partly), Attica, Bloomville, Bettsville, Republic and New Riegel, along with several CDPs
and unincorporated crossroads communities.

What ZIP codes does Seneca County use?
44883 for Tiffin, 44830 for Fostoria, 44811 for Bellevue, and separate codes for each of the
county’s villages, including 44836 for Green Springs and 44867 for Republic.

What is Seneca County known for?
Fostoria’s “Iron Triangle” rail crossing, Tiffin’s two private
universities, and the 1889 settlement of Luxembourg immigrants whose churches still stand across
the county.

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