Wayne County, Ohio

Wayne County is a county in Ohio, United States, about 35 miles southwest of Akron and 30 miles west of Canton. It had a population of 116,894 at the 2020 census, an estimated 116,758 by 2025, and covers 557 square miles (1,443 km2) centred near 40°50′N 81°53′W.

Wooster is the county seat and its largest city; its postal code is 44691. The county holds 3 cities, 12 incorporated villages and 3 unincorporated census-designated places across 16 townships, and it runs on Eastern Time. Its FIPS code is 39169.

Towns & Villages in Wayne County

Wayne County has 18 named places on record: 15 incorporated cities and villages, plus 3 census-designated places (CDPs) with no local government of their own. Unincorp. covers a settlement with neither incorporated nor CDP status. Ohio has no civil “towns” as a legal class — every incorporated place here is a city or a village.

Two places straddle a county line. Rittman’s city limits sit mostly in Wayne County, with a small northwestern piece crossing into Medina County. Creston runs the opposite way: it lies in both Medina and Wayne counties, and its 2,136 residents are split across the line rather than living entirely on the Wayne side. A third place, Norton, holds a 4.4-acre district inside Wayne County, but the city itself — 11,671 people at the 2020 census — is overwhelmingly a Summit County community and is not listed above. Marshallville’s village limits cross the Baughman–Chippewa township line, so it is listed under both.

Townships

Wayne County has 16 civil townships. Nine host a named incorporated place or CDP; the rest are rural farmland with no town of their own.

ZIP Codes

• 44691 — Wooster (the county’s most populous ZIP)
• 44667 — Orrville
• 44270 — Rittman
• 44230 — Doylestown
• 44217 — Creston
• 44618 — Dalton
• 44676 — Shreve
• 44287 — West Salem (also serves Congress)
• 44677 — Smithville
• 44606 — Apple Creek
• 44645 — Marshallville
• 44276 — Sterling
• 44627 — Fredericksburg
• 44214 — Burbank
• 44659 — Mount Eaton

Kidron and New Pittsburg have no ZIP code of their own. Kidron’s mail runs under a neighboring town’s code, and New Pittsburg lost its post office in 1907, more than a century before it was even recognized as a Census Bureau place.

Geography

Wayne County sits in Ohio, United States, in the north-central part of the state, on the edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau. Of its 557 square miles, 555 are land and 1.9 are water, about 0.3 percent — low, since the county has no large natural lake and its streams are its main surface water. Killbuck Creek runs through Wooster and Burbank on its way toward the Muskingum River system, and the county’s farmland is drained by a network of smaller creeks feeding it.

Medina County lies to the north, Summit County to the northeast, Stark County to the east, Holmes County to the south, and Ashland County to the west. Summit County, Stark County, Holmes County and Ashland County all have live pages on this site; Medina County does not.

Demographics

Wayne County had a population of 116,894 at the 2020 census, and the latest estimate puts the county near 116,758 residents, essentially flat. Wooster and Orrville are by far the two largest communities, together holding roughly a third of the county’s population. Median household income runs $73,574, above Ohio’s statewide figure of $67,769 (2023 ACS). Population density works out to roughly 210 people per square mile of land, a mid-range figure for Ohio outside its major metro counties.

Economy & Local Life

Manufacturing employs the most workers in the county, about 12,457 people, followed by health care and social assistance at 6,798 and retail trade at 6,021. The J.M. Smucker Company, the fruit-spreads and food maker, is headquartered in Orrville and runs what it calls its largest jam and jelly production facility there. Wooster hosts the College of Wooster, a private liberal-arts college, alongside two Ohio State University branches — the Agricultural Technical Institute and the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center — making the city a center for agricultural research. Wooster Brush, Frito-Lay, Akron Brass, Buehler Food Markets and the Prentke Romich Company, a maker of assistive-communication devices, are other major Wooster-area employers. In Fredericksburg, Mrs. Miller’s Homemade Noodles and Robin Industries, an automotive-parts maker for General Motors, anchor a smaller manufacturing base. The county’s biggest annual event is the Wayne County Fair, held each September in Wooster.

History

Ohio’s legislature described Wayne County in 1808, but it was not formally organized until 4 January 1812. It was named for General “Mad” Anthony Wayne. Wooster was laid out as the county seat soon after organization.

Wayne County drew several distinct waves of settlement. New England settlers arrived first, from the 1790s into the 1820s, followed by German immigrants from the 1820s through the 1880s, who became the county’s largest single ancestry group. In 1819, a group of Swiss Mennonites fleeing religious persecution in Europe settled the area they first called Sonnenberg, after their homeland — the community that became Kidron. Its Amish and Mennonite heritage remains visible today, especially in the county’s southern townships bordering Holmes County.

Getting There

No interstate highway crosses Wayne County. US Route 30 crosses the county through Wooster and Apple Creek; US Route 250 and State Route 3 meet US 30 in Wooster, and State Route 83 also runs through the city.

• Cleveland — about 50 miles north-northeast
• Akron — about 35 miles northeast
• Canton — about 30 miles east

Akron-Canton Airport, roughly 30 miles northeast of Wooster between Akron and Canton, is the nearest commercial airport, with service on Breeze Airways, Allegiant, American Eagle and United Express. The Wayne County Airport, six nautical miles northeast of downtown Wooster, handles general aviation only. Wayne County has no Amtrak service of its own; the nearest station is Cleveland’s Lakefront station, served by the Lake Shore Limited and the Floridian.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Wayne County located?
It sits in north-central Ohio, about 35 miles southwest of Akron and 30 miles west of Canton, bordered by Medina, Summit, Stark, Holmes and Ashland counties.

What is the population of Wayne County?
116,894 at the 2020 census, with a 2025 estimate near 116,758.

How big is Wayne County?
557 square miles (1,443 km2), of which 555 square miles are land.

What is the county seat of Wayne County?
Wooster is the county seat and largest city.

How many towns and villages are in Wayne County?
Three cities — Wooster, Orrville and Rittman — plus 12 incorporated villages and 3 census-designated places: Kidron, New Pittsburg and Sterling.

What ZIP codes does Wayne County use?
44691 for Wooster, 44667 for Orrville, 44270 for Rittman, plus a separate code for each of the county’s other villages, from 44606 (Apple Creek) to 44676 (Shreve).

What is Wayne County known for?
The J.M. Smucker Company’s headquarters in Orrville, the College of Wooster, and the Amish and Mennonite communities around Kidron and Apple Creek.

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