Defiance County, Ohio facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Defiance County
U.S. county
Defiance County Courthouse
Flag Seal
Location within the U.S. state of Ohio
Ohio's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Ohio
Founded	April 7, 1845
Named for	Fort Defiance
Seat	Defiance
Largest city	Defiance
Area
• Total	414 sq mi (1,070 km2)
• Land	411 sq mi (1,060 km2)
• Water	2.7 sq mi (7 km2)  0.7%%
Population  (2020)
• Total	38,286
• Density	92/sq mi (36/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	9th

Defiance County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 38,286. Its county seat and largest city is Defiance. The county was named after an early Army fortification, Fort Defiance, which was so named by Mad Anthony Wayne to signify the settlers' "defiance" of the Indians. The Defiance, OH Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Defiance County.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 414 square miles (1,070 km²), of which 411 square miles (1,060 km²) is land and 2.7 square miles (7.0 km²) (0.7%) is water.

Adjacent counties

• Williams County (north)
• Henry County (east)
• Putnam County (southeast)
• Paulding County (south)
• Allen County, Indiana (southwest)
• DeKalb County, Indiana (west)

Demographics

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 39,037 people, 15,268 households, and 10,792 families living in the county. The population density was 94.9 inhabitants per square mile (36.6/km²). There were 16,729 housing units at an average density of 40.7 units per square mile (15.7 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 92.8% white, 1.9% black or African American, 0.3% Asian, 0.3% American Indian, 2.8% from other races, and 2.0% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 8.7% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 42.3% were German, 12.5% were Irish, 9.6% were English, and 7.7% were American.

Of the 15,268 households, 32.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.1% were married couples living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 29.3% were non-families, and 24.6% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 2.97. The median age was 39.4 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $44,480 and the median income for a family was $54,472. Males had a median income of $44,354 versus $30,610 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,139. About 11.2% of families and 12.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.0% of those under age 18 and 7.1% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Map of Defiance County, Ohio with Municipal and Township Labels

City

• Defiance (county seat)

Villages

• Hicksville
• Ney
• Sherwood

Townships

Unincorporated communities

• Evansport
• Farmer
• Jewell
• Mark Center

In popular culture

The closeness of elections in Defiance County has also been referenced in fiction; the ABC political drama Scandal in its second season had as the center of the ongoing plot of the first half of that season, a vote manipulation conspiracy which bent the presidential election towards Republican candidate Fitzgerald Grant based on tampering of the voting machines in Defiance County.

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Defiance para niños