Dead State Walking: A Supermajority of Ohio Cities and Villages Lost Population Over the Last Four Years
Dave Yost showed why he shouldn't be Ohio’s next governor. Party loyalty is killing Ohio. Literally. He just doesn't get that. What is best for Ohio should come before what is best for his party.
The U.S. Census Bureau just released national data for all fifty states detailing the 2024 populations of every incorporated place in America. That means cities and villages. Ohio has 922 incorporated places containing 7,709,375 people, which is 42,464 more people (+0.55%) than in 2020. As I’ve detailed, Ohio is hollowing out in a majority of counties and metro-micro areas outside of the Greater Cincinnati and Columbus areas. I similarly highlighted that Ohio’s job growth over the last few decades has been anemic. In response to Ohio Governor Mike DeWine’s false State of the State claims, I laid out in granular detail across numerous metrics just how bad Ohio has been doing.
The latest batch of data covering 922 incorporated places in Ohio again demonstrates beyond argument that Ohio is hollowing out and represents a dead state walking. You can review the data in the above file and look to see how your city/village is doing. Specifically, out of the 922 incorporated places, only 300 places experienced population growth from 2020 to 2024. That is roughly one-third (32.54%) of all incorporated places in Ohio. Another thirty (3.25%) incorporated places had zero growth over those four years. In stark contrast, a shocking 591, or 64.1%, of incorporated places LOST population over the last four years. From big cities like Cleveland (-6,474) and Toledo (-4,647) to small cities like Bexley (-1,111) and Westerville (-628), a near supermajority of incorporated places in Ohio are shrinking.
Apparently, along with shrinking, Columbus, Ohio, is geologically sinking. Like literally sinking. Faster than most other cities.
Even Columbus, which is one of the few places in Ohio growing, isn’t growing as fast as other big cities. In four years, Columbus dropped from the 14th largest city in America to the 15th largest city, as Charlotte jumped ahead with its rapid population growth. Of the fifteen fastest growing cities, only two cities come from colder, forced unionization states: Rosemont, Minnesota, and Erie, Colorado. The other thirteen states hail from warmer, right-to-work states, with six from Texas and three from Florida. Four of the top five cities are in Texas.
In terms of Ohio not only NOT keeping up with states like Texas and Florida, but also falling farther behind competitor states, the 2026 gubernatorial race got clearer with Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost dropping out on Friday following a failed attempt to wring a top-notch gig in the Trump Administration in exchange for his exit (they only offered the Ambassadorship of Cyprus). As I noted in a P.S. from two weeks ago, Yost didn’t do much in his fourteen years in statewide elective office to instill confidence that he would be the transformative governor Ohio so desperately needs (see the above data). I remarked that his lack of action is why I simply couldn’t get behind his effort. In his letter exiting the 2026 governor’s race, Yost stated:
Columbus needs re-engineering, not demolition. Sherrod Brown and the risky progressive ideas of his party will unwind all of the good that the last 15 years of Republican leadership has brought. This is a time to protect Ohio, not a time for a family squabble.
As the post above notes, Republican leadership in Ohio over the last fourteen years hasn’t brought much good. Objectively. Dispassionately. Irrefutably. Ohio needs true reformers, not more cheerleaders, which is all career politicians like Yost, Jon Husted, Mike DeWine, and the rest of the musical chair men are. They ignore mountains of data showing how badly Ohio is doing all in the name of party loyalty, as they stand on the sideline and yell “rah, rah” as Ohio gets creamed by Florida, Texas, Idaho, Utah, Tennessee, and countless other states. It goes like this: (1) Republicans are in charge. (2) I am a Republican. (3) Therefore, things are great. Yost would have been more honest and authentic had he said “while things would have been much worse if Democrats were in control, we Republicans can do substantially better for Ohioans and Vivek Ramaswamy represents that potential upgrade.”
Instead, Yost showed why he never stood a chance of becoming Ohio’s next governor. Party loyalty is killing Ohio. Literally. He just doesn’t get it. What is best for Ohio should come before what is best for his political party.