Williams County, Ohio

Williams County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 37,102,^[1] and was estimated to be 36,554 in 2024.^[2] The county seat and the largest city is Bryan.^[3]

Williams County
County
The Williams County Courthouse in Bryan.
Flag Seal
Location within the U.S. state of Ohio
Ohio's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 41.564959°N 84.584324°W / 41.564959; -84.584324
Country	United States
State	Ohio
Founded	April 1, 1820 (created) February 2, 1824 (organized)
Named after	David Williams
Seat	Bryan
Largest city	Bryan
Area
• Total	423.092 sq mi (1,095.80 km2)
• Land	420.660 sq mi (1,089.50 km2)
• Water	2.432 sq mi (6.30 km2)  0.57%
Population  (2020)
• Total	37,102
• Estimate  (2024)	36,554
• Density	86.894/sq mi (33.550/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Area code	419 and 567
Congressional district	9th
Website	williamscountyoh.gov

History

The county was created on April 1, 1820 and later organized on February 2, 1824.^[4] It is named for David Williams, one of the captors of John André in the American Revolutionary War.^[5]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 423.092 square miles (1,095.80 km²), of which 420.660 square miles (1,089.50 km²) is land and 2.432 square miles (6.30 km²) (0.57%) is water.^[6] It is the 53rd largest county in Ohio by total area.^[7]

Adjacent counties

• Hillsdale County, Michigan (north)
• Fulton County (east)
• Henry County (southeast)
• Defiance County (south)
• DeKalb County, Indiana (southwest)
• Steuben County, Indiana (northwest)

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1830	387		—
1840	4,465		1,053.7%
1850	8,018		79.6%
1860	16,633		107.4%
1870	20,991		26.2%
1880	23,821		13.5%
1890	24,897		4.5%
1900	24,953		0.2%
1910	25,198		1.0%
1920	24,627		−2.3%
1930	24,316		−1.3%
1940	25,510		4.9%
1950	26,202		2.7%
1960	29,968		14.4%
1970	33,669		12.3%
1980	36,369		8.0%
1990	36,956		1.6%
2000	39,188		6.0%
2010	37,642		−3.9%
2020	37,102		−1.4%
2024 (est.)	36,554	[8]	−1.5%
U.S. Decennial Census[9] 1790–1960[10] 1900–1990[11] 1990–2000[12] 2010–2020[2]

As of the fourth quarter of 2024, the median home value in Williams County was $150,917.^[13]

As of the 2023 American Community Survey, there are 15,455 estimated households in Williams County with an average of 2.32 persons per household. The county has a median household income of $61,834. Approximately 11.1% of the county's population lives at or below the poverty line. Williams County has an estimated 61.6% employment rate, with 14.2% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 91.4% holding a high school diploma.^[2]

The top five reported ancestries (people were allowed to report up to two ancestries, thus the figures will generally add to more than 100%) were English (96.3%), Spanish (2.4%), Indo-European (0.7%), Asian and Pacific Islander (0.6%), and Other (0.1%).

The median age in the county was 41.8 years.

Williams County, Ohio – racial and ethnic composition
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.

Race / ethnicity (NH = non-Hispanic)	Pop. 1980[14]	Pop. 1990[15]	Pop. 2000[16]	Pop. 2010[17]	Pop. 2020[18]
White alone (NH)	35,544 (97.73%)	35,934 (97.23%)	37,338 (95.28%)	35,283 (93.73%)	33,483 (90.25%)
Black or African American alone (NH)	9 (0.02%)	20 (0.05%)	278 (0.71%)	358 (0.95%)	323 (0.87%)
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	49 (0.13%)	44 (0.12%)	77 (0.20%)	65 (0.17%)	55 (0.15%)
Asian alone (NH)	63 (0.17%)	125 (0.34%)	199 (0.51%)	212 (0.56%)	198 (0.53%)
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	—	—	3 (0.01%)	7 (0.02%)	0 (0.00%)
Other race alone (NH)	30 (0.08%)	7 (0.02%)	12 (0.03%)	14 (0.04%)	92 (0.25%)
Mixed race or multiracial (NH)	—	—	232 (0.59%)	313 (0.83%)	1,089 (2.94%)
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	674 (1.85%)	826 (2.24%)	1,049 (2.68%)	1,390 (3.69%)	1,862 (5.02%)
Total	36,369 (100.00%)	36,956 (100.00%)	39,188 (100.00%)	37,642 (100.00%)	37,102 (100.00%)

2024 estimate

As of the 2024 estimate, there were 36,554 people and 15,455 households residing in the county. There were 16,624 housing units at an average density of 39.52 per square mile (15.3/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 96.1% White (91.1% NH White), 1.4% African American, 0.4% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, _% from some other races and 1.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 5.6% of the population.^[19]

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 37,102 people, 15,262 households, and 9,858 families residing in the county.^[20] The population density was 88.2 inhabitants per square mile (34.1/km²). There were 16,561 housing units at an average density of 39.37 per square mile (15.2/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 92.08% White, 0.90% African American, 0.23% Native American, 0.54% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.77% from some other races and 4.46% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 5.02% of the population.^[21]

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 37,642 people, 15,075 households, and 10,260 families residing in the county. The population density was 89.4 inhabitants per square mile (34.5/km²). There were 16,668 housing units at an average density of 39.59 per square mile (15.3/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 95.95% White, 0.96% African American, 0.23% Native American, 0.57% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.08% from some other races and 1.19% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 3.69% of the population.

In terms of ancestry, 46.1% were German, 12.0% were Irish, 10.7% were English, and 7.8% were American.

There were 15,075 households, 31.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.0% were married couples living together, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 31.9% were non-families, and 27.0% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.93. The median age was 40.7 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $44,538 and the median income for a family was $52,975. Males had a median income of $40,658 versus $29,064 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,381. About 9.1% of families and 11.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.6% of those under age 18 and 8.6% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Williams County is a Republican stronghold county in presidential elections. The last Democrat to win the county was Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964.

United States presidential election results for Williams County, Ohio^[22]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	13,461	73.50%	4,644	25.36%	209	1.14%
2020	13,452	72.12%	4,842	25.96%	357	1.91%
2016	11,939	68.98%	4,358	25.18%	1,011	5.84%
2012	10,047	56.74%	7,266	41.04%	393	2.22%
2008	9,879	53.70%	8,174	44.43%	343	1.86%
2004	12,040	64.60%	6,481	34.77%	118	0.63%
2000	9,941	62.45%	5,454	34.26%	524	3.29%
1996	7,747	49.67%	5,524	35.41%	2,327	14.92%
1992	7,614	43.60%	4,862	27.84%	4,988	28.56%
1988	10,782	69.18%	4,666	29.94%	137	0.88%
1984	10,804	74.11%	3,624	24.86%	150	1.03%
1980	9,146	64.31%	4,015	28.23%	1,060	7.45%
1976	7,596	59.52%	4,920	38.55%	246	1.93%
1972	9,083	66.76%	4,278	31.44%	244	1.79%
1968	8,059	59.76%	4,456	33.04%	970	7.19%
1964	5,653	42.83%	7,547	57.17%	0	0.00%
1960	10,319	71.84%	4,044	28.16%	0	0.00%
1956	9,784	75.21%	3,225	24.79%	0	0.00%
1952	9,888	74.65%	3,358	25.35%	0	0.00%
1948	6,784	64.79%	3,662	34.98%	24	0.23%
1944	8,738	71.89%	3,417	28.11%	0	0.00%
1940	9,463	69.95%	4,065	30.05%	0	0.00%
1936	7,050	53.00%	5,628	42.31%	624	4.69%
1932	5,459	43.34%	6,860	54.46%	278	2.21%
1928	8,138	71.81%	3,136	27.67%	58	0.51%
1924	5,802	56.41%	2,795	27.18%	1,688	16.41%
1920	7,000	61.75%	4,183	36.90%	153	1.35%
1916	3,132	45.57%	3,552	51.68%	189	2.75%
1912	1,145	17.85%	2,875	44.81%	2,396	37.34%
1908	3,625	50.84%	3,329	46.69%	176	2.47%
1904	3,827	57.91%	2,565	38.82%	216	3.27%
1900	3,416	51.70%	3,049	46.15%	142	2.15%
1896	3,191	47.16%	3,530	52.17%	45	0.67%
1892	2,745	46.76%	2,583	44.00%	542	9.23%
1888	3,071	48.99%	2,977	47.50%	220	3.51%
1884	2,907	48.62%	2,897	48.45%	175	2.93%
1880	2,881	50.92%	2,596	45.88%	181	3.20%
1876	2,701	51.26%	2,546	48.32%	22	0.42%
1872	2,213	59.84%	1,419	38.37%	66	1.78%
1868	2,280	55.69%	1,814	44.31%	0	0.00%
1864	2,154	60.27%	1,420	39.73%	0	0.00%
1860	1,713	56.52%	1,180	38.93%	138	4.55%
1856	1,327	55.34%	1,022	42.62%	49	2.04%

Government

See also: Ohio county government

Williams County has three county commissioners who oversee the various county departments. Current commissioners are: Brian Davis, Lewis Hilkert, and Terry Rummel.^[23]

Communities

Map of Williams County, Ohio with municipal and township labels

Williams County touches the states of Indiana and Michigan.

City

• Bryan (county seat)

Villages

• Blakeslee
• Edgerton
• Edon
• Holiday City
• Montpelier
• Pioneer
• Stryker
• West Unity

Townships

• Brady
• Bridgewater
• Center
• Florence
• Jefferson
• Madison
• Mill Creek
• Northwest
• Pulaski
• St. Joseph
• Springfield
• Superior

Census-designated places

• Alvordton
• Kunkle
• Lake Seneca
• Nettle Lake
• Pulaski

Unincorporated communities

• Berlin
• Bridgewater Center
• Columbia
• Cooney
• Hamer
• Lock Port
• Melbern
• Mina
• West Jefferson
• Williams Center

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Williams County, Ohio