Decorative drawing: a small American settlement seen from a low hill. Not a photograph of this place.

Elyria, Ohio

16 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1901 and the latest in 1986. It stands in Elyria City. It lies in ZIP code area 44035. It stands on West Branch Black River. The Survey maps it on the Grafton quadrangle. 52,656 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 715 feet above sea level.

Elyria within Lorain County

Population over time

2 figures

Elyria fell from 54,533 to 52,656 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

Year	People	Change
2010	54,533
2020	52,656	-1,877 (-3%)

Then and now

1901 to 1986

The same ground, surveyed 85 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Elyria, surveyed 1986

Topographic sheet of Elyria, surveyed 1901

Compare 1901 against another survey:

Topographic sheets covering this place

16 sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Specimens collected nearby

12 of 2,070 shown

Museums hold 2,070 specimens collected within 10 miles of Elyria between 1853 and 1975: 1,090 Animalia, 775 Fungi, 167 Plantae, 17 Protozoa, 13 Chromista, 8 Unrecorded. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by ?, A. A. Wright, A. E. Recksecker and others. Each is a physical object with a catalogue number, and each entry opens the museum's record. This is what was collected and kept, not a survey of what lives here - nothing can be concluded from a species being absent.

Species	Year	Collected by	Where, as recorded
Cantharellus minor Peck	1896	F.D. Kelsey	Near Oberlin
Coniophora byssoides (Pers.) P.Karst.	1896	F. D. Kelsey	Oberlin.
Polyporus arcularius (Batsch) Fr.	1896	F.D. Kelsey
Ammocrypta pellucida (Putnam, 1863)	1853	Baird, Spencer Fullerton	Black River, below falls at Elyria, Ohio
Etheostoma blennioides Rafinesque, 1819	1853	S. Baird	Black River Elgria Ohio (above falls)
Etheostoma caeruleum Storer, 1845	1853	S. Baird	Elyria, Ohio
Etheostoma maculatum Kirtland, 1840	1853	S. Baird	Elyria, Ohio
Accipiter cooperii (Bonaparte, 1828)	1894	Dawson, W. L. (William Leon)	Oberlin, Lorain, Ohio, USA
Aecidium nesaeae W.R.Gerard	1894	Kelsey, F.D.	Lorain County, Ohio
Albugo candida (Pers. ex J.F.Gmel.) Roussel	1894	F.D. Kelsey	Oberlin
Ammodramus savannarum pratensis (Vieillot, 1818)	1894	Jones, L. (Lynds)	Oberlin Field W of Athletic Park, Lorain, Ohio, USA
Aulacomnium palustre (Hedw.) Schwägr.	1894	F. D. Kelsey

All 2,070 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries nearby

1 within 5 miles

The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Elyria: 1 producer. All of them still produce. What was taken out: Stone. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where	Site	Commodity	Status	Recorded
	Lorain Cnty Hwy Dept. Stone Quarry	Stone	Producer

Every working recorded in Lorain County

Storms nearby

60 of 74 shown

The National Weather Service names Elyria in 74 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 45 thunderstorm wind, 19 hail, 3 flash flood, 3 lightning. The reports record 1 injury. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
July 1999	Lightning	Elyria	1 hurt	A 40 year old woman working inside was injured when electricity from a lightning strike traveled through the fan she was using. The woman was taken to a local hospital and treated for minor injuries.
March 2007	Tornado (EF0)	Elyria	$400,000	A weak tornado briefly touched down along Griswold Road. The tornado traveled east toward the Midway Mall and created an intermittent damage path approximately two miles long. The tornado caused damage to several structures along its path. A florist/greenhouse suffered extensive damage as much of its roof was torn off. A garage was destroyed, and the car inside sustained severe damage. Newspaper articles also indicated that vinyl siding was torn from the side of an office supply store, and a shopping cart was blown and shattered a window of a store. Numerous trees and power lines were also taken down. No injuries were reported from this tornado.
July 1999	Lightning	Elyria	$225,000	A church was struck by lightning and caught fire.
January 2007	Flood	Elyria	$200,000	Runoff from heavy rains on January 5th caused the Black River in Elyria to go above the flood stage of 9.5 feet during the evening hours of January 5th. The river crested at 15.21 feet around 4 a.m on January 7th and went out of flood during the early morning hours of January 8th. Significant flooding occurred in the Cascade Park area in Elyria. Several roads and streets in the area had to be closed because of flooding.
September 2005	Lightning	Elyria	$110,000	Lightning struck a transformer and caught it on fire. The fire spread to an industrial building nearby catching the building on fire. There was major structural damage as a result of the fire.
June 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Elyria	$100,000	Thunderstorm winds downed trees throughout Lorain County.
June 2011	Hail	Elyria	$100,000	Hail the size of hen eggs was reported. Several vehicles were damaged by the hail.
March 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	Elyria	$75,000	Thunderstorm winds downed several trees and a couple of power poles. Scattered power outages were reported.
June 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Elyria	$75,000	Thunderstorm winds downed many trees in Elyria. One home lost a large section of roof and two others were damaged by fallen trees.
May 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	Elyria	$60,000	A thunderstorm downburst caused damage in Elyria. Winds estimated to be at least 60 mph tore a large section of roof off of a church. Several trees were knocked near the church as well.
August 2007	Flood	Elyria	$50,000	Heavy rain fell across the area during the morning hours of the 20th. Rainfall reports across the area ranged between 2.0 and 4.0 inches throughout the Black River basin that day. While some locations across the county had some locally high water in places, water was able to drain into streams and rivers. With that, runoff from streams and rivers quickly filled that afternoon. With so much water draining throughout the basin, the Black River at Elyria rose above flood stage of 9.5 feet that evening. The river continued to rise through the early overnight hours, then leveled off at around 10.9 feet. The river remained steady at that level for about twelve hours. Then, during the afternoon of the 21st, the river started rising again. This trend continued through the evening hours, and crested at 13.3 feet at 5:30 am on the 22nd. The river began falling through the day on the 22nd, but didnt go below flood stage until 11:00 pm on the 22nd.
July 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Elyria	$40,000	Thunderstorm wind gusts were estimated at 70 mph. Many trees and large limbs were downed. A car was heavily damaged by a fallen tree.
June 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Elyria	$35,000	Lorain County Emergency Management and broadcast media confirmed multiple trees down in the Elyria and North Ridgeville areas. The homes were damaged due to falling trees. A gazebo was also damaged.
July 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	Elyria	$35,000	Thunderstorm winds downed several trees across Lorain County. A couple roads in the Elyria area were blocked by fallen trees.
July 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	Elyria	$35,000	Winds were estimated at 60 mph as severe thunderstorms moved through the area. Also, a trained spotter reported several trees down. A tree was also reported to have fallen on a house causing structural damage.
May 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Elyria	$35,000	Thunderstorm winds downed several trees and large limbs. At least one home and one garage were damaged by fallen trees.
June 2005	Hail	Elyria	$30,000	Half dollar size hail was observed. Other trained spotters in the area also reported hail which ranged from penny to quarter size at that same time.
July 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Elyria	$25,000	Thunderstorm winds downed many trees across the county.
June 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Elyria	$20,000	Severe thunderstorm wind gusts were estimated to be around 60 mph. Numerous trees were reported down in the area.
July 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Elyria	$15,000	Thunderstorm winds downed some trees in Elyria and Sheffield Townships.
July 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Elyria	$15,000	Thunderstorm winds downed several large tree limbs. A car was damaged by a limb on the west side of Elyria.
June 2014	Thunderstorm Wind	Elyria	$12,000	Thunderstorm winds downed a tree and an utility pole.
June 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Elyria	$10,000	Photo of downed large tree branch that went through a ceiling in a house in Elyria.
June 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Elyria	$10,000	A tree fell down on a house on Concord Ave. The tree fell with damaging wind gusts from the outflow ahead of the thunderstorms.
June 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Elyria	$10,000	Thunderstorm winds downed a few trees.
June 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Elyria	$6,000	The Sheriff's office relayed reports of trees and limbs down across Elyria.
May 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Elyria	$5,000	A few trees and power lines were blown down.
June 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Elyria	$5,000	Several trees were reported down.
August 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Elyria	$3,000	Numerous large tree limbs were downed.
July 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Elyria	$3,000	Trees were downed, some on power lines.
July 2003	Hail	Elyria	$2,000	Nickel size hail was observed.
June 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Elyria	$2,000	Trees were downed.
June 1996	Flash Flood	Elyria	$2,000	no account filed
June 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Elyria	$1,000	Thunderstorm winds toppled a couple small trees.
October 2012	Flood	Elyria	$1,000	The Black River at Elyria reached moderate flood stage during this event. The river rise was more gradual compared to climatology for this river due to the slow rainfall rates. The river came out of its banks and inundated Cascade Park, reaching some of the maintenance facilities. Damage was minimal.
May 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Elyria	$1,000	Thunderstorm winds downed a large tree.
June 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Elyria	$1,000	Thunderstorm winds downed a couple large tree limbs.
June 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Elyria	-	Several trees downed about two-miles SSE of Sheffield.
June 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Elyria	-	Extensive tree damage in Elyria.
May 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Elyria	-	Healthy tree snapped in Elyria.
May 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Elyria	-	Several trees damaged in the Spring Valley section of Elyria. Damage was related to an outflow-dominant line of thunderstorms.
May 2024	Hail	Elyria	-	Hail up to quarter-size in Elyria.
August 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Elyria	-	Tree limbs downed in Elyria.
August 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Elyria	-	Tree limbs downed about two-miles southeast of Elyria.
April 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Elyria	-	Trees downed along Ohio Turnpike about 1.24 miles NNE of Elyria.
August 2023	Hail	Elyria	-	Hail up to golf ball-size about two-miles northwest of Elyria.
June 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Elyria	-	Tree downed onto house along Loyola Drive in Sheffield. Unsure of any damage to house.
June 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Elyria	-	Trees downed just southeast of downtown Elyria.
August 2021	Thunderstorm Wind	Elyria	-	Numerous trees snapped and blocking roadways in Elyria.
April 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Elyria	-	Tree fell onto house near downtown Elyria and another tree fell onto another home one mile SSE of Elyria. 18 trees were downed at OH routes 10 and 57, four miles WNW of Eaton Estates.
January 2019	Hail	Elyria	-	There were several reports of quarter-sized hail in the Elyria area from trained spotters and social media. Quarter-sized hail was reported near the Lorain County Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security building.
June 2014	Thunderstorm Wind	Elyria	-	Thunderstorm winds downed several large tree limbs.
May 2011	Hail	Elyria	-	Penny sized hail was observed.
May 2011	Hail	Elyria	-	Quarter sized hail was observed.
May 2011	Flash Flood	Elyria	-	Multiple thunderstorms move over Lorain County between the 25th and 26th of May. The storms on the 25th saturated the ground, allowing for rapid runoff from storms on the 26th. A storm moved over Lorain County late on the 26th with rainfall rates over an inch per hour. Numerous roads were flooded and several were closed. In Elyria, water several feet deep was reported over Poplar and Olive Streets.
June 2011	Hail	Elyria	-	Nickel to quarter sized hail was observed for several minutes.
May 2011	Hail	Elyria	-	Penny to quarter sized hail was observed.
May 2009	Hail	Elyria	-	Penny size hail was observed.
May 2009	Hail	Elyria	-	Nickel size hail was observed.
January 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Elyria	-	A trained spotter measured a wind gust of 60 mph. No damaged was noted during the wind gust.

Every storm recorded in Lorain County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Place	Distance	Sheets
Coonville (historical)	1.6 miles	16
Pikewood Manor	2.0 miles	16
Colonial Oaks	2.0 miles	16
Twin Lakes Homes	2.5 miles	14
West Ridge Green	2.5 miles	14
Laporte	3.1 miles	16
Vincent	3.6 miles	16
Sheffield	3.7 miles	16

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on Elyria	An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q932561	The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1040177. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Specimens. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), https://www.gbif.org/. Only records licensed CC0 or CC BY are used. Records licensed CC BY-NC are excluded because this site carries advertising. Images are checked individually and any whose licence is non-commercial, no-derivatives or unreadable is refused.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.