Akron is a city in the
U.S. state of
Ohio and the
county seat of
Summit County.
[4] In 2007, its population was estimated to be 207,934
[5]. The municipality is located in northeastern Ohio on the
Cuyahoga River between
Cleveland to the north and
Canton to the south, approximately 60 miles (96&_160;km) west of the
Pennsylvania border.
Akron is the principal city of the Akron Metropolitan Statistical Area, a metropolitan area that covers Portage and Summit counties[6] and had a combined population of 694,960 at the 2000 census.[2]
Akron was founded in 1825 near the Ohio and Erie Canal, and became a manufacturing center owing to its location at a staircase of locks. The locks were needed due to the higher elevation of the area, which gave rise to the name Summit County as well as Akron, which is a rough translation of summit into Greek (Stewart, pg. 233). After the decline of heavy manufacturing in the 1970s and '80s, the city's industry has since diversified into research, financial, and high tech sectors.
Akron and nearby Canton are often referred to as a single region or considered twin cities. The Akron-Canton Regional Airport is one of many places near the city that is named for both places. While the U.S. Census Bureau still counts the two metropolitan areas separately, if combined, the total population of the Akron-Canton area would equal 1,101,894 people.
