Rocky River, Ohio

Rocky River, Ohio
—  City  —
Harbor and river entrance at Rocky River, Ohio
Seal
Location of Rocky River in Ohio
Location of Rocky River in Cuyahoga County
Coordinates: 41°28′31″N 81°50′45″W
Country	United States
State	Ohio
County	Cuyahoga
Settled	1810
Village incorporation	1903
City incorporation	1960
Government
• Type	Mayor-council
• Mayor	Pamela E. Bobst
Area
• Total	5.6 sq mi (14.6 km2)
• Land	4.8 sq mi (12.3 km2)
• Water	0.9 sq mi (2.3 km2)  15.45%
Elevation	689 ft (210 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	20,213
• Density	4,360.8/sq mi (1,685.4/km2)
	census
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
Zip code	44116
Area code(s)	440
FIPS code	39-68056
GNIS feature ID	1049132
Website	http://www.rrcity.com

Rocky River is an affluent western suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, United States located in Cuyahoga County approximately nine miles west of Public Square in downtown Cleveland. The city is named for the river that forms its eastern border. The population was 20,213 at the time of the 2010 census.

Geography

Rocky River is at 41°28′31″N 81°50′45″W (41.475297, -81.845759).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.6 square miles (15 km²), of which, 4.8 square miles (12 km²) of it is land and 0.9 square miles (2.3 km²) of it (15.45%) is water.

Most of Rocky River's eastern border follows the river bearing its name, which runs through the Rocky River Reservation of the Cleveland Metroparks system, adjacent to the city's eastern neighbor, Lakewood. A small strip of Cleveland itself also borders Rocky River; however, the two cities are not directly connected by roads. Lake Erie lines the entire northern border of the city while the city of Fairview Park marks the southern border. On Rocky River's western border are the cities of Bay Village to the northwest and Westlake to the southwest.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 20,735 people, 9,709 households, and 5,437 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,360.8 people per square mile (1,685.4/km²). There were 10,166 housing units at an average density of 2,138.0 per square mile (826.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.83% White, 0.41% African American, 0.07% Native American, 1.33% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.27% from other races, and 1.08% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.20% of the population.

There were 9,709 households, out of which 22.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.2% were married couples living together, 6.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.0% were non-families. 40.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 20.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.11 and the average family size was 2.90.

In the city the population was spread out with 20.9% under the age of 18, 4.3% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 24.6% from 45 to 64, and 24.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 82.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $71,636, and the median income for a family was $94,361. Males had a median income of $62,727 versus $32,145 for females. The per capita income for the city was $34,663. About 1.5% of families and 2.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.3% of those under age 18 and 3.8% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Public schools

The Rocky River City School District serves the entire city of Rocky River and a small portion of the city Fairview Park. In the 2010-2011 school year, the Rocky River City Schools served 2,529 students and earned the highest designation, excellent with distinction, on the Ohio Department of Education's report card. The district tied for the second highest rating in the state of Ohio and outperformed all other Northeast Ohio districts.

School	Grades	Enrollment	White	Black	Asian	Hispanic	Multi-Racial	Economically Disadvantaged	Limited English Proficient
Goldwood Primary School	K-2	464	89.7%	N/A	N/A	2.8%	4.1%	10.4%	4.1%
Kensington Intermediate School	3-5	556	91.6%	N/A	2.0%	2.0%	3.5%	10.1%	2.3%
Rocky River Middle School	6-8	632	91.1%	N/A	2.6%	2.2%	2.5%	13.2%	N/A
Rocky River High School	9-12	878	93.5%	N/A	2.6%	1.5%	1.6%	10.8%	1.2%

Private schools

• St. Thomas Lutheran School — co-ed Pre-K to 8th grade school affiliated with the Lutheran church with roughly 80 students
• Ruffing Montessori — co-ed Pre-K to 8th grade Montessori school with about 300 students
• St. Christopher School — co-ed K to 8th grade school affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church serving around 520 students
• Lutheran High School West — co-ed high school affiliated with the Lutheran church serving about 450 students
• Magnificat High School — female-only high school affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church

with around 870 students

Churches

• Buna Vestire Romanian Orthodox Church
• First Church of Christ, Scientist
• Lighthouse Alliance Church
• Our Savior’s Rocky River Lutheran Church
• Rockport United Methodist Church
• Rocky River Presbyterian Church
• Rocky River United Methodist Church
• St. Christopher Roman Catholic Church
• St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church
• St. Peregrine’s Catholic Chapel of the Traditional Roman Rite
• St. Thomas Lutheran Church
• Venue Church
• Westshore Unitarian Universalist Church

Notable natives and residents

• Carter Camper, ice hockey player
• Birthplace of George Steinbrenner, businessman and one-time owner of the New York Yankees.
• Birthplace of Pat McCormick, comic actor and writer.
• Birthplace of Chris Hovan, professional American football player for the St. Louis Rams
• Birthplace of Kevin Barnes, front man and songwriter for the indie rock band of Montreal.
• Martin Savidge, award-winning American television news correspondent for NBC News, was a resident when he graduated from Rocky River High School in 1976.
• Clint Brown, pitcher for the Cleveland Indians and the Chicago White Sox, was a resident when he died in 1955.
• Herb Score, pitcher, and long-time radio broadcaster (1968–97) for the Cleveland Indians, his home and where he died in 2008.
• Nina Blackwood, the first of the original five MTV VJs, graduated from Rocky River High School in 1970.
• Sammy Kaye, Big Band Era bandleader and songwriter, graduated from Rocky River High School in 1927.

Library

Rocky River Public Library is home to the Cowan Pottery Museum. It features over 1200 pieces of a distinctive form of American art pottery created by R. Guy Cowan and his associates at the Cowan Pottery Studio from 1913-1931. It was one of the nation's leading potteries during the 1920s, and the Cleveland area's only major pottery.

References

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1910	1,174		—
1920	1,861		58.5%
1930	5,632		202.6%
1940	8,291		47.2%
1950	11,237		35.5%
1960	18,097		61.0%
1970	22,958		26.9%
1980	21,070		−8.2%
1990	20,410		−3.1%
2000	20,735		1.6%
2010	20,213		−2.5%

External links

• City government and services
• Chamber of Commerce
• Public library
• School district and State Board of Education Report Cards