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Cleveland: What to Know


FILE - Cleveland's skyline and the venue of the 2016 Republican National Convention, Quicken Loans Arena.
FILE - Cleveland's skyline and the venue of the 2016 Republican National Convention, Quicken Loans Arena.

Founded: 1796 by General Moses Cleaveland

City size: 202 square kilometers

Population as of July 2015: 388,072

Males: 48.0 percent

Females: 52.0 percent

Median resident age: 34.9 years

Estimated per capita income in 2013: $17,545

Cost of living:

5.1 percent less than the Ohio average

9 percent less than the national average

Cuyahoga County registered voters:

Democrats: 228,646

Republicans: 152,170

Independents: 483,949

Education: Student Average Daily Attendance, pre-K through 12th grade: 38,725

Graduation rate: 66.1 percent

29 colleges and universities with more than 175,000 students are located in the region.

Geography: The city extends almost 50 kilometers along the south shore of Lake Erie and is bisected from north to south by the Cuyahoga River.

Fun facts:

* The Cuyahoga River is known as “the river that caught fire.” Since 1868, at least 13 fires have been reported on the water.

* The city's name was shortened to "Cleveland" after the local newspaper discovered the name was one character too long for its masthead.

* The city is home to the Cleveland Clinic, which has been the nation’s top heart program from 19 straight years, according to rankings from the U.S. News & World Report.

* In 1978, Cleveland became the first city since the Great Depression to default on its debt. The mayor at the time of default was Dennis Kucinich, who ran for president in 2004 and 2008. The default ended nearly two years later.

* Superman was created in Cleveland in the 1930s.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Cuyahoga County, City of Cleveland, Cleveland Metropolitan School District

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