Chesapeake, Ohio

Chesapeake is a village in Lawrence County, Ohio, United States. The population was 765 as of the 2020 census. It lies across the Ohio River from Huntington, West Virginia, at the mouth of Symmes Creek.

The Robert C. Byrd Bridge across the Ohio River connects Chesapeake to Huntington's downtown area. At one time, this was the only bridge connection across the Ohio River linking Ohio to Huntington. In recent years, bridges across the Ohio River connecting Ohio to Huntington's East and West sides have been built.

Chesapeake is a part of the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH, Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA).

History
Chesapeake is derived from the Algonquin name for "place where water is spread out".

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 0.56 sqmi, of which 0.47 sqmi is land and 0.09 sqmi is water.

2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 745 people, 345 households, and 195 families living in the village. The population density was 1585.1 PD/sqmi. There were 399 housing units at an average density of 848.9 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the village was 96.8% White, 0.5% African American, 0.7% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 0.4% from other races, and 1.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.9% of the population.

There were 345 households, of which 25.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.8% were married couples living together, 12.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 43.5% were non-families. 37.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.16 and the average family size was 2.86.

The median age in the village was 44.4 years. 20.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.5% were from 25 to 44; 28.1% were from 45 to 64; and 21.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 47.4% male and 52.6% female.

2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 842 people, 395 households, and 231 families living in the village. The population density was 1,523.7 PD/sqmi. There were 441 housing units at an average density of 798.0 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the village was 97.74% White, 0.12% African American, 0.59% Native American, 0.12% Asian, 0.48% from other races, and 0.95% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.54% of the population.

Of the 395 households, 23.5% contained children under the age of 18. 42.3% had married couples living together. 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present. 41.3% were non-families. 37.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.13 and the average family size was 2.79.

The ages of the population were spread out, with 20.0% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 26.4% from 25 to 44, 23.3% from 45 to 64, and 20.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.5 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $24,653, and the median income for a family was $31,528. Males had a median income of $32,917 versus $23,500 for females. The per capita income for the village was $19,698. About 14.2% of families and 15.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.5% of those under age 18 and 13.3% of those age 65 or over.

Government
The city is run by an elected mayor-council government system.

Education
Chesapeake Union Exempted Village School District operates one elementary school, one middle school, and Chesapeake High School.

Chesapeake has a public library, a branch of Briggs Lawrence County Public Library.