[7] Cuyahoga County is situated on the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S.–Canada maritime border.

The land that became Cuyahoga County was previously part of the French colony of Canada (New France), which was ceded in 1763 to Great Britain and renamed Province of Quebec.

Cleveland was established one year later by General Moses Cleaveland near the mouth of the Cuyahoga River.

[13] In 1831, future U.S. President James A. Garfield was born in what was at the time Cuyahoga County's Orange Township.

The investigation revealed extensive bribery and corruption across the area, affecting hundreds of millions of dollars in county contracts and business.

The elected offices of auditor, clerk of courts, coroner, engineer, recorder, sheriff, and treasurer were abolished.

[27] In the November 2, 2010, election, Lakewood Mayor Ed FitzGerald (D) defeated Matt Dolan (R) to become the first Cuyahoga County Executive.

[28] The first Cuyahoga County Council was also elected, with Democrats winning eight seats, while Republicans won three.

[29] On September 25, 2018, Cuyahoga County passed legislation which specifically protects LGBTQ+ people in their anti-discrimination laws.

Alongside the new language, the legislation creates a three-person Commission of Human Rights for Cuyahoga County which would support citizens looking to file a discrimination complaint.

Given its New England heritage and diverse population, plus union and labor involvement, the county often provides the Democratic Party with the largest margins in Ohio.

In the 19th century, the Western Reserve, which Cleveland is the economic center of "probably the most intensely antislavery section of the country.

Democratic strength is concentrated in the City of Cleveland and suburbs in eastern Cuyahoga County, such as Shaker Heights and Solon.

Republican strength is concentrated in the southern Cuyahoga County suburbs, such as Strongsville and North Royalton.

Suburbs in western Cuyahoga County, such as North Olmsted and Westlake tend to be more moderate.

This ranking was based on multiple factors, including: premature death (7,975 years per 100,000 population, of potential life lost), adults who reported having poor or fair health (15%), average number of poor physical-health days reported in a 30-day period (3.3), average number of poor mental-health days reported in a 30-day period (4.1), and the percentage of births with low birth-weight (10.4%).

Among these factors, Cuyahoga did worse than the Ohio average in premature death, poor mental-health days, and low birth-weight.

Norfolk Southern has the largest presence in the county, operating three different lines and several terminal yards.

Greyhound, Barons Bus Lines, and Megabus provide public transportation beyond Cuyahoga County to destinations across the United States.