Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Mahoning County. The municipality is situated on the Mahoning River, approximately southeast of Cleveland and northwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Youngstown has its own metropolitan area, but the Pittsburgh Tri-State and Greater Cleveland influence the region. Youngstown lies west of the Pennsylvania state line. It lies midway between New York City and Chicago.
The city was named for John Young, an early settler from Whitestown, New York, who established the community's first sawmill and gristmill. Youngstown is located in a region of the United States that is often referred to as the Rust Belt. Traditionally known as a center of steel production, Youngstown was forced to redefine itself when the U.S. steel industry fell into decline in the 1970s, leaving communities throughout the region without major industry. The 2000 census showed that Youngstown had a total population of 82,026, making it Ohio's eighth largest city. A U.S. Census Bureau estimate released in June 2006 placed the population at 83,906.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2006 estimate, the Youngstown-Warren Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) contains 586,939 people and includes Mahoning and Trumbull counties in Ohio, and Mercer County in Pennsylvania. The Steel Valley area as a whole (including Youngstown-Warren and Sharon-Farrell-New Castle, Pennsylvania) comprises 697,481 residents.
