Cincinnati Map
Cincinnati sits in a bowl on the north bank of the Ohio River, with Kentucky directly across the water and Indiana a few miles west.
Where is Cincinnati?
Cincinnati is in the southwestern corner of Ohio, on the outside of a long bend of the Ohio River. Columbus, the state capital, is about 100 miles northeast; Louisville is roughly 100 miles southwest down the river; Indianapolis lies some 110 miles northwest; and Cleveland is about 250 miles northeast at the other end of the state. Dayton is only 55 miles north, close enough that the two metropolitan areas nearly meet.
Cincinnati at a glance
| State | Ohio |
| County | Hamilton County |
| Population (2024 estimate) | 314,915 |
| Rank among US cities | 66th of the 100 largest |
| Time zone | Eastern Time |
| Region | Midwest — East North Central division |
Cincinnati in Ohio
Cincinnati is the seat of Hamilton County, and its metropolitan area is a three-state affair: the Kentucky suburbs of Covington, Newport and Florence are across the bridges, and southeastern Indiana is fifteen minutes west. The Ohio county map shows Hamilton County pinned into the state's southwestern corner. Of Ohio's four cities in the national top 100 — Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati and Toledo — this is the southernmost and the one that looks least like the rest of the state; its trade and its accents both run down the river. The Ohio state page sets out the balance.
A basin above the Ohio River
Downtown Cincinnati occupies a flat basin on the riverbank, and hills rise around it on three sides — 300 to 400 feet up, steep enough that inclined railways once carried people to the neighborhoods on top and steep enough now to keep those neighborhoods distinct. The Mill Creek valley cuts north through the hills and carries the railroads and the interstate out of the basin. The Ohio River here is the state line, and the border is not the middle of the channel but the northern low-water mark as it stood in 1792, so Kentucky owns the river itself. The Roebling Suspension Bridge, finished in 1866 and for a time the longest suspension span in the world, was built by the engineer who went on to design the Brooklyn Bridge. The city grew as a river port and pork-packing center before the railroads, and the basin is exactly where the boats could land.
Cities near Cincinnati
Louisville, Lexington and Indianapolis are all within two hours; Columbus and Cleveland lie north and northeast. The Ohio River page follows the water from Pittsburgh down to the Mississippi.