East Cleveland is a somewhat small city located in the state of Ohio. With a population of 13,446 people and ten associated neighborhoods, East Cleveland is the 134th largest community in Ohio. Much of the housing stock in East Cleveland was built prior to World War II, making it one of the older and more historic cities in the country.

Despite the fact that it is a small city, East Cleveland has quite a few people who take public transportation – mostly the bus - for their daily commute to work. This helps to fill a real need in the city for affordable transportation.

The citizens of East Cleveland are slightly less educated than the national average of 21.84% for the average city or town: 14.90% of adults in East Cleveland have a bachelor's degree or advanced degree

The per capita income in East Cleveland in 2022 was $19,526, which is low income relative to Ohio and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $78,104 for a family of four. However, East Cleveland contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. East Cleveland also has one of the higher rates of people living in poverty in the nation, with 39.53% of its population below the federal poverty line.

East Cleveland is a somewhat ethnically-diverse city. The people who call East Cleveland home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of East Cleveland residents report their race to be Black or African-American, followed by White. Important ancestries of people in East Cleveland include African, Irish, French, German, and English.

The most common language spoken in East Cleveland is English. Other important languages spoken here include French and Spanish.