Bay Village is a city in western Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, the city is a western suburb of Cleveland and a part of the Cleveland metropolitan area. The population was 16,163 at the 2020 census.

Before the first European-Americans arrived in the area around 1600, Erie Indians lived in Bay Village and the surrounding areas. The most important Indian trail in Ohio is present-day Lake Road^{[citation needed]}, which is a main road in Bay Village. In that same century, what is now Bay Village, along with Avon Lake, Avon, and Westlake, was part of one territory. This territory was later called by the whites in a native language, "Xeuma", a term roughly meaning "those who came before us".^[5]

The area belonged to Connecticut until 1803, the year in which Ohio became a state. Before 1803, the Connecticut Land Company sold and gave away land in the area to Connecticut citizens, who had lost their homes and farms during the Revolutionary War. Because many had lost their homes to fires during the war, this new area was named "the Firelands". One surveyor with the Connecticut Land Company was Moses Cleaveland. He came with his friends on horseback from Connecticut and stopped at the Cuyahoga River with his Indian guides in July 1796. The land was then divided into five townships. The area between the Cuyahoga River and The Firelands to the west was laid out in 1806. ^[6]

Joseph Cahoon settled in what is now Bay Village in 1810. Bay Village was part of the original Dover Township, which comprised present-day Bay Village, Westlake, and portions of North Olmsted. By the turn of the 20th century, Dover would have a permanent population of roughly 2,200, with wealthy part-time residents who owned summer cottages on Lake Erie adding to this total in the summer months. In 1901, landowners in northern Dover forced an election to split from Dover Township, forming Bay Township. In 1903, Bay Village was incorporated, and the first mayor and council were elected. Ida Marie Cahoon, the last Cahoon descendant, died in 1917, leaving the family home and 115 acres of land to the city which is known today as Cahoon Memorial Park. John Huntington, one of the original partners of Standard Oil Company, donated his summer estate to the Cleveland Metroparks, which would later become the Huntington Reservation. Bay Village became a city on January 1, 1950, when it had reached a population of 6,917.^[7]

With decades of growth starting in the 1930s, Bay Village became a prominent Cleveland suburb. Today, it is characterized by tree-lined streets of craftsman, Cape Cod, Tudor, and colonial style homes, as well as mansions along the Lake Erie shoreline.^[8]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.06 square miles (18.29 km²), of which, 4.57 square miles (11.84 km²) is land and 2.49 square miles (6.45 km²) is water.^[9]

Bay Village is home to the Cleveland Metroparks Huntington Reservation. Lake Erie Nature & Science Center and BAYarts are also located within the reservation.^[10] Bay Village is located in Ohio's 7th congressional district.

There are about 2,500 students in the Bay Village City School District, and four school buildings. Normandy Elementary serves grades K–2, Westerly Elementary serves grades 3–4, Bay Middle School serves grades 5–8, and Bay High School serves grades 9–12.^[15]

In 2019, Bay Village City Schools were ranked as the tenth-best district in the state of Ohio.^[16]

• John Elliott (born 1984), musician in the band Emeralds^[17]
• Rich Fields (born 1960), broadcaster and popular announcer of The Price Is Right^[18]
• Jonathan Freeman (born 1950), actor and singer^[19]
• Brad Friedel (born 1971), goalkeeper for Tottenham Hotspur, and retired US National Team goalkeeper^[20]
• Otto Graham (1921–2003) Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback for the Cleveland Browns^[21]
• Patricia Heaton (born 1958), award-winning actress from The Middle and Everybody Loves Raymond^[22]
• Karen Kresge (born 1948), former star solo ice skating performer for Ice Follies and Holiday on Ice^[23]
• Amy Mihaljevic (1978–1989), kidnapping and homicide victim^[24]
• Eliot Ness (1903–1957), Cleveland police investigator and Federal agent^[25]
• Richard Patrick (born 1968), co-founder of the alternative rock band Filter and former member of Nine Inch Nails^[26]
• Richard North Patterson (born 1947), Best-selling American fiction writer and political commentator^[27]
• Lili Reinhart (born 1996), actress, known for portraying Betty Cooper on the TV series Riverdale.^[28]
• Sam Sheppard (1923–1970), convicted in controversial 1954 murder case^[29]
• George Steinbrenner (1930–2010), former owner of the New York Yankees^[30]
• Kate Voegele (born 1986), singer and actress ^[31]
• Dave Zastudil (born 1978), former NFL punter^[32]

In 2012, Family Circle ranked Bay Village as one of the 10 Best Towns for Families.^[33]

In 2018, WalletHub ranked Bay Village the 8th best lakeside town in which to live in the United States.^[34]

Bay Village is consistently ranked by Cleveland Magazine as one of Cleveland's best suburbs. It was ranked first on their annual Rating the Suburbs list in 2012, and second in 2019.^[35]