See also: List of Kent State University alumni. This following people are natives of or lived in Kent, Ohio, but not exclusively as students at Kent State University.
| Name | Notability | Association | Category | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Adamle | Professional football player in the National Football League (NFL) with the Chicago Bears, general manager for WWE Raw, host of American Gladiators | Raised in Kent[1] | Athletics | |
| Tony Adamle | Professional football player in the NFL with the Cleveland Browns | Resident of Kent | Athletics | |
| Julianne Baird | Teacher of voice | Resident of Kent | Performing arts | |
| Deral Boykin | Professional football player in the NFL | Born and raised in Kent[2] | Athletics | |
| Greg Boykin | Professional football player in the NFL, 1977–1978 | Raised in Kent[3] | Athletics | |
| John Brown | Radical abolitionist | Resident of Kent (Franklin Mills) ca. 1835–1839 | Politics | |
| Watson Brown | Radical abolitionist and son of John Brown; killed during John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry | Born in Kent (Franklin Mills)[4] | Politics | |
| Tom Campana | Professional Canadian football player in the Canadian Football League, 1972–1977 | Raised in Kent[5] | Athletics | |
| Vincent J. Cardinal | Playwright and director | Raised in Kent | Performing arts | |
| Bob Casale | Musician, guitarist and keyboardist in the band Devo | Born and raised in Kent[6] | Performing arts | |
| Gerald Casale | Musician, founding member of the band Devo | Raised in Kent[7] | Performing arts | |
| Kathleen Chandler | State representative for the Ohio House of Representatives 68th district, 2003–2011 | Resident of Kent | Politics | |
| Kathleen Clyde | State representative for the Ohio House of Representatives 68th district, 2011–2019 | Resident of Kent[8] | Politics | |
| Robert E. Cook | Member of United States House of Representatives for the 11th district of Ohio, 1959–1963 | Born and raised in Kent[9] | Politics | |
| Vernon Cook | State representative for the Ohio House of Representatives, 43rd district, 1973–1987 | Born in Kent[10] | Politics | |
| George Danhires | Sculptor, artist and educator | From Kent[11] [12] | Arts | |
| John Davey | Pioneer in tree surgery and founder of the Davey Tree Expert Company | Resident of Kent | Science | |
| Martin L. Davey | U.S. Representative and Governor of Ohio | Born and raised in Kent | Politics | |
| Tom DeLeone | Professional football player in the NFL | Raised in Kent | Athletics | |
| Joe Ebanks | Professional poker player in the World Series of Poker | Raised in Kent[13] | Entertainment | |
| Halim El-Dabh | Music composer, performer, educator, and ethnomusicologist | Resident of Kent[14] | Performing arts | |
| Todd Diacon | President of Kent State University since 2019 | Resident of Kent | Academics | |
| Cassius Fairchild | Wisconsin politician and Civil War officer | Born in Kent (Franklin Mills) 1829[15] | Politics | |
| Jairus C. Fairchild | First mayor of Madison, Wisconsin and first State Treasurer of Wisconsin | Resident of Kent (Franklin Mills) ca. 1827–1834[16] | Politics | |
| Lucius Fairchild | Governor of Wisconsin and U.S. diplomat to Spain | Born in Kent (Franklin Mills) 1831; Fairchild Avenue in Kent named after him | Politics | |
| Kayla Fischer | Professional soccer player | Born and raised in Kent | Athletics | |
| Geno Ford | Head coach for the Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball team, 2008–2011 | Resident of Kent[17] | Athletics | |
| Michael C. Gould | Lieutenant General in the United States Air Force; 18th Superintendent of the United States Air Force Academy | Raised in Kent[18] | Politics | |
| Peter Gregg | Guitarist and former member of Devo | Born and raised in Kent[19] | Performing arts | |
| Todd Hido | Contemporary artist and photographer | Born and raised in Kent | Arts | |
| Garnet Jex | Artist and historian | Born in Kent[20] | Arts | |
| Angela Johnson | Author and illustrator | Resident of Kent[21] [22] | Literary | |
| Laing Kennedy | Athletic director at Kent State University, 1994–2010 | Resident of Kent[23] | Athletics | |
| Railroad executive and bank president | Resident of Kent; namesake of city | Business, politics | ||
| Lester Lefton | President of Kent State University, 2006–2014 | Resident of Kent[24] | Academics | |
| David Mayfield | Grammy-nominated producer, singer, and songwriter | Raised in and resident of Kent[25] | Performing arts | |
| Jessica Lea Mayfield | Singer and songwriter | Raised in and resident of Kent[26] | Performing arts | |
| John McGilvrey | President of Kent State Normal College, 1911–1926 | Resident of Kent | Academics | |
| Gene Michael | Major League Baseball player, manager, and executive | Born in Kent[27] | Athletics | |
| Joel Nielsen | Athletic director at Kent State University | Resident of Kent[28] | Athletics | |
| Glenn Olds | Politician, president of Kent State University, 1971–1977 | Resident of Kent | Academics | |
| George Pake | Physicist, founder of Xerox PARC | Born and raised in Kent[29] | Business, science | |
| Julio Cesar Pino | Associate Professor of History at Kent State University | Resident of Kent[30] | Education | |
| Lucien Price | Author and writer for the Boston Evening Transcript and The Atlantic Monthly; used the pseudonym "Woolwick" for Kent in some of his stories[31] | Raised in Kent | Literary | |
| P. Craig Russell | Comic book writer, artist, and illustrator | Resident of Kent since 1981[32] | Arts | |
| Rod Reisman | Original drummer for the band Devo | Raised in Kent | Performing arts | |
| Brian Rogers | Professional mixed martial arts athlete | Born and raised in Kent[33] | Athletics | |
| Cynthia Rylant | Award-winning Children's author | Lived in Kent[34] | Literary | |
| LeRoy Satrom | Mayor of Kent during the Kent State shootings in 1970 | Resident of Kent | Politics | |
| Michael Schwartz | President of Kent State University, 1982–1991 | Resident of Kent | Academics | |
| Joshua Seth | Voice actor | Raised in Kent[35] | Performing arts | |
| Lucien B. Smith | Inventor of barbed wire[36] [37] | Resident of Kent | Invention | |
| The Six Parts Seven | A Post-rock band[38] | Raised in Kent | Performing arts | |
| Seth Stewart | Broadway and film actor and dancer | Raised in Kent[39] | Performing arts | |
| Rohn Thomas | film actor | Resident of Kent | Performing arts | |
| Writer | Resident of Kent, ca. 1907–1912[40] | Literary | ||
| Beverly J. Warren | President of Kent State University from 2014 to 2019 | Resident of Kent | Academics | |
| Stan White | Former professional football player | Raised in Kent | Athletics | |