Psst. Have you heard about Akron, the cool, affordable city now luring people to call it home?
WalletHub ranked the Rubber City as the fifth most affordable place to live in the U.S. Akron climbed to second place in the personal finance website’s analysis when compared it to other small cities, ranking only behind the Phoenix suburb Surprise, Arizona.
The WalletHub analysis follows a Wall Street Journal story in May about how the Midwest − and Akron, specifically − was finally gaining more people than it was losing.
“For decades, the swath from the Dakotas to Ohio steadily lost population to other parts of the country, as manufacturing jobs disappeared and the growth of the service economy pulled people to the South,” the newspaper reported.
“Now signs are emerging that the out-migration is slowing, and, in some places, even starting to reverse,” the newspaper said.
It cited census estimates from last year that showed the Midwest gained slightly more people from the the rest of the country than it lost.
That improvement isn’t showing up in places with service-based economies, like Akron’s giant neighbor to the south, Columbus, the story said.
Why are more people calling Greater Akron and Cleveland home?
Increases are happening in both Greater Akron and Cleveland driven by three things: People relocating here from other places in the U.S., international migration and the balance of births to deaths, the story said.
Some transplants to Greater Akron interviewed by the Wall Street Journal said they were lured here because of affordability, job opportunities at places like Bounce Innovation Hub or the University of Akron, or just so their children could grow up like they did, in a slower-paced community.
Easy access to large city amenities, quality of life and the low cost of buying a home kept them here, the transplants said.
The National Association of Realtors said the average U.S. price of a single-family home last year was $419,300, the newspaper reported. In Greater Akron, it was $226,000, the Wall Street Journal reported, and in Greater Cleveland it was $237,400.
That affordability, in large part, is driven by enormous population shifts after the manufacturing collapse in Northeast Ohio during the 1970s and beyond. Many fled Akron and Cleveland to find work in the South or other areas of the country with stronger economies.
Fewer families meant less competition for housing, which kept prices low.
But it’s not just low-cost housing that made Akron rise near the top of WalletHub’s affordability list. It included 10 key metrics to come up with its list, including home purchase and maintenance costs, tax rates, and vacancy rates.
“When deciding where to buy, home prices alone aren’t a good enough indicator of how affordable things will be,” said Chip Lupo, a WalletHub Analyst. “The most affordable cities, like Flint, MI, Detroit, and Surprise, AZ, have low costs across several of these different metrics.”
You can read WalletHub’s full analysis here.
‘Bommerangers’ returning to native Northeast Ohio
“Boomerangers” − people returning to their childhood towns after living out of state − make up many of Akron’s more recent arrivals, the Journal reported.
Alexis King, 31, grew up in Northeast Ohio and only “grudgingly” left Philadelphia to live near her husband in Akron. She didn’t initially plan on growing old here, she told the Wall Street Journal.
But after buying a four-bedroom home in West Akron for $170,000 four years ago, she’s changed her mind.
Beyond the affordability, she told the Wall Street Journal she loves the “hip” Highland Square neighborhood and the grit of Akronites who are trying to rebuild their city after the collapse of the rubber industry.
Kyle Kutuchief, program director in Akron for the Knight Foundation, told the Wall Street Journal he was cautiously optimistic.
“When you live in a place that’s been losing population since the 1960s, to say out loud that we believe this place can stabilize and grow…it landed on some ears as ridiculous,” Kutuchief told the newspaper. “And to now be at a place where we’re leveling off and starting to tick up a little bit, it gives me goosebumps.”
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Is Akron bouncing back? Affordability, amenities lure new residents
Reporting by Amanda Garrett, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Amanda Garrett, Akron Beacon Journal | USA TODAY Network
