Advantages of Moving to Low Poverty Areas
HUD feels Housing Choice Voucher Program vouchers are “ideal mechanisms” to broaden the housing choices for low-income families, including choices in areas with low poverty rates.
A high poverty census tract is a census tract in which at least 40% of people have incomes below the poverty level.
- Advantages of locating housing in areas outside high-poverty census tracts include:
- Such areas generally have better schools, a lower crime rate, access to jobs, better public services and more shopping and other amenities.
- Data from moving to opportunity programs appear to substantiate that children of families moving from high poverty areas reach higher levels of school achievement and have higher earnings later in life.
- A study has shown that moving to low poverty areas decreases the chance of obesity, diabetes, and depression.
To review the Ohio Opportunity Index showing opportunity scores for different areas based on education, health, employment, crime, housing, transportation, and access to services, please visit the Ohio Department of Health’s website.
To review local transportation options, please follow the links below to the Metro RTA bus system website.
| District Name | School Performance Grade | Total Housing Units (owned and rental) | Percent of Units that are Rentals | Rental Vacancy Rate (higher number indicates more vacancies) | Percent Moved in Last Year | Median Household Income | Percent Unemployed | Percent of Households whose Income is below the Poverty Level | Percent High School Graduate or Higher Education | Percent College Graduate or Higher Education | Website | Parks and Trails | 5 or More Grocery Stores | 5 or More Banks |
| Akron City | D | 91,494 | 49.60% | 6 | 5.90% | $36,749 | 8.60% | 19.20% | 86.30% | 19.90% | http://www.akronohio.gov/ | 20+ | Yes | Yes |
| Barberton City | D | 12,086 | 37.90% | 4.1 | 5.00% | $42,274 | 7.90% | 11.90% | 83.70% | 15.00% | http://cityofbarberton.com/ | 16 | No | Yes |
| Copley-Fairlawn City | B | 9,678 | 27.30% | 7 | 5.00% | $79,993 | 2.70% | 2.50% | 97.30% | 48.30% | https://www.copley.oh.us/ | 6 | Yes | Yes |
| https://www.fairlawn.us/ | ||||||||||||||
| Coventry Local | C | 6,756 | 32.80% | 7.9 | 4.00% | $61,193 | 6.20% | 4.40% | 92.40% | 27.90% | https://coventrytownship.com/ | 5 | No | Yes |
| Cuyahoga Falls City | D | 19,392 | 36.40% | 5 | 4.40% | $54,931 | 3.60% | 7.10% | 94.90% | 32.20% | http://www.cityofcf.com/ | 20+ | Yes | Yes |
| Green Local | B | 10,579 | 25.10% | 3.3 | 4.70% | $74,167 | 3.60% | 7.90% | 95.80% | 35.50% | http://www.cityofgreen.org/ | 13 | Yes | Yes |
| Hudson City | A | 9,034 | 13.60% | 3.5 | 2.80% | $125,448 | 3.80% | 1.10% | 97.90% | 69.40% | http://www.hudson.oh.us/ | 21 | No | Yes |
| Manchester Local | B | 3,898 | 9.40% | 4.9 | 1.70% | $69,837 | 4.20% | 1.10% | 91.60% | 21.40% | http://www.newfranklin.org/ | 7 | No | Yes |
| Mogadore Local | C | 1,408 | 21% | 0 | 4.20% | $65,720 | 3.10% | 3.90% | 90.70% | 23.70% | http://mogadorevillage.org/ | 1 | No | No |
| Nordonia Hills City | B | 13,605 | 13% | 3.3 | 3.00% | $81,791 | 3.50% | 1.60% | 95.40% | 40.20% | http://www.northfieldvillage-oh.gov/ | 6 | No | Yes |
| https://www.macedonia.oh.us/ | ||||||||||||||
| Norton City | B | 5,938 | 15% | 3 | 3.40% | $67,995 | 4.80% | 4.40% | 92.60% | 26.20% | http://cityofnorton.org/ | 7 | Yes | No |
| Revere Local | B | 7,881 | 12.50% | 0.9 | 4.40% | $106,733 | 2.90% | 1.30% | 96.60% | 56.60% | http://www.bathtownship.org/ | 5 | No | Yes |
| Springfield Local | C | 8,892 | 17.30% | 2.3 | 2.20% | $50,943 | 6.10% | 7.00% | 88.50% | 17.40% | https://www.springfieldtownship.us/ | 8 | No | No |
| http://lakemoreohio.org/index.html | ||||||||||||||
| Stow-Munroe Falls City | C | 17,580 | 30.40% | 4.5 | 5.40% | $71,765 | 3.20% | 3.00% | 96.00% | 46.60% | http://stowohio.org/ | 13 | Yes | Yes |
| http://munroefalls.com/ | ||||||||||||||
| Tallmadge City | C | 7,410 | 22.70% | 3.4 | 4.30% | $70,154 | 5.00% | 6.40% | 94.30% | 32.90% | https://tallmadge-ohio.org/ | 11 | Yes | Yes |
| Twinsburg City | B | 10,562 | 22.80% | 1.1 | 3.50% | $78,639 | 3.50% | 6.30% | 96.50% | 46.00% | http://www.mytwinsburg.com/ | 6 | No | Yes |
| Woodridge Local | C | 9,359 | 45.90% | 9.1 | 7.70% | $79,704 | 4.10% | 7.60% | 96.10% | 40.90% | https://villageofpeninsula-oh.gov/ | 3 | No | No |
| School performance grades are from the Ohio Department of Education for the 2018-2019 school year. | ||||||||||||||
| Household data is from the 2014-2018 5 year American Community Survey - Education Tabulation. For more information see https://nces.ed.gov/programs/edge/Demographic/ACS | ||||||||||||||
| Amenity data is from Google maps. | ||||||||||||||
| Data in table is current as of 1/1/21. | ||||||||||||||
