HomeColumnsToledo Ranks 10th in Home-Buying Power

Toledo Ranks 10th in Home-Buying Power

A recent survey by Smartassest.com surveyed 200 major cities and discovered that Toledo was No. 10 in a list of places where you can buy the most home with the locale’s
median income. Translation? The average income earner has a better chance of affording a home in Toledo than in 190 other metropolitan areas. Real translation? We live in an affordable neighborhood.

Northwest Ohio has always faced an image problem. We do, after all, live in the shadow of giants. Even with our good-sized population base, we are only the fourth largest city in Ohio. There are three cities (Columbus, Chicago, and Indianapolis) in the top 20 most populous cities in the country only half-a-day’s drive away. If Toledo was to move to Michigan, we would be the second largest city in that state— by a comfortable margin of 90,000.

Numbers Don’t Lie

Regardless of our population base, Northwest Ohio has a lot going for it. The detail is in the numbers. The Smartasset.com survey reveals a fundamental truth about community affordability. It isn’t a matter of what the average income is so much as what that income is compared to available house and their prices.
These numbers dovetail nicely into the metro area ratings at Forbes.com, which ranks Toledo No. 32 out of 200 in cost to do business. In other words, we are a bargain. Plus, also according to Forbes, the cost of living in our area is 14 percent below the national average. Our dollars go much farther than almost anywhere else in the region. We may not have an NFL franchise but an evening eating wings at a sports bar costs a lot less than any other regional metro area.

Safety as expected

A recent survey by neighborhoodscout.com ranks Toledo No. 54 in the most dangerous places to live. That seems bad until you consider that Detroit, Cleveland and Canton all rank significantly higher. According to the US Census Bureau, we are the 72nd largest metro area in the country, proving that our reported crime rate is hardly out of line with our population ranking.
But let’s not quibble over “population density.” According to point2pointhomes.com, the personal crime risk in Northwest Ohio is half of the national average. The point? Once again, Toledo is a pretty nice place to live.

In summary…

As long as we are talking numbers, what is the bottom line? Our homes are affordable, our cost of living is reasonable, a business startup is achievable, and our crime rate doesn’t carry much impact. And if that doesn’t convince you of the advantages of living here in Northwest Ohio, we will give the final word to the market research at realtors.com. Over the last three years, the median cost of a home has gone up about 4 percent a year. Home prices haven’t gone down or been artificially inflated. Northwest Ohio, a nice and affordable place to live.

Recent Articles