Stark County’s middle-income housing affordability gap: so much for the American Dream

Stark Economic Development Board, Strengthening Stark, and community partners set an aggressive goal of eliminating middle-income housing imbalance by 2030. 

The United States, Ohio, and, yes, even our beloved little corner of the world, Stark County, are all facing a serious housing crisis.

Wages for working families remain stagnant as the number of homes for sale is at its lowest level in 25 years. Home prices and related housing costs have soared at a rate much faster than wages. Competition to buy homes is extreme, with multiple offers often causing contracts to exceed listing prices.

This challenging mix has put homeownership out of reach for many middle-income families. It has also caused the average age of first-time homebuyers to increase to 40 years of age, up from 28 in 1991.

Competition for rental properties is just as aggressive, as many would-be first-time homebuyers are delaying their purchases and continuing to rent instead. That makes inventory of affordable rental properties here even more scarce, driving up monthly rental costs to unaffordable levels.

There are plenty of things to like about Stark County. Unfortunately, our middle-income housing affordability gap, that’s killing the American Dream for many, isn’t one of them.

Some numbers to consider.

From management to administrative support positions and from healthcare to professional services careers, Stark County wages are less than the national average. The median annual household income in Stark County is about $70,000, and the median home sale price is more than $270,000.

So, what exactly does that mean? Well, the average working family would need to bring home more than $25,000 more annually to comfortably afford that median home price. We won’t even get into the specifics regarding the fact that the average new build is now selling for more than $540,000 here.

Home prices have increased nearly 50 percent across the board in Canton-Massillon (MSA) since 2019. And nearly 90 percent of local homebuyers cannot afford to build a new home. Homeownership rates have dropped, and the number of young adults choosing to live with their parents to help manage personal expenses has increased.

Change is in the air.

Our middle-income housing affordability gap could be considered daunting. But fortunately, the Stark Economic Development Board and Strengthening Stark are teaming up with many community partners, all working together, to turn these negative trends around.

The team’s goal is to eliminate the housing imbalance for Stark County’s workforce by 2030, with an important part of that goal being the elimination of our middle-income housing affordability gap.

Middle-income housing defined.

Middle-income housing is affordable for single parents, young professionals, newlyweds, young working families, retirees and others with an annual household income between $35,000 and $100,000 and who can afford $800 to $2,000 per month in housing costs.

Just as importantly, it’s quality housing with amenities that are desirable to these buyers and renters and doesn’t require extensive renovations. There’s a scarcity of inventory on the market that fits this description. Many, if not most, homes for sale or rent in our market at this price point don’t fit the time-tested perception of a starter home and typically need a lot of repairs and updates.

An instant hot market.

We expect that newly created middle-income housing will have an instant hot market for buyers and renters. And there are innovative and cost-effective new building methods to be considered, including panelized homes and 3D-printed homes, which also can speed up the building process as they can take less time to construct.

We’ve had conversations with some local builders about building single- and multi-family homes that fit in the middle-income housing price range. If this can be accomplished, Stark County realtors will be able to market, sell, and rent middle-income housing in rapid fashion. Regional lenders will benefit, too, as there are plenty of families and individuals who will want to purchase and rent this middle-income housing. Long-time local businesses and new incoming businesses will reap rewards because their employees will be able to live in the types of homes they desire and will stay in our community.

This will help ease the significant pressure in Stark County’s rental market as well.

Stark County has the economic opportunities, and we’ve got the quality of life. Now, we just need an adequate supply of middle-income housing.

A community-wide initiative.

Tackling Stark County’s middle-income housing affordability gap will take widespread community buy-in and support. From renters to buyers to builders to lenders to realtors to elected officials to business owners to community leaders and more, it will take a village (better yet, an entire county). This includes you. Together, we’ll work to help make the American Dream come true for many middle-income Stark County families and individuals.

The Stark Economic Development Board and Strengthening Stark are taking a leading role in making sure this middle-income housing movement builds a strong foundation. For us, this is core to what we do. A community can't grow jobs, wages, or opportunity if the people doing the work can't find a home they can afford here. Closing that affordability gap is just as much a part of building a stronger Stark County as anything else we work on. You'll be hearing a lot more about middle-income housing. And I encourage you to be an important ingredient in the recipe for this much-needed solution to making Stark County even stronger.

Follow our progress by engaging with our social media channels (Facebook and LinkedIn), email us at info@starkcoohio.com, or check out our housing report online.