Two Valley cities are among the Top 10 most affordable places in Ohio to live: Hubbard ranked third and Girard ranked fifth on a list prepared by HomeSnacks.

HomeSnacks has been ranking cities, neighborhoods, counties and states across America for more than five years. It combines recent data from the Census, FBI, OpenStreetMaps and dozens of other sources into bite-sized studies to help people understand what it’s like to live in different communities across the country.

“We want to help people find a place to live that fits them personally,” said Chris Kolmar, who wrote the list.

“To do that, we paint a picture of what’s happening in a region based on ‘Friday Night Science’ — how you’d argue at a bar. To do that, we gather data from around the web to help determine a wide array of factors about where you live — things like safety, desirability, and culture,” he explained. “We then use images, maps, and digestible summaries for everyone to get a sense of what life is like around each state in America.”

Also in the Ohio Top 10: Bellevue, Wapakoneta, Clayton, Martins Ferry, Conneaut, Trenton, Kenton and Northwood.

Six other Valley cities made the 100 list: Niles, No. 22; Struthers, 29; Youngstown, 34; Campbell, 51; Warren, 78; Canfield, 83; and Cortland, 87.

The list takes three factors into account when determining the rankings: median home price / median income (lower is better), median income / median rent (higher is better), and median home price (lower is better), according to Kolmar.

Girard ranked 22 in 2019, but jumped 17 spots to be on the list this year, to No. 5.

“Median incomes went up 2.5 percent while home prices and median rents went down by about 5 percent each. That combination leads the town to be considerably more affordable for the people living there,” Kolmar said about why Girard made the list.

The median rent in Girard is $598, giving Girard the lowest rent on this list in a state already known for having super low rent prices. The median income in Girard is $40,811 and the median home price is $79,900, giving Girard the 29th best ratio of home price to income in the state, according to Kolmar’s article.

“This is fantastic,” said Girard Mayor Jim Melfi. “This gives me a feeling of great pride that we’re succeeding in making Girard a great place to live.”

Melfi says that as mayor, he often sees things that the average citizen sees — and that those items are usually things that need fixed. He is excited that the efforts in the city are being recognized.

“Girard is a living, breathing city,” said Melfi. “If you don’t maintain the neighborhoods, you’ll lose the city.”

Hubbard, which has been on the list before, is ranked at No. 3 this year.

Rent goes for around $639 / month and the median home price in Hubbard is $97,900. The median income is $50,487. While these are higher than Girard’s numbers, Kolmar noted that Hubbard has more opportunities for recreation.

“I think it’s a testament to our community and to everything that we’ve worked to create here in the city of Hubbard,” said Hubbard Mayor Ben Kyle. “We’re always trying to look three steps ahead so that we’re ready for anything and our residents always have what they need.”

Kyle believes that the strong sense of community is a huge draw for people to want to live in Hubbard.

“I’m born and raised here so, I guess I take it for granted, in the sense that this is our niche, this is our community. Its how things have always been,” said Kyle.

The full HomeSnacks report is here: https://www.homesnacks.net/most-affordable-places-in-ohio-126830/

bshiller@tribtoday.com