The National Bureau of Economic Research — the official scorekeeper for the U.S. economy — declared the Great Recession ended in June 2009.
But more than two years later, there is little evidence of a recovery. In fact, a new Census Bureau survey found incomes and home values continue to slip in most cities, townships and villages in the Akron-Canton area and across Ohio.
The latest edition of the American Community Survey, released today, reported median household incomes for the combined years 2006 through 2010 were lower than in last year’s report, which covered 2005 through 2009, in nearly two-thirds of the communities in Summit, Stark, Portage, Medina and Wayne counties.
What residents think their homes are worth was down by a even wider margin: The median price — meaning half the homes were valued more and half less — was lower in 25 of 29 cities, 43 of 77 townships and 32 of 46 villages in the five-county area.
The declines aren’t a surprise. In September, the Census Bureau released single-year estimates that found median household incomes dropped nationally last year by an average 2 percent.
Median income in Ohio — one of 45 states that recorded declines — was down 2.3 percent.
The new report paints a much more detailed portrait of the economy because it provides data on communities of all sizes, down to the small villages. The single-year reports cover only cities and counties with at least 65,000 residents.
A closer look at the new report does offer positive news — at least for some areas.
Several communities across the northern tier of Summit County, the city of Macedonia, the townships of Boston, Richfield and Twinsburg and the villages of Boston Heights, Northfield and Peninsula, reported higher median incomes than found in last year’s report.
Those communities also generally posted higher home values.
Higher incomes and home values also were seen in a number of rural townships, including Marlboro and Bethlehem in Stark County, Suffield and Mantua in Portage County, and Chatham and Litchfield in Medina County.
Connie Krauss, Summit County’s community and economic development director, said it made sense that home values are showing signs of rebounding in growing townships, where homes and lots are larger.
“They are places where people want to live,” she said. “Those people who are affluent haven’t been hit as hard by the recession.”
Despite the glimpses of positive news, today’s report showed those still hurting are a big majority. The communities reporting lower home values are home to more than 80 percent of the 1.37 million residents of the five-county Akron-Canton area.
“In most of these communities, we’re seeing big declines in household income and big declines in housing values,” said Amy Hanauer, executive director of Policy Matters Ohio, a nonprofit think tank specializing in economic research and government. “It’s very distressing.”
Hanauer pointed out that the new report is difficult to evaluate in terms of trends because it covers five years, and four of those years overlap with last year’s report.
But looking back farther — to the 2000 Census data — shows not only declining incomes, but also a growing gap between rich and poor.
“When you look at data like that, you see real inequalities,” she said. “You see people in some communities seeing income losses and property value losses coupled with low incomes to start with.”
A chart showing the income, home values, poverty rates and percent of residents with a four-year college degree for every area community is posted on www.ohio.com.