Everything else equal, we can all agree that living in a cheaper place is better than living in a more expensive place.
I’d much rather pay $500/mo in rent than $1,000. And I’d rather pay $2 for coffee than $5.
And while every neighbhorhood in Akron might be more expensive than living in rural Ohio, there are certain neighborhoods that are definitely cheaper.
What exactly are those Akron neighborhoods where your dollar goes a little further — you can get that one bedroom instead of the studio?
Instead of relying on public opinion and speculation, we wanted to get the facts straight and determine which neighborhoods in Akron are the cheapest using Saturday Night Science.
What’s the cheapest neighborhood to live in Akron for 2024? According to the most recent census data, Summit Lake looks to be the cheapest Akron neighborhood to live in.
At this point, we should make it clear that you do get what you pay for — some of these neighborhoods might not be the best places to live in Akron. You could be sacrificing location or crime rates for more space and cheaper groceries.
Read on to see how we determined the places around Akron that deserve a little bragging rights, or maybe you’re interested in the worst neighborhoods in Akron.
For more Ohio reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In Ohio
- Cheapest Places To Live In Ohio
- Cheapest Cities To Live In America
- Cheapest States To Live In America
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 Cheapest Neighborhoods To Live In Akron For 2024
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Population: 3,042
Cost Of Living Index: 80 (3rd cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.7 (5th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.019 (9th cheapest)
More on Summit Lake: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 5,586
Cost Of Living Index: 82 (8th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.3 (cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.022 (13th cheapest)
More on South Akron: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 6,913
Cost Of Living Index: 80 (3rd cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.6 (3rd cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.025 (17th cheapest)
More on University Of Ohio Akron: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 14,889
Cost Of Living Index: 84 (14th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.3 (2nd cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.019 (8th cheapest)
More on Firestone Park: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 18,716
Cost Of Living Index: 83 (12th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.7 (6th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.019 (7th cheapest)
More on Goodyear Heights: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 15,909
Cost Of Living Index: 83 (12th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.6 (4th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.021 (10th cheapest)
More on Kenmore: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 12,084
Cost Of Living Index: 91 (20th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.7 (7th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.009 (cheapest)
More on Northwest Akron: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 15,911
Cost Of Living Index: 81 (6th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.0 (13th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.021 (11th cheapest)
More on North Hill: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 11,283
Cost Of Living Index: 82 (8th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.7 (8th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.023 (14th cheapest)
More on East Akron: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 4,993
Cost Of Living Index: 80 (3rd cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.9 (10th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.027 (20th cheapest)
More on Middlebury: Data | Real Estate
Methodology: How We Determined The Cheapest Akron Hoods In 2024
To rank the cheapest places to live in Akron, we had to determine what criteria define “cheap” and then apply Saturday Night Science.
Using Census and extrapolated BLS data, we arrived at the following set of criteria:
- Overall Cost Of Living
- Rent To Income Ratio
- Median Home Value To Income Ratio
We then ranked each neighborhood with scores from 1 to 21 in each category, where 1 was the cheapest.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each neighborhood to create a cheap neighborhood index.
And finally, we crowned the neighborhood with the lowest cheapest neighborhood index, the “Cheapest City Neighborhood In Akron.” We’re lookin’ at you, Summit Lake.
We updated this article for 2024. This is our fourth time ranking the cheapest neighborhoods to live in Akron. Skip to the end to see the list of all the neighborhoods in the city, from cheapest to most expensive.
Summary: Lowest Cost Places To Live In Akron
If you’re measuring the neighborhoods in Akron where prices are low, and it’s cheap to live, this is an accurate list.
The most affordable neighborhoods in Akron are Summit Lake, South Akron, University Of Ohio Akron, Firestone Park, Goodyear Heights, Kenmore, Northwest Akron, North Hill, East Akron, and Middlebury.
As mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Akron aren’t all cheap. West Akron takes the title of the most expensive neighborhood to live in Akron.
The most expensive neighborhoods in Akron are West Akron, Rolling Acres, Downtown, Wallhaven, and Merriman Valley.
We ranked the neighborhoods from cheapest to most expensive in the chart below.
For more Ohio reading, check out:
- Most Dangerous Cities In Ohio
- Richest Cities In Ohio
- Safest Places In Ohio
- Worst Places To Live In Ohio
Detailed List Of The Cheapest Neighborhoods To Live In Akron For 2024
| Rank | Neighborhood | Cost Of Living Index |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Summit Lake | 80 |
| 2 | South Akron | 82 |
| 3 | University Of Ohio Akron | 80 |
| 4 | Firestone Park | 84 |
| 5 | Goodyear Heights | 83 |
| 6 | Kenmore | 83 |
| 7 | Northwest Akron | 91 |
| 8 | North Hill | 81 |
| 9 | East Akron | 82 |
| 10 | Middlebury | 80 |
| 11 | Ellet | 87 |
| 12 | Chapel Hill | 82 |
| 13 | Lane-Wooster | 82 |
| 14 | Elizabeth Park Valley | 81 |
| 15 | Highland Square | 86 |
| 16 | Fairlawn Heights | 94 |
| 17 | Merriman Valley | 88 |
| 18 | Wallhaven | 89 |
| 19 | Downtown | 79 |
| 20 | Rolling Acres | 84 |
| 21 | West Akron | 85 |