ASHLAND — Numbers don’t always share the full story. But they can be useful tools to spark curiosity.
The U.S. Census Bureau in January released its five-year American Community Survey data, ranging from 2019 to 2024.
The Center for Community Solutions, an independent, nonpartisan research center, explored the data and in February published its findings regarding changes at both statewide and county levels over the most recent five-year period.
At the county level, CCS mapped how 10 key indicators changed from 2019 to 2024. The 10 areas CCS highlighted include:
- Percent of the population under the age of 18
- Percent of the population 60 and older
- Median income
- Poverty
- Full-time employment
- Percent of employed residents working from home
- Median monthly mortgage costs
- Median rent
- Percent of residents with a bachelor’s degree or higher
- Broadband access
Alex Dorman, a research fellow with CCS, recently told Richland Source that five-year changes can offer interesting perspective on how different counties compare to each other or the state as a whole.
But Dorman also cautioned that data has its limitations and can only tell part of the story.
“Everything needs to be interpreted in the context with which it sits, which there is a risk almost always in looking at a single data point and not bringing that context to what it’s saying,” he said.
Dorman also pointed out that the data is slightly dated. Although it is the most recent available, it reflects life in Ohio and Ashland County between the years of 2020 and 2024.
To see CSS’ full breakdown of American Community Survey data, click here.
Here are some of the highlights for Ashland County.
Full-time employment up 4 percent
The number of Ohioans — between the ages of 16 and 64 — who worked full time in the past year anywhere within the five-year range increased by 1.4 percent.
In Ashland County, the percentage jump was even larger, increasing from 61.7 percent to 65.9 percent — a 4.2-percent leap.
The Ashland County Board of Commissioners cited growth at the Ashland Industrial Park as a possible contributor to the increase in county residents working full-time jobs.
Growth at the industrial park may also relate to Ashland County’s increase in median income — which improved by about $17,000 from 2019 to 2024.
While not factored into this batch of data, commissioners said they expect these categories to continue to rise with the recent addition of Amazon at the industrial park.
Meptagon also plans to create about 200 new jobs in Ashland when it constructs its newest manufacturing facility on the southwest corner of Ford Drive and Wells Road.
“If there’s a spot (of vacant property), someone is building an investment building to sell to somebody,” Commissioner James Justice said regarding industrial growth.
Sticking with full-time employment, 6.5 percent of employed county residents work from home as of 2024 — up 2.9 percent from 2019 (3.6 percent). This metric increased in the majority of the state’s counties.
Broadband internet access in county households expanded by nearly 10 percent, rising from 79.2 percent (2019) to 88 percent by 2024.
Another increase, the number of Ashland County residents (ages 25 and older) with a bachelor’s degree or higher grew by nearly 2 percent between 2019 (20.9 percent) and 2024 (22.6 percent). This metric increased by about 3-percent statewide.
Rises in income, mortgage and rent costs
Median household incomes rose across the board for Ohio counties.
In Ashland County, median incomes increased by about $17,000 — from $52,823 in 2019 to $69,860 in 2024.
“There are lots of companies that added 15, 20, 25 percent to their payroll because of competition and they’re not paying $12 per hour anymore,” said Commissioner Denny Bittle.
The county’s poverty rate also decreased by a half percent from 13.8 to 13.3.
While county households have made more median income per year, median monthly mortgage costs were also on the rise from 2019 to 2024. These costs increased to the tune of $165 in Ashland County, ballooning from $1,052 to $1,217.
Residents seeking places to rent were also met with higher rates. Median monthly rents in the county increased by $163 over the five years of available data ($725 in 2019 and $888 in 2024).
Ohio is aging
As a state, Ohio’s population is aging.
According to CCS’ exploration of the census data, the number of Ohioans age 60 and older increased nearly 2 percent from 2019 to 2024. The percentage of the state’s population under the age of 18 decreased by nearly a whole percent during that same time.
The percentage of Ashland County residents under the age of 18 decreased by 0.2 percent from 2019 to 2024 — dropping from 22.7 percent to 22.5 percent. This was the case in most counties statewide.
In contrast, the number of residents age 60 or older in the county increased by 2.6 percent — jumping from 25.3 percent in 2019 to 27.9 percent in 2024. All 88 Ohio counties increased in this category.
County data can offer a broad overview, but Dorman said it’s important not to over-interpret countywide data, as experiences can vary from one town (or even one neighborhood) to the next.
“Anyone who lives in a county knows where the experiences vary so drastically, depending on where you live in that county, the access to resources that you have and what your family looks like,” he said.
“People are so complex. These are just some of the best tools that we have to try to understand them.”