Oct. 28--Tough economic times are taking a toll on household incomes and home values in the area's most affluent communities, according to a new census report.

Hudson's median family income dropped a stunning $10,422 -- from $133,673 in last year's report to $123,251 this year -- a decrease of 7.8 percent.

The report, released Tuesday, is part of the Census Bureau's American Community Survey, which samples about a quarter of a million American households monthly.

In addition to data on the nation, state and large counties and cities, the latest survey includes 12 cities and four townships in the five-county Akron-Canton area with populations between 20,000 and 65,000.

Of those 16 communities, 11 saw declines in either median household or family income compared with last year's report.

The biggest year-over-year drop in median household income -- $29,074, down 9.9 percent compared with 2007, justed for inflation -- was found in Kent, with its large numbers of financially struggling students.

But large declines also were seen in several of the area's wealthiest communities.

"It's affecting everybody from the executive suite on down," said Joseph Rusnak, president of the nonprofit Hudson Job Search, which helps city residents and members of Hudson churches find jobs. "It's across the board -- if you're white-collar or blue-collar, you're certainly not immune."

Rusnak, a retired banker, said his group, founded during the recession of 1982, expects a 35 percent to 40 percent increase in people helped this year. That's on top of a 20 percent increase in 2008 -- the first year of the ongoing recession.

Those who succeed in getting jobs "are usually signing on for less money than they were earning," he said.

Hudson, which boasts the highest median household income of any city in Summit County, isn't alone.

In neighboring Medina County, median family incomes in both the cities of Brunswick and Medina declined more than $3,000, or about 5 percent, to $70,860 and $69,169, respectively.

Taking a toll

The amount of the gains in the few communities showing increases in incomes -- including Stow in Summit County and Perry Township and Massillon in Stark County -- were small compared with the declines.

And while the income drops reflect the strain placed on households by the recession, overall, the new report indicated an acceleration of the long-term trend of deteriorating incomes: Every community in the Akron-Canton area included in the American Community Survey -- as well as the nation and the state -- recorded declines in both median household and family incomes since the 2000 Census, which reported incomes from 1999.

The report also reflected the toll on homeowners caused by the burst housing market that triggered the current recession. All but one area community saw median home values decline in this year's report. The exception was Wooster, which reported a statistically negligible gain of less than 0.01 percent.

The largest decline came in Hudson, where median home values dropped more than $24,000, to $293,900 -- down 7.6 percent from a year earlier.

George Zeller, a Cleveland researcher who analyzes economic data for Northeast Ohio policymakers, said the new census data affirm what his research involving income tax revenue shows.

"We're seeing the impact of this deep recession in unusual places," he said. "We're seeing it all over the state -- incomes have been declining everywhere."

Zeller said last year's stock market crash hit high-income families harder because they had more money invested.

"People lost a lot of money in the stock market," he said, "and some of those people were in Hudson and Green."

Zeller didn't expect next year's census data to show improvement "unless we suddenly get a recovery immediately and all these layoffs cease and we start growing like gangbusters."

Zeller is likely correct about next year's report being more dismal. That's because the income and home values shown in Tuesday's report are three-year averages and include data from 2006 and 2007. The recession didn't officially start until December 2007.

A census report released last month using only 2008 data and covering larger communities generally showed steeper income declines. For example, the earlier report showed Akron's median household income in 2008 was $32,499 -- about $1,500 less than in Tuesday's report.

No one is immune

Green resident Ed Jenkins knows firsthand that those in the suburbs aren't immune to the recession.

The 60-year-old was laid off almost a year ago from his management job at a factory in Stow.

"The recession didn't pick and choose anybody -- it is pretty widespread," he said.

After months of job searching, he said he'd settle for "a lesser job at a lesser salary."

Jenkins counts himself as fortunate. He's debt free, and his wife is a substitute teacher and works at her mother's fabric store.

"There are people out there that are a lot worse off," he said.

Tuesday's census report found poverty increases in nine of the 16 mid-sized area communities included in the survey.

The biggest jump was reported in Brunswick, where the percent of individuals in poverty climbed from 5.2 percent to 6.9 percent.

The American Community Survey, which asks questions on a wide variety of social, economic and housing topics, is designed to provide an annual statistical portrait of the nation and replace the "long-form" sent out to about one-in-six addresses during the decennial census.

Census officials said the survey data, along with the results of the 2010 Census that will be sent to every address, will be used to determine the distribution of more than $400 billion in federal tax funds to states and local areas every year, officials said.

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David Knox can be reached at 330-996-3532 or dknox@thebeaconjournal.com Katie Byard can be reached at 330-996-3781 or kbyard@thebeaconjournal.com

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