Dashboard Website Urban Econ

Akron, Ohio Economic Indicators Website: Indicators for the Firm and for the
Individual
Richard Angeletti
Rachel Thacker
Eric Vhalos
Urban Economics
The University of Akron
Department of Economics
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akron,_Ohio#/media/File:AkronPanorama.jpg

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Introduction
Akron is Ohio’s fifth largest city, and is considered one of Ohio’s “Big Eight” cities in
terms of its economic impact on the state of Ohio. Once considered the “Rubber Capital of
the World”, with the decline of the rubber industry in Akron, the city has had to redefine
itself economically, moving towards jobs in healthcare and polymer science. The proof in
this move towards healthcare and polymer is that of the top employers in the city of Akron,
three of them are health care systems such as Summa Health System. With a declining
population, from 260,000 in the 1960s to just below 200,000 in the 2010 Census (U.S.
Census Bureau), the city of Akron and Akron Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) needs to
find ways to actively grow the population in such a way that it would benefit the city’s top
employers, and allow Akron and Akron’s MSA to have positive growth.
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the need for a comprehensive website
that will illustrate Akron and Akron’s MSA’s current economic outlook, both for the firm
and for the individual using specific economic indicators. The indicators will give a
synopsis of where Akron has been improving its economy, and where Akron must continue
to work on in order to retain, create, expand and attract new industries, retain and grow
current industries, and retain or attract educated and skilled professionals to the city of
Akron. These indicators include: Akron’s unemployment rate, Cleveland-Akron CPI, labor
force participation rate, Akron MSA’s GDP by industry, industry distribution in Akron,
employment by sector, income distribution, and educational attainment.
The website will include an overall summary of Akron MSA’s economy, divided into
different tabs, each containing information pertaining to the economic indicator they
represent. For example, under labor force participation tab, there will be various statistics

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and graphs, such as the overall labor force participation rate in Akron’s MSA, and a
breakdown of the demographics of the labor force participation in Akron. The data for the
indicators will showcase demographics of Akron’s MSA (age, gender, and race) in regards
to the indicators, as well as what the economic indicator suggests of Akron’s MSA future
economic outlook. This website is meant to give a comprehensive look at Akron’s MSA in
order to inform firms and individuals of if they wish to move to Akron, or stay in Akron,
what the economic outlook is for Akron over the past 5 years, and what this says for the
economic future of Akron. The website will be in such a format so that an average person,
without an economic background, will be able to understand the information presented to
them. And where relevant, the economic indicators will include suggested government
policies made by those in the city of Akron government that either addresses the problem
the economic indicator poses (for example, high poverty) and how to fix it, or address
economic indicators that showcase the positive economic attributes of Akron (growing
healthcare and polymer field in Akron compared to MSAs around Akron). The importance
of a website that showcases the various economic indicators of Akron’s MSA is that all
economic information will be in one location for an individual or a business to view in
order to make a comprehensive decision whether or not Akron’s MSA represents a region
they are willing to live in or do business in.
Economic Indicators of learn.uakron.edu
For the website, the economic indicators were broken into two sections: indicators
for businesses and indicators for the individual wanting to relocate to Akron or MSA of
Akron. The indicators for the individual relocating to Akron area: CPI, employment by

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sector, demographic information, mean travel time to work, household total income,
citizens with health insurance, and household by type. Indicators for businesses possibly
relocating to Akron or Akron MSA are: employment rate, employment by sector, labor force
participation rate, Akron MSA GDP by industry, industry distribution over time, average
number of science and engineering bachelor degrees, and employment status. The business
indicators, as a whole indicate that Akron has moved away from manufacturing as its main
sector of employment, away from the rubber industry and towards the emerging industry
of polymer and liquid crystal research and production, and the industry of healthcare and
education, as shown by the industry distribution overtime indicator, the employment
sector, and the steady increase in the number of science and engineering degrees from
2000 to 2009. Another positive indicator of the business environment is the low
unemployment rate in the Akron MSA, and the steady increase in the labor force
participation rate from 2006 to 2015. Akron MSA’s GDP is also steadily improving since the
great recession, and according to the Akron MSA GDP by industry, each industry's’ share of
the GDP is expected to continue to grow, indicating the potential for growth and new firms.
Indicators for the Individual Relocating to Akron
Consumer Price Index, CPI
The consumer price index (CPI) is an important measure in the changes in prices of
a market basket of consumer goods and services purchased by households. The CPI is used
as a measure of inflation as experienced by consumers in their day-to-day living expenses
(BLS, 2016). The CPI is used as an economic indicator, as a deflator for other economic
series, and as a means of adjusting dollar values (BLS, 2016). The CPI is most widely used
to measure inflation and is often used as an indicator for the effectiveness of government

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economic policies. The CPI gives a clear picture of price changes in the nation’s economy to
government, businesses, labor and individual citizens and is used by businesses and
individuals alike to make economic decisions, such as whether to locate a business in a
specific area. The CPI represents major groups of purchased goods, such as food and
beverages, housing (including rent and utilities) transportation, medication care, and
education and communication (BLS, 2016). The CPI is designed to be a tool that simplifies
the measurement of a numerical series of data, meaning that it can be read and understood
by an economist and non-economist alike with simple instruction. The CPI has a, 1982,
1983, 1984 reference base, set to 100; the BLS measures the CPI is relations to this figure of
100. If the CPI is 112.5 in year I and 121 in year II, the difference between year II and I is
calculated to be 9, which is divided by year I, the base year. This quotient is multiplied by
100 to give the percent change in the CPI over time, read as the inflation overtime of a
particular time in a particular location (BLS, 2016).
The data for the CPI indicator for the website was compiled from the Federal
Research Bank of St. Louis, a site that allows data collected and compiled either in
interactive time series graphs or full datasets. The CPI for Akron reflects the CPI for the
combined region of Akron and Cleveland MSA, consisting of seven counties in northeast
Ohio. The current CPI of Akron-Cleveland is 220.376, compared to the national average of
236.525. The CPI is a good economic indicator because it shows a relative snapshot of how
expensive or affordable it is to live in an area, and these areas, such as Akron-Cleveland CPI
is 220, can be compared to other areas for an individual to see how affordable Akron-
Cleveland is to other areas. Because Akron-Cleveland CPI is relatively more affordable than
other major cities, an individual with no economic background can assume their income

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will go further in Akron compared to other cities. The CPI on the website is displayed as an
interactive time series graph, with the Akron-Cleveland CPI being compared to the national
average CPI.
Travel Time
Commuting time to work is an important measure for a variety of reasons. First of
all, according to Brueckner in his book “Lectures on Urban Economics” (2011), the time
spent commuting can be seen as an opportunity cost, that is, the cost of having to spend
time driving when you could have been at work being productive. “ Second component of
commuting cost is time cost, which captures the opportunity cost of the time spent
commuting…” (Brueckner, 2011). Because travel time is an opportunity cost, and many
people would like to have their opportunity cost of travel time , using travel time as an
indicator in Akron can demonstrate that, on average, Akron’s travel time is lower than
Ohio’s average and the national average. The mean travel time for the Akron MSA was
gathered from the Census Bureau American Factfinder website. The data is displayed on a
bar graph, with the time series of 2010-2015. The bar graph compares the mean travel time
of Akron with that of the average in the state of Ohio, and the national average.
Rent prices
The average rent price or a city, as well as the number of rent-to-own in a city
displays a section of the city’s cost of living in the area. Rent, especially for students and
young professionals, is an essential part of their budget they must take into account when
looking to relocate to an area. According to the BLS (2016) rent prices are included in the
CPI, and are therefore considered an essential part of the consumer basket of goods. The
average rent paid in Akron is $682 a month. The graph on the learn.uakron.edu website

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displays the number of renters in the MSA area, and breaks down the numbers based on
the number of people who pay a certain rent. For example, around 14,000 people in Akron
MSA pay $500 to $749. The interactive graphs displays how many people in the city pay a
certain rent. This indicator for the individual displays how many units there are in Akron
that cost per month a certain amount of rent, so a person wanting to relocate to Akron can
know about how many units in Akron run for the amount of rent the person has allocated
in their budget for. The data for rent-to-own displays the number of homes in Akron that
are currently listed as rent to own. The interactive graph displays the data as a bar graph in
two sections: occupied units paying rent, and owner occupied units in the Akron MSA. This
data is displayed as a time series from 2010-2014. The data was gathered from the Census
Bureau American Factfinder.
Household Total Income and Benefits
The total household income and benefits displays the total income per household,
and can show the median and average income for a city. This indicator can show how
wealthy or poor a city is, and perhaps about how many households in a city might be close
to the poverty line. According to Orzechowski and Sepielli (2003), two of the most telling
factors of economic status in the United States are income and net worth. By displaying the
average and median household income and benefits of a city or MSA, an individual can get a
snapshot of the expected income they may make in the city, as well the economic status of
the average citizen of the area. Increasing the average income or median income of an area
can make the city or MSA more attractive to individuals wanting to relocate to the area, or
can encourage people to stay in the city or MSA. Akron’s average income is $46,000 and the
median income is $34,000 as of 2014. The graph is displayed as a line graph showing the

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number of people in the Akron MSA who make a specific income. For example, in 2014,
13,000 people in Akron MSA made between $50,000 and $74,999. The graph also displays
a bar graph displaying the median and average income. The graph shows that overtime,
due to the recession, the income did drop in Akron MSA, but is slowly beginning to increase
again as of 2013. This indicator is important to display on the website because it shows the
possible income a person can expect to make compared to the average and median income,
and shows to a person wanting to move to the Akron MSA that the average and median
income are increasing overtime. Showing the breakdown of different income levels over
time shows what income levels are growing. The data for these graphs was collected from
the Census Bureau American Factfinder.
Demographic Information of Akron MSA
Demographic information of a city is a crucial indicator for how well the entire city
is doing, as well as an important indicator to show potential individuals and businesses
wanting to move to the area what they can expect of the population they will be
surrounded by. The demographic information included on the website are: race
demographics, population with high school diploma or GED, population with four year
bachelors, and population with engineering or science degree. The demographics of
educational attainment as an economic indicator shows how successful a city is at
attracting an educated population or retaining an educated population. When a city has a
large amount of skilled and or educated workforce, the city benefits by having higher
paying jobs, meaning higher average incomes of the families, a more skilled or creative
workforce for innovation, and also a workforce more willing and able to invest in their
community. For an individual who is educated or a skilled worker, they will seek to live and

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work near people who are similarly educated or trained as they are, meaning that a more
educated city will attract more educated people. This means that investing in education
and workforce skill training programs are essential for not only building a strong
community, but also attracting new people. In regards to the firm, firms in need of skilled
labor or an educated workforce will seek out areas where this kind of demographic
population already exists. According to Weinstein and Partridge (2011)” ...a more educated
and higher skilled labor force will be more productive and more attractive to firms...the
cities that kept their positions as 1 of the top 10 cities in average wages, and many that
have emerged, are some of the most educated cities in the US as measured by the
proportion of adults over 25 with a bachelor’s degree.” The more educated a city is,
whether with GED, high school diploma, bachelor’s, or specific engineering and science
bachelor's degrees, correlates with higher educational attainment, and makes a city more
attractive to firm, and entices an educated and skilled workforce to want to relocate to the
area. This is an important economic indicator for how well a city is doing economically
because it shows the population of skilled and educated workers in the city, and also the
potential the city has for innovation.
The website displays this indicator in four separate graphs, with a time series of
2010 to 2014. The graph displaying race depicts the breakdown of different races in the
Akron MSA overtime. The graphs displaying educational attainment display Akron MSA’s
education attainment (GED, high school diploma, bachelor’s degree, or science and
engineering degree) compared to the national average. The data was collected from the
Census Bureau's American Factfinder website. This indicator for Akron MSA shows that
Akron, while having improvement in educational attainment overtime, is still lower than

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the national average, and needs to invest more in education and or job training in order to
retain its educated population or attract an educated or skilled workforce to move to
Akron. Also, in growing an educated and skilled workforce, more firms make take an
interest in relocating to Akron’s MSA.
Citizens with Health Insurance
For the indicator of Citizens with Health Insurance, we gathered data from
Factfinder.com about the household. Citizens with health insurance show the surrounding
community that they care about their health and well-being, and since Northeast Ohio has
an agglomeration of health care companies, this may be an easy scratch off the “checklist”
for prospective households. The population of Akron is around 199,000, and since 2012,
the number of citizens in Akron has increasingly gotten health insurance. With health
insurance, people will be less stressed if they get sick since they pay monthly fees which
assure that they get the treatment they need to get better and return to work. However,
the public health insurance has risen from 76,000 to 79,000 and will surely rise with the
approval of Obama Care. This will increase government spending, but hopefully it will
enable citizens to sleep better at night knowing that if they do become ill, they will have the
medical attention needed to become better.
Household Values in Akron MSA
The information about the household values in the Akron MSA was gathered from
Factfinder, and is an important indicator for individuals looking to move here. The reason
for this is because housing needs to be affordable but with the right amenities to pair with
it. Housing values represent how the school perform, local community involvement, as well
as amenities like parks or shopping locations. In most metropolitan areas, there is going to

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be a wide range of housing values from lower income housing all the way up to the upper
class homes. With regards to the actual output itself, we gathered data ranging from 2010-
2014 looking at the median household value as well as the number of houses between
certain ranges of dollar amounts. The median household value is an important indicator to
look at because it accounts for outliers. However, the median household value has been
dropping steadily starting at $91,800 in 2010 to $82,600 in 2014. The reason this is
important is because the amount of cheaper houses are increasing while the houses above
$85,000 have been dropping. Housing in the Akron MSA is becoming cheaper which may
make young professionals eager to purchase, however, other negative factors like crime or
empty homes may also factor into the declining median household property value.
Household types
With information gathered from factfinder, we looked the different household types
next. The options for this included; family households (with own children under 18 and
married-couple family), Male householder with no wife present, female householder with
no husband present, nonfamily households, householder living alone, and 65 years and
over. Looking at this data is important for prospective companies in regards to seeing
where the labor market may lie. For example, if there are a high percentage of single
mothers, they may not be able to work the same hours as say a recent college graduate.
Business Indicators
GDP by Industry
GDP by industry will allow potential business the ability to see what industries
already exist in this area, how large of a monetary impact are they making, and to see if
their industry segment would benefit or be harmed if their is already a large amount of an

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industry present within the city. If a business would want to locate near other firms in the
industry then being able to see if it already exists in the city is important. This case could be
true if the business wants to foster social agglomeration with their work force and others in
the field. However, those businesses that want to bring a new industry to the area away
from competitors would want to see if there was a large presence already existing within
the city. Additionally, business might want to see if there are businesses in industries that
are complementary to their own within the city. For example a medical supplies company
wanted to see the presence of health care businesses within the city. All of these things can
be seen through looking at the graph of GDP by industry.
Engineering and Science Degrees
Since the University of Akron is considered a “Ohio’s Polytechnic University”, we
wanted to measure how many Engineering and Science degrees there were as well as the
amount of money they earn. We believed it would be favorable to try and link our
educational center for the city with job outcomes. Additionally, STEM degrees are some of
the most sought after candidates for firms. Having citizens with these types of degrees
residing in a community will help show businesses that their desired skilled labor force
resides where they want to locate. Having individuals with these degrees in the community
will also go on to say that this is a place where these highly educated people want to live
even though they have the ability to locate elsewhere. This can help show business in this
sector that might be relocating their current workforce to Akron that it has the amenities to
retain well-educated individuals with STEM degrees.

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Industries in Akron MSA, and Employment by Sector
By showcasing the employment by sector to potential business it will show what
kinds of working people already exist in this area, how large of a presence do they have,
and to conduct market analysis to see if their goods and or services would have a specific
demand based off of people's employment. An example of this would be a hardware store
looking to see how many construction and repairman are employed throughout the area.
Industry Distribution as a Percent over time
The industry distribution as a percent overtime shows which industries have
increased overtime and which have shrunk overtime. By showing the industries overtime
with the greatest percent distribution in the city, this shows which industries are the
largest, and can inform an individual moving to the area if a potential job in their field may
be available in Akron MSA. This indicator also shows to firms, which industries are growing
and which are shrinking. This type of indicator can help a firm decide to move to an area
because if an industry is growing overtime in the area, this indicates a growing people
employed in that industry field and that there may be room for another firm in the area. If
the industry distribution overtime is shrinking, this can indicate to the firm that it may not
want to locate there, as the share overtime for the industry is shrinking, therefore there
may be no room for another firm in the city or MSA.
The line graph on the learn.uakron.edu website shows the share of the industries in
Akron overtime. The graph can help a firm in a specific industry decide where there is
room in the Akron MSA for them to relocate and have a chance to grow. The graph displays
12 of the major industries in Akron, color coded, and their share of the total number of
industries in Akron from 2010 to 2014. This graph clearly demonstrates which industries

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in Akron are the largest, the educational services and healthcare, and which have shrunk
over time in terms of number of jobs, manufacturing. This indicator can also show an
individual interest in the Akron MSA if there are a growing number of jobs in their chosen
industry, or if their career industry is shrinking in the area. The data for this indicator was
collected from the City of Akron’s website.
Employment Status for Population 16 years and Older
The employment status for the population 16 years and older shows how many
people in the population are either employed (and are over the age of 16), who are
unemployed, or who are not in the labor force (under the age of 16, or retired). This
indicator shows whether the labor force is growing, and if the population of those who are
not in the labor force is growing or remaining stable. When there is a large number of
people in the work force employed, and a smaller number of unemployed makes people in
the city or MSA feel more confident about the economy and the future of their city’s
economic health (Piana, 2001). This indicator in terms of the individual helps to explain
exactly how many people in the population are employed, unemployed or not in the labor
force, and can help to determine how confident they may feel in the city they are looking to
relocate to. For the firm, this helps a firm to know how many possible employees there are
in the labor force so that the firm can determine if there are enough potential people in the
labor force to work for their firm. The indicator is important for the firm and individual in
showing how many people are in the workforce, and for the firm, if there are a growing
number of those in the workforce for a firm to employ if the firm relocates.
The graph is a line graph showing the total number of employed, unemployed, and
those who are not in the work force. The Akron MSA has a growing number of people over

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the age of 16 employed in the population, and has a shrinking number of those unemployed
in the Akron MSA, a positive sign for a potential firm or an individual wanting to relocate to
the Akron MSA. The interactive graph displays the three sets of data as a line graph with
the time series 2010 to 2014. The data for this graph was collected from the Census Bureau
American Factfinder.
Labor Force Participation Rate
The labor force participation rate allows businesses to see what the supply of
individuals is able to seek employment from them. Additionally, this can help see how
many people in the city are receiving a salary that they can spend on the businesses goods
and or services. With the unemployment rate being a key economic indicators for so many
throughout the country it is important to share that within this graph as well. By showing
the unemployment rate it allows people to make assumptions about the livelihood of the
city and see how it has changed and evolved over time.
Employment Status
Employment status data was gather from American Factfinder and is helpful for
determining the amount of individuals who are employed, unemployed, and not in the
labor market. To be considered not in the labor market, an individual is a student, retired
persons, those taking care of family members or children, and those who are neither
working nor looking for work.
Conclusion
The purpose of this project was to construct a website of economic indicators of the
City of Akron and Akron’s MSA that could be used to inform either individuals or
businesses hoping to move to the area about the current economic health of Akron, and

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what Akron has to offer. This website was designed to be easy to navigate and understand,
with simple tabs such as “I am thinking of doing in business in Akron” to help the individual
or business to decide which sets of indicators and explanations are most relevant to them.
As a group, we looked over other cities’ economic development websites that featured
economic indicators in order to get an understanding of what indicators were most
relevant and important when viewing the health of a city, and whether a business or
individual would want to relocate there. For the City of Akron and Akron’s MSA, we choose
CPI, employment by sector, demographic information, mean travel time to work, household
total income, citizens with health insurance, and household by type. Indicators relevant to
businesses we included on the website are: employment rate, employment by sector, labor
force participation rate, Akron MSA GDP by industry, industry distribution over time,
average number of science and engineering bachelor degrees, and employment status.
The website is currently accessible under the URL
https://learn.uakron.edu/development/econ-dashboard/ and can be viewed and updated.
Because of the limitations of time and resources, we could not add all of the information we
wanted to for this website. In the future, our group, or future groups orindividuals
assigned to update the website should add more character to the website. For example, add
images of Akron, the Akron MSA, and a brief history of Akron, Ohio, in a similar fashion to
other websites the group used as a reference, namely Raleigh, NC
(http://www.raleigh4u.com/whyraleigh/quality), Los Angeles,
CA(https://performance.lacity.org/) and the website Data
USA(http://datausa.io/profile/geo/akron-oh/). Also, more explanations of what the data
means, so that a business or an individual with little to no economic experience and

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understand the data and use it in their decision. Adding contact information for major
businesses in Ohio, City of Akron government, contacts for moving help, and hotel locations
and contact information for if the business or individual wants to visit Akron ahead of their
move. Including Akron amenities, such as the many metro parks Akron has, downtown
restaurants and attractions, or services offered in Akron in order to highlight important
amenities that may interest a person wanting to move to the city of Akron or Akron’s MSA.
Finally, add information pertaining to the University of Akron and Kent State University, if
the individual is moving to Akron MSA and is pursuing a degree, or if a business is
interested in connecting with the universities for potential employees, internships, or
partnerships.
The University of Akron Economics club or the department at large will continue the
project. This is made simple by the ease of editing and updating the website through Google
Drive by inserting new data, graphs, and information. Because of the ease of updating the
information on this website, it is the hope of the group that designed this website that it
will be continued, improved, and utilized by the University of Akron, City of Akron,
individuals and businesses. This website, we hope, can help to showcase Akron in a more
positive light that the city, the MSA and the residents of the Akron area knows Akron
deserves. If the city of Akron and the surrounding MSA is able to highlight on the positive
indicators of this website, such as the low cost of living shown in the CPI, and through a
partnership of the community, businesses and the local government, the indicators that
were more negative, such as the lower than the Ohio average attainment of a science or
engineering bachelors degree, can be improved upon. This website has the potential to not
only indicate the health of the Akron economy, but also help individuals, businesses and

17
leaders of the local government know where the economy need work, and where the Akron
economy is excelling, while still informing potential individuals and businesses of how
Akron is doing, and possibly where the city and MSA of Akron is going.

18
References
Brueckner, J. (2011). Lectures on Urban Economics. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Bureau of Labor Statistics (2016). Consumer Price Index. Retrieved May 6, 2016, from Burea
of Labor Statistics: http://www.bls.gov/cpi/cpifaq.htm#Question_1
City, LA Performance. (2016, April). LA City Plan Dashboard. (L. City, Producer) Retrieved
May 6, 2016, from LA City: https://performance.lacity.org/
Office of Economic Development, Raleigh. NC. (2015, October). Why Raleigh? (E. D. Raleigh,
Producer) Retrieved April 18, 2016, from Raleigh For You:
http://www.raleigh4u.com/whyraleigh/quality
Partridge, M. and Weinstein, A. (2011). How Can Struggling Communities Make a
Comeback? . AEDE.OSU , 1-29.
Piana, V. (2001). Employment. Retrieved May 6, 2016, from Economics Web Institute:
http://www.economicswebinstitute.org/glossary/employ.htm
Raleigh4U. (2016, April). Raleigh, NC. Retrieved May 6, 2016, from Raleigh4U, R4U:
http://www.raleigh4u.com/
Sepielli, P. and Orzechowski, S. (2003). Net Worth and Asset Ownership of Households: 1998
and 2000. US Census Bureau, Department of Commerce. Washington DC: US
Department of Commerce.
University of Akron, Dept. of Economics. (2016, April). Economic Dashboard. (U. o. Akron,
Producer) Retrieved May 6, 2016, from Economic Dashboard:
https://learn.uakron.edu/development/econ-dashboard/
USA, Data. (2016, April). Akron, Ohio. (D. C. Deloitte, Producer) Retrieved May 6, 2016, from
Data USA.io: http://datausa.io/profile/geo/akron-oh/

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