With over 100 entirely locally owned businesses, the Northside Marketplace in downtown Akron is a unique space that allows new businesses to open without taking the risk of opening a stand-alone location. There are local shops and eateries elsewhere in the downtown area. Most of the restaurants are located along Main Street near Canal Park. Just outside the city, in the suburb of Fairlawn, Summit Mall is an enclosed shopping center with over 100 stores.
Summit Mall is about 1 mile northwest of Fairlawn Heights on Market Street.
Downtown Akron is home to several locally owned restaurants.
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Akron is not the Rubber Capital it once was
While the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company remains one of the top employers in Akron, the city has evolved from its past as the one-time Rubber Capital of the World. “Along with Goodyear, many people still work at Bridgestone-Firestone,” says Lenny Herbert, a Realtor with Re/Max Edge Realty. About 3,000 people work at Goodyear and about 1,000 at Bridgestone-Firestone, but other large employers are in the hospital and healthcare industry. Because Akron was home to Goodyear, BF Goodrich, Firestone and General Tire and Rubber, the population boomed before the Great Depression. It remained steady until a decline in the 1970s when some companies sold or moved manufacturing overseas.
Akron is famously home to NBA superstar LeBron James. His charity organization, the LeBron James Family Foundation, has been active since 2005. The I Promise School was started in 2018 for at-risk elementary school students. In 2023, the foundation built House Three Thirty, a 60,000-square-foot multi-purpose space that helps with job training and family financial services. The center is also a gathering space with community events scheduled throughout the year.
Where Firestone Park and the rubber capitol of the world come together, Akron, OH.
Highland Square is only a short distance away from downtown Akron.
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Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens
The neighborhood that started the population boom in the city is Northwest Akron, which is where the Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens is located. It’s a Tudor Revival home built in the 1910s and was home to F.A. Seiberling, the co-founder of Goodyear. Several homes in that neighborhood are smaller versions and housed early employees of the tire company. During the Christmas season, the 1,500-acre estate is adorned with 1.4 million lights. Akron Civic Theatre was built in 1929 and has twinkling stars and drifting clouds on the domed ceiling. It’s one of the few remaining atmospheric theatres in the country that were popular in the 1920s to evoke a sense of being outdoors. Over the years, the venue has hosted many concerts, including Devo, the pioneering new-wave band from Akron, who played there in 1979, and other Akron-based bands like The Pretenders and The Black Keys.
Akron home prices are well below the national average
The median home sales price in Akron is around $150,000, well below the national median. Akron's median home price is also lower than nearby Cuyahoga Falls and Canton. Older, higher-priced homes are in the Northwest Akron and Fairlawn Heights neighborhoods. “People living in Akron mainly work in the area,” Herbert says. “If you go to communities like Cuyahoga Falls, Hudson or Stow, north of Akron, most people work in Cleveland” about 40 miles away. Duplexes and multi-family units are concentrated near downtown.
According to the FBI Crime Data Explorer numbers, Akron was well above the national and state averages for violent crime in 2023. However, Akron’s police chief and mayor indicated in October 2024 that year-to-date violent crime numbers in 2024 were significantly lower than the year prior. Property crime rates in 2023 were also above the national and Ohio averages.
There are plenty of fixer-uppers available in the Ellet neighborhood.
Colonial Revival homes give Northwest Akron its warmth and charm.
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Akron schools
The Akron City School District earns a C-plus from Niche. The LeBron James Foundation’s I Promise School is a part of the public school system serving grades three through eight. As part of a 15-year plan to remodel many aging school buildings in Akron, schools at all levels that have been updated are branded as community learning centers. So far, 39 schools within the system have been rebuilt or remodeled and have that branding. The University of Akron is located downtown and is a public research university. The school has an enrollment of nearly 15,000. The campus is home to the Akron Symphony Orchestra, who perform at the E.J. Thomas Performing Arts Hall. Private school options are highly rated, with Archbishop Hoban High School and Our Lady of the Elms School receiving A grades. Both are Catholic schools.
The I, Promise School sponsored by the LeBron James Foundation provides exception education for children.
The ground signage of University of Akron is well kept and maintained in Downtown Akron.
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Recreation opportunities in Akron
In addition to city parks managed by the Akron Recreation and Parks Division, residents also frequently visit regional sites run by Summit County's Metro Parks system. Sand Run Metro Park is the area's largest, spanning 1,000 acres with trails open year-round. The Cuyahoga Valley National Park is nearly 33,000 acres and includes several scenic waterfalls. The 65-foot Brandywine Falls is the largest of about 100 throughout the park.
A weekly Thursday evening summer concert series is held at various parks throughout the city. Various festivals like the Rib White and Blue and the Akron City Festivals take place downtown at Lock 3 Park. The site also hosts the city's annual 4th of July Fireworks display. Winter at the park brings outdoor ice skating, polar putt-putt, fireworks and a Christmas tree illumination to kick off the holiday season. Summertime means baseball and home games at Canal Park, home of the Akron Rubber Ducks, a double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. The 100-mile Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath Trail, a regional hike and bike trail, goes by Canal Park downtown, and a floating bridge takes users across Summit Lake a few miles south. Golfers can enjoy the private Firestone Country Club. It currently hosts the Senior Players Championship, a stop on the PGA senior tour in July.
Station Road Bridge in Northfield's Cuyahoga Valley National Park has wood and iron sections.
Go golfing at Firestone Country Club in Portage Lakes
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Healthcare dominates Akron's top employers
Three of Akron's top five employers are hospitals owned by separate entities. Summa Health System owns Akron City Hospital, and Akron General Health, which is affiliated with Cleveland Clinic, operates Akron General Hospital. Both facilities are Level I Trauma Centers. In addition, Akron Children’s Hospital is an independent entity with its largest facility downtown. Other large employers in Akron include the power company FirstEnergy, Gojo Industries, a skin health and surface hygiene manufacturer and the University of Akron.
Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center in Fairlawn.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company founded in 1898 by Frank Seiberling.
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METRO buses serve Akron
METRO buses provide public transportation. In addition to local routes, the system offers commuter service to downtown Cleveland. The buses operate from the Robert Pfaff Transit Center downtown. Interstate 77 runs north into Cleveland, while Interstate 76 leads to Youngstown about 50 miles to the east. State Route 8 is a freeway that runs north from downtown Akron to the south suburbs of Cleveland.
On average, homes in Akron, OH sell after 34 days on the market compared to the national average of 49 days. The median sale price for homes in Akron, OH over the last 12 months is $149,900, up 9% from the median home sale price over the previous 12 months.
Disclaimer: Certain information contained herein is derived from information provided by parties other than Homes.com. Our sources include: Accuweather, Public Records and Neustar. All information provided is deemed reliable, but is not guaranteed to be accurate and should be independently verified.
