Estimates show Elyria households shrinking, number of renters increasing

As Elyria continues to finalize its 2025 budget for Community Development Block Grant funds, City Council discussed how the housing and other needs of Elyrians are changing. Community Development Block Grants are submitted to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development which then assigns funding for the city to allocate to projects, homeowners and city departments. In 2025, the city estimates it will receive $1.2 million and a budget draft has been posted for public review and comment, open through Nov. 18, on the city website. During a meeting of City Council's Community Development Committee on Monday, city officials and a consultant assisting in the city's update to its CDBG policies and procedures presented an update on how Elyrians' needs have shifted in recent years. CDBG policies are updated every five years. Elizabeth McNannay, of Oregon-based Resource Consultants, gave a presentation on the current realities of housing in Elyria. According to the presentation, Elyria's population has decreased slightly since 2009, going from 54,050 that year to an estimated 53,117 in 2023, according to the American Community Survey. Interestingly, McNannay said, despite seeing a slight decrease in overall population, Elyria actually saw an increase in the number of households in the city. "The reason for that is because households are getting smaller," McNannay said. "Family sizes are shrinking and continuing to shrink, and so household sizes are continuing to shrink. So you may have fewer people and the need for more housing units at the same time." Far from being a trend limited to Elyria, McNannay said that communities across the U.S. are also seeing shrinking households. According to recent estimates, Elyria has 2,708 studio or one-bedroom rental units. Strikingly, 16,837, more than 70 percent, of Elyria households are estimated to be only one- or two-person households. McNannay said there are about 8,500 single households in the city; more than 5,000 of which are single women. "So the housing stock size is maybe just slightly out of whack at this point," she said. "And this is nationwide too, this is not an Elyria issue," McNannay said. "... It's interesting information because this is what can guide your investment over the next five years." Another small but noticeable change in Elyria's housing market since 2009 is an increase in the percentage of residents who are renters. McNannay said 41.6 percent of residents in Elyria rent, while 58.4 percent own their home. She said the current number of renters is an increase of about 3 percent from 2012. Across Ohio, only 33.2 percent of residents are renters while nationally 35 percent of Americans rent, according to the most recent U.S. Census. In Elyria, 45 percent of residents are "cost burdened," which McNannay said means that they spend more than 30 percent of their income on rent or other housing needs. "That's the biggest issue for the lowest wage earners," McNannay said. "... Seniors have a much higher instance of benign cost burdened as homeowners, and they also have a greater incidence of being cost burdened as renters." McNannay said she was confident the team handling Elyria's CDBG policy update would take the needs of Elyrians that she highlighted into account with the new policies. Contact Owen MacMillan at (440) 329-7123 or omacmillan@chroniclet.com.