Battle of the three 2nd tier cities: Toledo, Dayton, Akron (Cleveland: apartments, townhouse)

[Tex?Il?]

More specifically, which one would you say would feel more familiar to someone coming from a much larger city say . . . Chicago?

Based on what I know about the three cities, I would say Toledo, but I could be wrong, but here are my reasons for thinking so . . .

1. Toledo, as a city proper is quite a bit larger than the other two (268,000 vs 189,000 and 137,000 with the other two).

2. Toledo has a proper waterfront. (Not only is it on a wide river entering a Great Lake, but it looks like they have much more of a park system along the waterfront.

3. Demographically it seems like Toledo has more ethnic diversity. I think it has a somewhat higher hispanic population, and has historically back in its heyday had more Eastern European immigration from say Poland or Hungary. I know NE Ohio has Italian heritage even in its smaller towns (Dean Martin was from Steubenville, and Youngstown I guess is known for Italian heritage) so I assume Akron too? And from what I understand, Toledo didn't have nearly as much Appalachian/Southern white migration as the other two historically. (Akron was a major destination for West Virginians, whereas Dayton was a magnet for Kentuckians. Toledo I think had less of that.


Am I wrong here? Is Toledo a bit more "urban" all around that than the other two second-tier Ohio cities?

[PerryMason614]

That's a tough one.

City proper: I would put Dayton last. It's just grungier and less nicely laid out than the other two.

Metro area: I would rank Dayton first. More nice new stuff along I-675 then what you will see in the other two. Your mileage may vary, but I like nice and new.

Downtown: Dayton first. It just looks nicer than Akron or Toledo.

I don't know where to rank the other two. They are both okay. Neither one is awful, but neither one makes me say WOW either.

[Natural510]

Toledo has a great art museum but seems to be quite lacking in the nightlife department. It’s seen as more of a satellite city to Detroit these days. Dayton has had quite a bit of resurgence in its core to the south and east of downtown, and has some high-quality suburbs like Oakwood, Kettering & Beavercreek. I can’t speak to Akron, but it is closely linked to Cleveland and seemed to have more “urbanity” than the other two, for whatever that’s worth.

[North 42]

Originally Posted by Natural510

Toledo has a great art museum but seems to be quite lacking in the nightlife department. It’s seen as more of a satellite city to Detroit these days. Dayton has had quite a bit of resurgence in its core to the south and east of downtown, and has some high-quality suburbs like Oakwood, Kettering & Beavercreek. I can’t speak to Akron, but it is closely linked to Cleveland and seemed to have more “urbanity” than the other two, for whatever that’s worth.

I think all three of these cities are kind of satellite cities, Dayton to Cincinnati, Toledo to Detroit and Akron to Cleveland. I’m much more familiar with Toledo than the other two, so I’m not sure which one would take this.

[woxyroxme]

Toledo is the second largest city in Ohio by land area so it should be bigger than Dayton and Akron.

Dayton has had a lot of projects going on in the downtown area, new townhouse apartments on Monument Avenue, restoration of the arcade and renovation of the fireblocks area. Abandoned neighborhoods and boarded up houses are the biggest problem, even if these neighborhoods were fixed up it would still be a hard sell because the schools are not rated very well.

[Jbraybarten653]

Originally Posted by woxyroxme

Toledo is the second largest city in Ohio by land area so it should be bigger than Dayton and Akron.

Dayton has had a lot of projects going on in the downtown area, new townhouse apartments on Monument Avenue, restoration of the arcade and renovation of the fireblocks area. Abandoned neighborhoods and boarded up houses are the biggest problem, even if these neighborhoods were fixed up it would still be a hard sell because the schools are not rated very well.

Yeah Toledo is the largest by land area which is why city population doesn't accurately give a sense of true population.

Without even getting into metros, Lucas county (Toledo) has 430,000 people (well, down slightly since this 2020 census number) and Montgomery (Dayton) and Summit (Akron) are both in the 530ish thousand range.

I like Dayton's downtown, the river with it etc. I think it's relatively balanced. I don't think that there is a clear winner here. They're all comparable.

[kyle19125]

Toledo has a lot going on with its downtown and has two well-attended minor league teams playing there. The Toledo Mud Hens are a AAA affiliate of the Detroit Tigers playing at Fifth Third Field in a vibrant downtown neighborhood referred to as Hensville. Nearby is the Huntington Center where the Toledo Walleyes hockey team plays, an affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings. Both are very popular and seat several thousand each per game. The Toledo Art Museum and Glass Pavilion, Great Lakes Maritime Museum, Imagination Station (science museum) and Glass City Metropark along the river with its Ribbon (ice skating in winter, roller-blading in summer) bring in a lot of traffic year-round. They city is now heavily investing in residential living downtown and expansion of the Metropark on both sides of the Maumee River with the 200 million dollar Glass City Riverwalk project.

[Ohiogirl81]

Originally Posted by North 42

I think all three of these cities are kind of satellite cities, Dayton to Cincinnati, Toledo to Detroit and Akron to Cleveland.

Not at all. They each have separate identities from the larger cities nearby.

[LeisureSLarry]

They are all similar in that they are dumps people would rather not call home.

3 exemplars of rust belt decay IMO.

Hopefully they can turn it around but its like comparing which place is less shi---.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by LeisureSLarry

They are all similar in that they are dumps people would rather not call home.

3 exemplars of rust belt decay IMO.

Hopefully they can turn it around but its like comparing which place is less shi---.

^^ Somehow it's doubtful you have firsthand (or at best secondhand) knowledge of any of the three cities mentioned.