The Ultimate Guide to Grading Cleveland Neighborhoods

CLEVELAND NEIGHBORHOOD GRADES.

Many long distance investors look to Cleveland, Ohio as a long distance rental portfolio location. This is because the city has a high rental demand & low priced homes.

From afar it is not so easy to pin point exactly what you are buying. This is why many investors use a scale to grade neighborhoods so they can get a feel for what they are buying. So naturally as someone who runs a $75+ million portfolio I am seen as the go to guy for Cleveland, Ohio investing and am asked quite often "what grade neighborhood is this house in? What about this house?"

So here it is. My grades for the neighborhoods in & around the city of Cleveland.

West Side of Town

East Side of Town

KEY

DARK GREEN: A Neighborhood.

LIGHT GREEN: B Neighborhood.

YELLOW: C Neighborhood.

RED: D & F Neighborhoods.

GOLD STAR: The Holton-Wise Property Group's office.

TAX EXAMPLE: If a home is valued by the county auditor at $100,000 & the Residential Property Tax Rate is 2.79% the annual taxes will be $2,790.

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A Neighborhood--Single family homes are almost entirely owner occupied. Single family homes are $150k & up. Single family homes here are too expensive to make any sense for a rental. Multifamily apartment buildings are the only rental properties that would make any sense as a rental property. These will trade with very low cap rates but are great passive investments with little to no issues with the tenants.

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Hunting Valley (44040)

Median Income $250k

Residential Property Tax Rate 2.30%

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Bentleyville (44022)

Median income $156k

Residential Property Tax Rate 2.77%

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Pepper Pike (44124)

Median Income $132k

Residential Property Tax Rate 2.33%

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Gates Mills (44040)

Median Income $123k

Residential Property Tax Rate 2.63%

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Hudson (44236)

Median Income $123k

Residential Property Tax Rate 2.15%

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Waite Hill (44094)

Median Income $119k

Residential Property Tax Rate 2.48%

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Orange (44022)

Median Income $100k

Residential Property Tax Rate 2.26%

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Solon (44139)

Median Income $95k

Residential Property Tax Rate 2.19%

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Bratenahl (44108)

Median Income $89k

Residential Property Tax Rate 2.82%

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Beachwood (44122)

Median Income $83k

Residential Property Tax Rate 2.16%

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Avon Lake (44012)

Median Income $82k

Residential Property Tax Rate 2.04%

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Kirtland (44094)

Median Income $82k

Residential Property Tax Rate 2.06%

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Macedonia (44236)

Median Income $81k

Residential Property Tax Rate 1.79%

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Bay Village (44140)

Median Income $80k

Residential Property Tax Rate 2.72%

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Avon (44011)

Median Income $79k

Residential Property Tax Rate 1.91%

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Strongsville (44149 & 44136)

Median income $78k

Residential Property Tax Rate 2.15%

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Westlake (44145)

Median Income $76k

Residential Property Tax Rate 2.03%

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Broadview Heights (44147)

Median Income $75k

Residential Property Tax Rate 2.36%

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Shaker Heights (44122 & 44120)

Median Income $75k

Residential Property Tax Rate 3.97%

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North Royalton (44133)

Median Income $69k

Residential Property Tax Rate 2.30%

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University Heights (44118)

Median income $68k

Residential Property Tax Rate 3.82%

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North Olmsted (44070)

Median Income $60k

Residential Property Tax Rate 2.87%

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Middleburg Heights (44130)

Median Income $59k

Residential Property Tax Rate 2.31%

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Chagrin Falls (44022 & 44023)

Median Income $58k

Residential Property Tax Rate 2.78%

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B Neighborhood--Mix of owner occupied single family homes & single family rentals. Owner occupied homes being more common. Single family homes are 60k-120k. You can get some single family homes that need some minor work and get yourself a pretty good rental. Rents are going to be $950-$1,150. Your tenant base is very solid. Some blue collar & some college educated.

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South Euclid (44121)

Median Income $59k

Residential Property Tax Rate 3.16%

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Cleveland Heights (44118 & 44112)

Median Income $53k

Residential Property Tax Rate 3.80%

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Parma (44129, 44130 & 44134)

Median Income $49k

Residential Property Tax Rate 2.51%

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Brook Park (44142)

Median Income $49k

Residential Property Tax Rate 2.31%

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Berea (44017)

Median Income $49k

Residential Property Tax Rate 2.55%

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Lakewood (44107)

Median Income $42k

Residential Property Tax Rate 2.93%

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Garfield Heights (44137 & 44125)*

Median income $41k

Residential Property Tax Rate 4.13%

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Brooklyn (44144)

Median Income $39k

Residential Property Tax Rate 2.44%

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Euclid (44117, 44123 & 44132)

Median Income $35k

Residential Property Tax Rate 3.11%

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Cleveland (44113)**

Median income $24k

Residential Property Tax Rate 2.79%

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* This neighborhood is a B-/C+ neighborhood.*

**The Ohio City and Tremont neighborhoods are also in this zip code. Those are A class neighborhoods that have been gentrified and see a lot of high end redevelopment by young urban tenants with incredibly high disposable income. Neighborhood quality will very on a street by street basis, sometimes house by house basis. It is not uncommon to have a boarded up home on the same street as a $250k+ townhouse. If there wasn't so much blight around these newer homes one could argue that it they are A neighborhoods as some of the properties are A class and will receive an A class tenant. Extreme diligence and local neighborhood expertise is needed in these areas.**

C Neighborhood--Mix of owner occupied single family homes & rentals. Rentals being more common. Single family homes are $50k-$80k. Rents are going to be $900-$1,000 range. Duplexes should run in the $80k-$100k range and rent for $600-$800 per unit. Blue collar workers, low income workers, retail, service industry workers, factory workers, SSI & CMHA.

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Lorain (44053)

Median Income $48k

Residential Property Tax Rate 1.67%

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Lorain (44052)

Median Income $35k

Residential Property Tax Rate 1.67%

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Elyria (44035)

Median Income $46k

Residential Property Tax Rate 1.78%

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Elyria (44036)

Median Income $43k

Residential Property Tax Rate 1.78%

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Cleveland (44111)

Median Income $40k

Residential Property Tax Rate 2.79%

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Cleveland (44144)

Median Income $39k

Residential Property Tax Rate 2.79%

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Bedford (44146)

Median Income $39k

Residential Property Tax Rate 2.67%

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Cleveland (44135)

Median Income $38k

Residential Property Tax Rate 2.79%

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Bedford Heights (44128)

Median Income $37k

Residential Property Tax Rate 2.68%

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Maple Heights (44137)

Median Income $36k

Residential Property Tax Rate 3.70%

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Warrensville Heights (44128)

Median Income $35k

Residential Property Tax Rate 3.04%

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Cleveland (44109)***

Median Income $30k

Residential Property Tax Rate 2.79%

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Newburgh Heights (44105)

Median Income $28k

Residential Property Tax Rate 3.37%

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Garfield Heights (44105)

Median income $28k

Residential Property Tax Rate 4.13%

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Cleveland (44122)

Median Income $28k

Residential Property Tax Rate 2.79%

***The north half of 44109 is a D area. The median income level north of the highway (71) is under $30k. The half south of the highway (71) is the good part of this zip code. Median income on the south side is closer to $40k***

D Neighborhood--Mostly rentals. Owner occupied single family homes are scarce. Lots of SSI & CMHA. Single family homes are 40k-60k. Rents are going to be in the $700-$1,000 range. Duplexes are going to be south of $100k and rent for between $600-$800 per unit. Crime is a lot more common.
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Cleveland (44120)

Median Income $34k

Residential Property Tax Rate 2.79%

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Lorain (44055)

Median Income $32k

Residential Property Tax Rate 1.67%

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Cleveland (44109)***

Median Income $30k

Residential Property Tax Rate 2.79%

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Cleveland (44113)**

Median Income $24k

Residential Property Tax Rate 2.79%

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Cleveland (44102)

Median Income $23k

Residential Property Tax Rate 2.79%

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***The north half of 44109 is a D area. The median income level north of the highway (71) is under $30k. The half south of the highway (71) is the good part of this zip code. Median income on the south side is closer to $40k***

**The Ohio City and Tremont neighborhoods have been gentrified and see a lot of high end redevelopment by young urban tenants with incredibly high disposable income. Neighborhood quality will very on a street by street basis, sometimes house by house basis. It is not uncommon to have a boarded up home on the same street as a $250k+ townhouse. If there wasn't so much blight around these newer homes one could argue that it they are A neighborhoods as some of the properties are A class and will receive an A class tenant. Extreme diligence and local neighborhood expertise is needed in these areas.**

F Neighborhood--Warzone. Wild West. Empty Houses get stripped of all valuables & sell for almost nothing. Lots of boarded up homes & blocks were many homes were torn down. Total loss is very common. Agent commissions & closing costs will often be higher then the value of the home. Homes in decent condition sell for $15k-$40k. Very dangerous areas.

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Cleveland (44105)

Median Income $25k

Residential Property Tax Rate 2.79%

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East Cleveland (44112)

Median Income $24k

Residential Property Tax Rate 3.24%

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Cleveland (44106)

Median Income $22k

Residential Property Tax Rate 2.79%

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Cleveland (44110)

Median Income $21k

Residential Property Tax Rate 2.79%

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Cleveland (44108)

Median Income $20k

Residential Property Tax Rate 2.79%

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Cleveland (44114)

Median Income $20k

Residential Property Tax Rate 2.79%

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Cleveland (44127)

Median Income $19k

Residential Property Tax Rate 2.79%

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Cleveland (44103)

Median Income $17k

Residential Property Tax Rate 2.79%

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Cleveland (44104)

Median Income $14k

Residential Property Tax Rate 2.79%

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Cleveland (44115)

Median Income $12k

Residential Property Tax Rate 2.79%

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About the author:

James Wise is the Broker and Owner of The Holton Wise Property Group, a real estate brokerage and property management company operating one of the largest scattered site rental property portfolios in the greater Cleveland, Ohio area. He has been a guest speaker on several real estate internet radio shows and podcasts. He regularly writes blogs and articles for multiple real estate related websites. He is an active member of the National Association of Realtors® and the Akron Cleveland Association of Realtors®.