The growth of Delaware County is no secret. It is clearly evident in the increasing populations, stretching city boundaries, constant residential development, and building of new schools. But while the signs of a growing county are in plain sight, new rankings released by SmartAsset provide statistics to back up what is already a well-known fact.
According to SmartAsset’s studies, Delaware County ranks first in the state of Ohio and 123rd in the entire country in terms of most incoming investments. Rounding out the top 10 in Ohio are Union, Warren, Franklin, Greene, Medina, Fairfield, Butler, Lorain and Clermont counties.
The methodology behind the study is to “capture the places across the country that are receiving the most incoming investments in business, real estate, government and the local economy as a whole,” according to the SmartAsset website.
To do so, four factors were considered: business establishment growth, gross domestic product (GDP), new building permits and federal funding. Delaware County ranked first in the state in new building permits and fourth in business growth, at 4 percent. The county ranked eighth in federal funding and did not crack the top 10 for GDP.
In addition to the incoming investments, a separate study conducted by SmartAsset found Delaware County to be the number one county in the state in terms of mortgage approval. The study showed residents in Delaware County are approved for mortgage loans 79.87 percent of the time.
Rates were calculated as the ratio of mortgage applications to secured mortgages. Putnam, Williams, Defiance, Union, Hancock, Warren, Mercer, Knox and Paulding counties completed the top 10.
Delaware County ranked 21st in both average five-year borrowing cost and average mortgage payment. A $200,000 mortgage was used to determine both categories, and the five-year borrowing cost included a 20 percent down payment.
However, owning a house in the county is not cheap. Delaware County finished 83rd out of 88 counties in the state when it comes to average property taxes. Nationally, of the 3,007 counties in the U.S., Delaware County ranks 2,880th in terms of having the highest average property taxes.
Lawrence County ranked first in the state in lowest average property taxes, followed by Wyandot, Harrison, Pike, Monroe, Noble, Washington, Meigs, Putnam and Adams counties.
SmartAsset is a financial technology company which offers financial advice and tools to assist in decisions on homebuying, retirement, taxes and more. Full state and country results of the studies can be found at www.smartasset.com.
