Athens County is one of the poorest in the state, but the county’s residents have seen their incomes grow after the Great Recession at a larger rate than surrounding counties.
Athens residents live in the eighth poorest county in Ohio, earning a per capita income of $27,296 in 2011, according to the most recent data made available by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Athens County residents’ per capita income is well below the state average — $37,836 — but personal income is growing faster.
Bucking a statewide trend, Athens County residents’ personal income was higher directly following the Great Recession, which lasted from December 2007 until July 2009, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research, and has since continued to rise at the same rate.
Per capita income is the fairest comparison of income in different counties because it divides all income earned by its population, said Thomas Dail, a spokesman from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
It includes all personal income, such as salaries, property income from rentals and money from federal programs like Social Security and financial aid, Dail said.
And additional higher income jobs will soon be open in Athens County — for those qualified to fill them.
The Athens County Economic and Development Council had been working for two years to bring CGI, a technology firm that will create 150 new jobs with an average salary of $40,000, to Athens, said Laurel Zeman, project specialist for the council.
Higher income jobs are ones the council is more actively seeking to bring to the county, Seaman said, such as jobs for technology and renewable energy companies and organizations.
“In more recent years, there have been a lot of new start-up companies in Athens,” she said, adding that compared to the overall job climate in Athens, those are the jobs that pay the most. “With CGI coming, Athens County income will probably continue to go up.”
But the per capita income growth rate in Athens County could be an indicator that residents making a decent living are earning more while those with less aren’t seeing the same increases.
Though personal income might be rising, poverty levels in the county aren’t going down, said Nick Claussen, community relations coordinator for Athens County Job and Family Services.
“Looking at unemployment, ours is a little better than counties surrounding us. There are jobs here, and they are good paying jobs with the universities and government programs,” Claussen said. “At the same time, we have an enormous amount of people on food stamps. Personal income might be rising, but the number of people in poverty isn’t dropping.”
An estimated 259,945 food stamp recipients in Ohio have no cash income at all, according a release from Athens County Job and Family Services.
“It’s a good thing that income is rising; that’s very promising news for our county, and we’re happy to see that,” Claussen said. “At the same time, we shouldn’t forget those people who are having a hard time getting by.”
jj360410@ohiou.edu
