Current Conditions Reports from Greater Ohio Policy Center provide wealth of data
NOTE: This press release, originally issued April 2, 2025, was updated with revised data on July 8, 2025.
WARREN, OHIO—July 8 2025—The cities of Warren and Youngstown have seen a sizeable drop in vacant housing since 2017, while the number of minority, women and veteran-owned businesses are on the rise in these communities. These are just two of the encouraging trends highlighted in new reports commissioned by The Raymond John Wean Foundation and compiled by the Greater Ohio Policy Center (GOPC), a nonprofit nonpartisan research firm focused on revitalization and sustainable growth.
The reports provide a comprehensive view of the current conditions of the cities of Warren and Youngstown as they compare to Trumbull and Mahoning counties, respectively, and the state of Ohio. They are designed to provide accurate, up-to-date information for the Wean Foundation, its grantee partners and local leaders to better understand areas that have seen improvements and where there are opportunities for greater support. The reports include data on population, housing, employment, education and more.
“We first commissioned these reports three years ago to inform our funding strategies in community revitalization and economic and educational opportunities,” said Wean Foundation President Jennifer Roller. “We are sharing it more broadly so that our grantees and partners may also benefit from having accurate and consistent information from vetted sources.”
Housing, Entrepreneurship Are Bright Spots
The data shows that nearly a quarter of the abandoned properties in Warren have been dealt with since 2017. The number of housing units in Warren that are classified as “other vacant,” meaning they have no prospect of tenants or buyers due to their condition, stood at just over 1,200 units, or 6.47% of Warren’s housing stock, in 2023. A similar story is playing out in Youngstown, where the percentage of “other vacant” housing stock has declined by nearly 19% since 2017. Just over 10% of the city’s housing stock was considered “other vacant” in 2023.
“This decrease in permanently abandoned properties … is a sign that blight removal efforts are proving effective and should continue in coming years,” the research team at GOPC wrote.
Another promising trend: The number of registered businesses has nearly doubled in all major business certification categories—Minority Business Enterprise, Woman-owned Business Enterprise, Veteran-friendly Business Enterprise and Encouraging Diversity, Growth and Equity (EDGE)-certified—in both cities over the last few years.
However, there are areas that need improvement as well. Youngstown, Mahoning County, Trumbull County and Warren continue to experience population decline, and a greater percentage of Black and Hispanic residents compared to white residents live below the poverty rate.
“We are extremely encouraged by the progress in the Mahoning Valley,” said Alison Goebel, executive director of the Greater Ohio Policy Center. “At the same time, the data indicated that the Wean Foundation’s mission of empowered residents creating a more equitable Mahoning Valley is needed now more than ever.”
Access the Warren Current Conditions report and the Youngstown report at weanfoundation.org/resource-library/.
About The Raymond John Wean Foundation
Established in 1949, the Wean Foundation is dedicated to community building in the under-resourced communities of Warren and Youngstown in Ohio’s Mahoning Valley. The Wean Foundation leverages a dynamic combination of grantmaking, capacity building, convening and partnerships to provoke new thinking, strengthen communities and disrupt the status quo to achieve its vision: empowered residents creating an equitable Mahoning Valley. Visit weanfoundation.org to learn more.
About Greater Ohio Policy Center
Greater Ohio Policy Center (GOPC) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization with a mission to improve Ohio’s communities through smart growth strategies and research. Our vision is a revitalized Ohio. We undertake original research and analysis, develop pragmatic policy recommendations and advocacy strategies, and deploy our convening power to meet the needs of Ohio’s local change-makers. We operate statewide.