Sell Your Commercial Property In Canton, OH

Who rents in Canton

Canton has 69,755 residents in the ACS 2020–2024 estimates. Of 29,302 occupied homes, 15,039 are rented, a 51.3% renter share, and 14,263 are owner-occupied. The median household income is $43,188, below Akron's $48,076. Of renter households, 6,663, or 44.3%, spend 30% or more of income on rent, and 3,428 (22.8%) spend half or more.

Renter demand draws on the city's hospitals, including Aultman Hospital and Cleveland Clinic Mercy Hospital, on Malone University, Walsh University and Kent State Stark, and on Stark County manufacturers such as the Timken Company. Canton's median gross rent of $850 is about $105 below Akron's $955, so tenants pay less here than in Akron.

Rents and affordability

The Census median of $850 includes utilities and blends five years of leases. HUD's FY2026 Fair Market Rents for the Canton-Massillon, OH MSA set the payment standards for most voucher holders: $749 for an efficiency, $846 for a one-bedroom, $1,086 for a two-bedroom, $1,371 for a three-bedroom and $1,451 for a four-bedroom.

The two-bedroom FMR sits about $236 above the city median. A household paying the $850 median needs about $34,000 a year to keep rent at 30% of income, against a median household income of $43,188. Rents are low, but so is purchasing power, so voucher payments often set the practical ceiling for well-kept units.

The apartment stock

Canton is an old city, with a median year built of 1947. Of 33,836 housing units, 23,322 are single-family detached homes, 912 attached, 2,253 in duplexes and 1,598 in three- and four-unit buildings. Buildings of five or more units hold 5,721 homes, 16.9% of the total: 1,642 in buildings of five to nine units, 1,448 in buildings of 10 to 19, 774 in buildings of 20 to 49, and 1,857 in complexes of 50 or more. Buildings of five to 19 units account for 3,090 of those homes, more than half of the five-plus stock, so smaller walk-ups dominate the local apartment market by count.

Property taxes on apartment buildings in Stark County

The Stark County Auditor sets market value, and Ohio taxes 35% of it. Apartments with four or more rental units are commercial property under Ohio's land-use codes, so they get the commercial reduction factor but not the 10% rollback.

The Treasurer's tax year 2025 rate sheet lists gross rates and reduction factors rather than effective rates. Applying each district's commercial factor gives these approximate effective commercial rates:

On a $1.5 million building, Canton's rate works out to about $31,100 a year. The same value in Akron, at its 92.92-mill commercial rate, would pay about $48,800. The Stark County Auditor says the next countywide reappraisal is scheduled for tax year 2031, payable in 2032, and notes that late-2025 state laws limit some automatic revenue growth. Ohio still requires a three-year update between full reappraisals. Board of Revision complaints are due by March 31 under ORC 5715.19, and since March 2026 school boards can only file counter-complaints rather than start their own challenges after a sale.

Before credits, applying the residential factor to the same 105.40 gross mills gives about 48.62 mills for homes, roughly 10.7 mills below the commercial figure. That gap is the cost of Ohio's commercial classification for apartments in Canton.

Landlord rules and local compliance

• Rent control: ORC 5321.19 bars it.
• City registration: Canton requires annual registration of non-owner-occupied and vacant residential properties, due January 1, at $110 per unit in the same structure, for small and large buildings alike. Registering after March 1, or more than 30 days after taking ownership, adds a fine of double the per-unit fee.
• County registration: owners must also file contact details with the county auditor under ORC 5323.02.
• Deposits: under ORC 5321.16, deposits above the greater of $50 or one month's rent earn 5% interest after six months, and itemized deductions are due within 30 days.
• Evictions: nonpayment cases start with a three-day notice to leave under ORC 1923.04.
• Transfer: Stark County's conveyance fee is $4 per $1,000 of price plus $0.50 per parcel.

What this means if you own a building here

Canton's case for buyers rests on a commercial tax rate near 2.1% of value, with the next full reappraisal in tax year 2031, and HUD rents above the city's median. The offsets are low incomes and a $110-per-unit registration fee that adds $2,200 a year on a 20-unit building. Buyers will start from trailing net operating income, so current registration receipts and a clean rent roll help.

Skyline buys 5+ unit buildings in Canton, North Canton, Massillon, and Plain and Jackson townships. Try the cap rate calculator or start at sell my apartment building.