Photo: Nyttend · Public domainMeasured against area pay, Chester Township costs less to live in than 74% of U.S. towns
Home prices around Chester Township have risen about 60% over the past 5 years. Builders were permitted 5 new homes in 2025.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of the Columbus, OH metro area ($82K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
The grade compares costs with what households across the Columbus metro earn ($82K, Census 2020–24). The typical home costs 2.6 years of metro income, and 55% of renters pay 30% or more of income for housing.
In dollars
- $1,110a month for a two-bedroom, utilities includedHUD Fair Market Rent, 2026
- 95prices across the Columbus metro, where the U.S. is 100 (housing 88)BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
In paychecks the grade
- 2.6 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$82K, Columbus-area income
- 18%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 18%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
What kind of housing town is Chester Township?
Read from the numbers below. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Chester Township’s grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Chester Township is more affordable than 74% of U.S. towns. Rent pulls the grade down most; the share of households paying 30%+ for housing holds it up.
Home prices up 60% in 5 years
The federal house price index for the ZIP codes around Chester Township rose 60% over the past 5 years, faster than across Ohio (53%). Last year prices rose 6.9%. Carrying the Census median home value forward with that index puts the typical Chester Township home at roughly $268,000 today.
Carrying the Census median forward with the index puts a typical home at about $268K.
Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (annual) for the ZIP codes around Chester Township, weighted by land area. It tracks repeat sales of the same homes, so it shows how prices changed, not what homes cost.
A typical home costs 2.6 years of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Chester Township’s own median, or type yours.
That covers a typical Chester Township home, with $51K to spare.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,110 a month here, $500 less than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Chester Township’s typical property tax (0.91% of value a year, from the Census) and insurance of about 0.35%. Mortgage insurance, HOA fees and other debts aren’t included.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,110
Renters already here pay a median of $1,256.
Fair Market Rent a month, utilities included
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents by ZIP code (Columbus, OH HUD Metro FMR Area): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
5 new homes permitted in 2025
Builders were permitted 5 new homes in Chester Township in 2025, all single-family houses, worth about $1.5 million to build. That's 2.6 per 1,000 residents, slower than across Ohio (3.3). Over the past 10 years, Chester Township has permitted 92 homes in all.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Chester Township's population fell by 21 even though 46 new homes were permitted. Homes are holding fewer people: households are getting smaller, or more homes are used part of the year. Across Ohio: 1.3 new residents per new home.
Every year as a table
| Year | New homes | Single-family | 2+ per building | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Jan–Aug) | 4 | 4 | 0 | $1.2 million |
| 2025 | 5 | 5 | 0 | $1.5 million |
| 2024 | 5 | 5 | 0 | $1.5 million |
| 2023 | 4 | 4 | 0 | $1.2 million |
| 2022 | 9 | 9 | 0 | $2.7 million |
| 2021 | 21 | 5 | 16 | $3.3 million |
| 2020 | 22 | 6 | 16 | $3.7 million |
| 2019 | 7 | 7 | 0 | $1.9 million |
| 2018 | 7 | 7 | 0 | $1.7 million |
| 2017 | 7 | 7 | 0 | $1.5 million |
| 2016 | 5 | 5 | 0 | $1.1 million |
| 2015 | 7 | 7 | 0 | $1.1 million |
| 2014 | 4 | 4 | 0 | $950,000 |
| 2013 | 3 | 3 | 0 | $450,000 |
| 2012 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $370,000 |
| 2011 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $265,000 |
| 2010 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $200,000 |
| 2009 | 4 | 4 | 0 | $380,000 |
| 2008 | 11 | 11 | 0 | $1 million |
| 2007 | 17 | 17 | 0 | $2.2 million |
| 2006 | 17 | 17 | 0 | $2.5 million |
| 2005 | 20 | 20 | 0 | $3 million |
| 2004 | 17 | 17 | 0 | $2.1 million |
| 2003 | 19 | 19 | 0 | $1.9 million |
| 2002 | 16 | 16 | 0 | $1.7 million |
| 2001 | 16 | 16 | 0 | $2 million |
| 2000 | 29 | 29 | 0 | $3 million |
Chester Township's permit office didn't report to the Census in 2025, so the 2025 figures are Census estimates.
Homes authorized by building permits, counted in the year the permit was issued. U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
Property tax runs below the Ohio norm
The median bill is $1,949 (Ohio: $2,822), 0.91% of a home’s value a year, against 1.31% statewide.
Census American Community Survey 2020–24: the median real-estate tax bill homeowners report, and that bill ÷ the median home value. Bills include town, school and county taxes. The Census reports bills over $10,000 only as “$10,000+”.
The rest of a budget near Chester Township
Only figures published free for the whole country, each labeled with the area it covers: the Columbus, OH metro area, or Ohio. Groceries follow the goods price level; nobody publishes them town by town.
| Cost | Here | Compared with | Area | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prices overall U.S. = 100 | 95 | OH 93 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Goods (groceries, clothing, cars…) U.S. = 100 | 94 | OH 94 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Utilities U.S. = 100 | 96 | OH 96 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Other services U.S. = 100 | 99 | OH 99 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
Price levels: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities 2024 (metro area and state). Electricity: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A.
Chester Township vs. its neighbors
Zillow publishes no value for Chester Township. South Bloomfield Township and Wayne Township and Franklin Township and Harmony Township have no Zillow value, so they are in the table only.
Cost next door · one source per column
| Town | Cost | Typical home Zillow, latest | Median value Census 2020–24 | Tax rate bill ÷ value | 2-bed rent HUD 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chester Township | B+ | — | $215K | 0.91% | $1,110 |
| Wayne Township | – | — | $275K | 0.86% | $1,080 |
| Harmony Township | A | — | $229K | 0.88% | $1,140 |
| Franklin Township | A− | — | $237K | 1.02% | $1,110 |
| South Bloomfield Township | B+ | — | $291K | 0.98% | $1,100 |
“—” under Zillow: Zillow publishes no value for that town, so it’s left blank rather than mixed with Census figures. “—” under Cost: not graded (too little Census data, or under 1,000 residents).
Questions about the cost of living in Chester Township
Is Chester Township expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Chester Township costs less than 74% of U.S. towns: a B+ for cost of living. The typical home costs 2.6 years of the median household income of the Columbus, OH metro area ($82K).
How much is rent in Chester Township?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $1,110 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $1,256 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Chester Township?
The median bill is $1,949 a year, 0.91% of the median home value (Ohio: $2,822, 1.31%), from the Census 2020–24.
Neighbors talk housing
What Chester Township buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. New homes: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey. Price trend: Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index. Fair Market Rents: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The calculator is an estimate, not a loan offer. Regional price levels: BEA; electricity: EIA. How TownRatings grades cost of living.