Photo: Nyttend · Public domainMeasured against area pay, Clay Township costs less to live in than 53% of U.S. towns
It ranks #581 of 993 in Ohio for affordability. Home prices around Clay Township have risen about 53% over the past 5 years. Builders were permitted 3 new homes in 2025.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of the Portsmouth, OH micro area ($51K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
In dollars, homes in Clay Township cost less than the Ohio typical home. But the grade compares costs with what households in the area earn, and Portsmouth-area incomes are lower too ($51K, against $74K for the typical U.S. town). Property tax takes 1.17% of a home’s value a year (Ohio: 1.31%), and 86% of renters pay 30% or more of income for housing.
In dollars
- $980a month for a two-bedroom, utilities includedHUD Fair Market Rent, 2026
In paychecks the grade
- 2.1 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$51K, Portsmouth-area income
- 21%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 86%of renters pay 30%+ of income for housing; across Ohio: 46%Census 2020–24
- 14%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
Housing in Clay Township, in brief
About three in four renters are stretched
86% of renter households spend 30% or more of their income on rent, against 46% across Ohio. A standard two-bedroom would take 33% of the median household income. Renting ↓
Owning can cost less than renting
With 20% down at the calculator’s rate, the typical Clay Township home runs about $810 a month with tax and insurance. A two-bedroom rents for about $980. Can I afford it? ↓
Written from the data on this page. There’s no Zillow index for Clay Township, so the typical value is an estimate: the Census median carried forward with the federal house price index; permits are Census figures through 2025 (2025 partly estimated); incomes, rents paid, taxes and ownership come from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Clay Township’s grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Clay Township is more affordable than 53% of U.S. towns, #581 of 993 in Ohio. Rent pulls the grade down most; home prices hold it up.
Home prices up 53% in 5 years
The federal house price index for the ZIP codes around Clay Township rose 53% over the past 5 years, about the same as across Ohio. Last year prices rose 9%. Carrying the Census median home value forward with that index puts the typical Clay Township home at roughly $130,000 today.
Carrying the Census median forward with the index puts a typical home at about $130K.
Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (annual) for the ZIP codes around Clay 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 2.1 years of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Clay Township’s own median, or type yours.
That covers a typical Clay Township home, with $62K to spare.
A two-bedroom rents for about $980 a month here, $170 more than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Clay Township’s typical property tax (1.17% 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 $980
Renters already here pay a median of $900.
Fair Market Rent a month, utilities included
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents by ZIP code (Scioto County, OH): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
3 new homes permitted in 2025
Builders were permitted 3 new homes in Clay Township in 2025, all single-family houses. That's 0.9 per 1,000 residents, slower than across Ohio (3.3). Over the past 10 years, Clay Township has permitted 20 homes in all.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Clay Township's population fell by 174 even though 16 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 | 3 | 3 | 0 | $900,000 |
| 2024 | 3 | 3 | 0 | $900,000 |
| 2023 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $600,000 |
| 2022 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2021 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $180,000 |
| 2020 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $180,000 |
| 2019 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $180,000 |
| 2018 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $180,000 |
| 2017 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $180,000 |
| 2016 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $180,000 |
| 2015 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $180,000 |
| 2014 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $180,000 |
| 2013 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $70,000 |
| 2012 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $70,000 |
| 2011 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2010 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2009 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2008 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2007 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2006 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2005 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2004 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2003 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2002 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2001 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
Clay 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 $1,213 (Ohio: $2,822), 1.17% 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+”.
Clay Township vs. its neighbors
Zillow publishes no value for Clay Township. Jefferson Township and Valley Township and Rush Township and Washington Township and Harrison 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clay Township | B− | — | $104K | 1.17% | $980 |
| Washington Township | B− | — | $122K | 1.20% | $970 |
| Portsmouth | B | $94K | $103K | 1.18% | $970 |
| Rush Township | C+ | — | $161K | 0.81% | $990 |
| Rosemount | C+ | $154K | $112K | 1.40% | $970 |
| Harrison Township | A− | — | $112K | 1.03% | $1,000 |
| Jefferson Township | C | — | $203K | 1.15% | $1,010 |
| Valley Township | B | — | $177K | 1.21% | $1,010 |
“—” under Zillow: Zillow publishes no value for that town, so it’s left blank rather than mixed with Census figures.
Questions about the cost of living in Clay Township
Is Clay Township expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Clay Township costs less than 53% of U.S. towns: a B− for cost of living, #581 of 993 in Ohio. The typical home costs 2.1 years of the median household income of the Portsmouth, OH micro area ($51K).
How much is rent in Clay Township?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $980 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $900 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Clay Township?
The median bill is $1,213 a year, 1.17% of the median home value (Ohio: $2,822, 1.31%), from the Census 2020–24.
Neighbors talk housing
What Clay 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.