Photo: Nyttend · Public domainMeasured against area pay, Lower Yoder Township costs less to live in than 82% of U.S. towns
Home prices around Lower Yoder Township have risen about 54% over the past 5 years. No new homes were permitted in 2025.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of the Johnstown, PA metro area ($58K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
The grade compares costs with what households across the Johnstown metro earn ($58K, Census 2020–24). The typical home costs 1.7 years of metro income, and 65% of renters pay 30% or more of income for housing.
In dollars
- $1,070a month for a two-bedroom, utilities includedHUD Fair Market Rent, 2026
- 86prices across the Johnstown metro, where the U.S. is 100 (housing 42)BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
In paychecks the grade
- 1.7 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$58K, Johnstown-area income
- 14%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 65%of renters pay 30%+ of income for housing; across Pennsylvania: 48%Census 2020–24
- 20%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
What Lower Yoder Township’s housing numbers say
Owning can cost less than renting
With 20% down at the calculator’s rate, the typical Lower Yoder Township home runs about $810 a month with tax and insurance. A two-bedroom rents for about $1,070. Can I afford it? ↓
New renters pay more than renters already here
HUD puts a standard two-bedroom at about $1,070 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already in Lower Yoder Township pay a median of $703. Renting ↓
Written from the data on this page. There’s no Zillow index for Lower Yoder 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; incomes, rents paid, taxes and ownership come from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Lower Yoder Township’s grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Lower Yoder Township is more affordable than 82% of U.S. towns. The share of households paying 30%+ for housing pulls the grade down most; home prices hold it up.
Home prices up 54% in 5 years
The federal house price index for the ZIP codes around Lower Yoder Township rose 54% over the past 5 years, faster than across Pennsylvania (48%). Last year prices rose 3.1%. Carrying the Census median home value forward with that index puts the typical Lower Yoder Township home at roughly $126,000 today.
Carrying the Census median forward with the index puts a typical home at about $126K.
Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (annual) for the ZIP codes around Lower Yoder 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 1.7 years of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Lower Yoder Township’s own median, or type yours.
That covers a typical Lower Yoder Township home, with $84K to spare.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,070 a month here, $260 more than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Lower Yoder Township’s typical property tax (1.42% 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 $1,070
Renters already here pay a median of $703, so moving in tends to cost more than staying put.
Fair Market Rent a month, utilities included
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents by ZIP code (Johnstown, PA MSA): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
No new homes permitted in 2025
No permits for new homes were issued in Lower Yoder Township in 2025. The last year with any was 2023 (3 new homes).
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Lower Yoder Township's population fell by 311 even though 15 new homes were permitted. Homes are holding fewer people: households are getting smaller, or more homes are used part of the year. Across Pennsylvania: 1.4 new residents per new home.
Every year as a table
| Year | New homes | Single-family | 2+ per building | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Jan–Aug) | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2025 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2024 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2023 | 3 | 0 | 3 | $213,000 |
| 2022 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2021 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $91,000 |
| 2020 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2019 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $25,000 |
| 2018 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2017 | 5 | 5 | 0 | $1.3 million |
| 2016 | 5 | 5 | 0 | $1.3 million |
| 2015 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2014 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2013 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2012 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $186,000 |
| 2011 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2010 | 3 | 3 | 0 | $498,000 |
| 2009 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $259,000 |
| 2008 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2007 | 5 | 5 | 0 | $939,000 |
| 2006 | 3 | 3 | 0 | $488,000 |
| 2005 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $338,000 |
| 2004 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $268,000 |
| 2003 | 4 | 4 | 0 | $762,000 |
| 2002 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $309,000 |
| 2001 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $300,000 |
| 2000 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $265,000 |
Homes authorized by building permits, counted in the year the permit was issued. U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
Low tax bills, but a high tax rate
The median bill is $1,391, under the Pennsylvania median of $3,311, because homes cost less. As a share of value it’s 1.42% a year, against 1.30% 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 Lower Yoder Township
Only figures published free for the whole country, each labeled with the area it covers: the Johnstown, PA metro area, or Pennsylvania. Groceries follow the goods price level; nobody publishes them town by town.
| Cost | Here | Compared with | Area | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prices overall U.S. = 100 | 86 | PA 98 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Goods (groceries, clothing, cars…) U.S. = 100 | 101 | PA 99 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Utilities U.S. = 100 | 109 | PA 109 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Other services U.S. = 100 | 98 | PA 100 | 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.
Lower Yoder Township vs. its neighbors
Zillow publishes no value for Lower Yoder Township. Westmont and Upper Yoder Township and St. Clair Township and Westwood and West Taylor Township and Brownstown 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower Yoder Township | A− | — | $98K | 1.42% | $1,070 |
| St. Clair Township | A+ | — | $141K | 1.42% | $1,020 |
| Johnstown | A | $106K | $45K | 2.64% | $1,000 |
| West Taylor Township | – | — | $90K | 1.07% | $970 |
| Westmont | B− | — | $181K | 2.24% | $1,140 |
| Westwood | – | — | $100K | 1.39% | $1,100 |
| Brownstown | – | — | $71K | 1.67% | $970 |
| Upper Yoder Township | B+ | — | $153K | 1.58% | $1,140 |
“—” 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 Lower Yoder Township
Is Lower Yoder Township expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Lower Yoder Township costs less than 82% of U.S. towns: an A− for cost of living. The typical home costs 1.7 years of the median household income of the Johnstown, PA metro area ($58K).
How much is rent in Lower Yoder Township?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $1,070 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $703 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Lower Yoder Township?
The median bill is $1,391 a year, 1.42% of the median home value (Pennsylvania: $3,311, 1.30%), from the Census 2020–24.
Neighbors talk housing
What Lower Yoder 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.