Photo: Nyttend · Public domainMeasured against area pay, Oakland Township costs less to live in than 80% of U.S. towns
It ranks #138 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania for affordability. Home prices around Oakland Township have risen about 36% over the past 5 years. Builders were permitted 1 new home in 2025.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of the Pittsburgh, PA metro area ($76K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
Only 1 sale in May 2026: in a market this size, monthly medians swing a lot, so the typical value is the steadier guide.
The grade compares costs with what households across the Pittsburgh metro earn ($76K, Census 2020–24). The typical home costs 3.0 years of metro income, and 35% of renters pay 30% or more of income for housing.
In dollars
- $1,090a month for a two-bedroom, utilities includedHUD Fair Market Rent, 2026
- 95prices across the Pittsburgh metro, where the U.S. is 100 (housing 72)BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
In paychecks the grade
- 3.0 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$76K, Pittsburgh-area income
- 12%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 19%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
What stands out about housing in Oakland Township
What’s behind Oakland Township’s grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Oakland Township is more affordable than 80% of U.S. towns, #138 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Property tax pulls the grade down most; rent holds it up.
Home prices up 36% in 5 years
The federal house price index for the ZIP codes around Oakland Township rose 36% over the past 5 years, slower than across Pennsylvania (48%). Last year prices rose 3%. Carrying the Census median home value forward with that index puts the typical Oakland Township home at roughly $250,000 today.
Carrying the Census median forward with the index puts a typical home at about $250K.
Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (annual) for the ZIP codes around Oakland Township, weighted by land area. It tracks repeat sales of the same homes, so it shows how prices changed, not what homes cost.
A year’s rent takes 12% of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Oakland Township’s own median, or type yours.
That covers a typical Oakland Township home, with $38K to spare.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,090 a month here, $450 less than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Oakland Township’s typical property tax (1.11% 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 $1,090
Renters already here pay a median of $788, 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 (Pittsburgh, PA 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.
1 new home permitted in 2025
Builders were permitted 1 new home in Oakland Township in 2025. That's 0.4 per 1,000 residents, slower than across Pennsylvania (2). Over the past 10 years, Oakland Township has permitted 28 homes in all.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Oakland Township's population fell by 218 even though 24 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) | 2 | 2 | 0 | $809,000 |
| 2025 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $250,000 |
| 2024 | 5 | 5 | 0 | $2 million |
| 2023 | 3 | 3 | 0 | $776,000 |
| 2022 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $150,000 |
| 2021 | 4 | 4 | 0 | $477,000 |
| 2020 | 8 | 8 | 0 | $1.2 million |
| 2019 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $505,000 |
| 2018 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2017 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $200,000 |
| 2016 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $200,000 |
| 2015 | 4 | 4 | 0 | $759,000 |
| 2014 | 5 | 5 | 0 | $912,000 |
| 2013 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $405,000 |
| 2012 | 3 | 3 | 0 | $551,000 |
| 2011 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $290,000 |
| 2010 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $375,000 |
| 2009 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2008 | 9 | 9 | 0 | $2 million |
| 2007 | 12 | 12 | 0 | $2 million |
| 2006 | 7 | 7 | 0 | $1 million |
| 2005 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $101,000 |
| 2004 | 12 | 12 | 0 | $1.3 million |
| 2003 | 14 | 14 | 0 | $1.6 million |
| 2002 | 7 | 7 | 0 | $574,000 |
| 2001 | 12 | 12 | 0 | $1.2 million |
| 2000 | 9 | 9 | 0 | $1.1 million |
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 Pennsylvania norm
The median bill is $2,484 (Pennsylvania: $3,311), 1.11% of a home’s value 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 Oakland Township
Only figures published free for the whole country, each labeled with the area it covers: the Pittsburgh, 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 | 95 | PA 98 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Goods (groceries, clothing, cars…) U.S. = 100 | 101 | PA 99 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Utilities U.S. = 100 | 108 | 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.
Oakland Township vs. its neighbors
Zillow publishes no value for Oakland Township. Center Township and Donegal Township and Summit Township and Concord 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oakland Township | A− | — | $224K | 1.11% | $1,090 |
| Summit Township | B+ | — | $209K | 1.00% | $1,060 |
| Concord Township | A− | — | $185K | 1.00% | $1,120 |
| Donegal Township | A− | — | $230K | 0.85% | $1,060 |
| Center Township | B | — | $253K | 1.09% | $1,190 |
“—” 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 Oakland Township
Is Oakland Township expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Oakland Township costs less than 80% of U.S. towns: an A− for cost of living, #138 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. The typical home costs 3.0 years of the median household income of the Pittsburgh, PA metro area ($76K).
How much is rent in Oakland Township?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $1,090 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $788 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Oakland Township?
The median bill is $2,484 a year, 1.11% of the median home value (Pennsylvania: $3,311, 1.30%), from the Census 2020–24.
Neighbors talk housing
What Oakland 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, May 2026. 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.