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DSCR Loans in Fairfield County, Ohio

Fairfield County's effective property tax rate runs 1.06% — below Ohio's 1.36% statewide average — which is a modest but real advantage on a DSCR file. Here's what that means on an actual property, and what else moves financing in Lancaster and the rest of the county.

01

Fairfield County at a glance

County seat
Lancaster
Population
169,752 (2025 est.)
Effective property tax rate
1.06%
Median home value
$298,800 (ACS 2020-2024 5yr)
Median gross rent
$1,172/mo (ACS 2020-2024 5yr)

02

Why investors look at Fairfield County

Columbus-metro exurb anchored by Lancaster, with a legacy Anchor Hocking glass-manufacturing base.

03

The tax-drag math for Fairfield County

Ohio's 88 counties span from under 1% effective property tax to over 2.3% in parts of Cuyahoga and Montgomery — a range wide enough to move a deal from cash-flowing to underwater on identical rent and price. Fairfield County sits on the favorable side of that range.

A $298,800 property here — Fairfield County's own median home value, 20% down ($59,760), renting for $1,172/mo — financed at an observed Ohio DSCR average of 7.20% (Q2 2026)¹:

Gross rent
$1,172
Fairfield County property tax ($298,800 × 1.06% ÷ 12)
$264
Landlord insurance ($1220 ÷ 12)
$102
Principal & interest, $239,040 loan at an observed 7.20% Ohio average¹, 30-yr fixed
$1,623
PITIA (tax + insurance + P&I)
$1,988
DSCR (rent ÷ PITIA)
$1,172 ÷ $1,988 = 0.59

At these countywide figures, a 0.59 lands under the 1.00 floor most DSCR programs require — see the methodology note below for why a whole-county median often understates what a targeted rental-grade property actually clears. At the statewide average tax rate of 1.36% instead of Fairfield County's lower 1.06%, this same property's monthly tax bill would run about $339 instead of $264 — Fairfield County's below-average rate is worth roughly $75/month here.

This worked example deliberately uses Fairfield County's own ACS-reported median home value against its ACS-reported median gross rent — a blended, whole-county pairing that includes higher-priced owner-occupied housing on the value side and apartment/multifamily rents on the rent side. That's a more conservative starting point than a matched, rental-grade single-family purchase. Run your own address and rent number through the DSCR calculator for a property-specific result instead of this countywide blend.

A countywide average under 1.00 doesn't mean Fairfield County doesn't work — it means the median deal isn't the deal. Investors clear DSCR here by buying below the county median, renting above it, or putting more down, and the spread between the average and what's achievable is where the opportunity sits.

¹ Ohio DSCR long-term-rental loans averaged 7.20% in Q2 2026 (Private Lender Link), inside the broader 6.5%–8.75% range lenders were publishing for DSCR product nationally. This is a market observation, not an offer — your rate depends on your DSCR, credit, LTV and loan purpose, and is set by the lender, not by us.

04

Cities in Fairfield County

Where in Fairfield County you buy still matters even after the county-level tax math above — start with the cities below.

05

Nearby counties

Other Central Ohio counties, for comparison:

06

Get your Fairfield County DSCR quote

Numbers on this page are county medians — a real Fairfield County property will come in above or below them. Compare quotes on the one you're looking at.

Compare DSCR quotes for a Fairfield County property →

07

Sources for this page

Last updated 2026-08-25. County tax rates and home-value figures are refreshed periodically from the sources above, each with its own as-of date.