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DSCR Loans in Jefferson County, Ohio

A rental property in Jefferson County carries a lighter tax bill than most of Ohio: 0.98% effective, against a 1.36% statewide average. That gap works in a borrower's favor on a DSCR calculation, so we've worked it below on a property at the county's own median value.

01

Jefferson County at a glance

County seat
Steubenville
Population
63,597 (2025 est.)
Effective property tax rate
0.98%
Median home value
$127,800 (ACS 2020-2024 5yr)
Median gross rent
$835/mo (ACS 2020-2024 5yr)

02

Why investors look at Jefferson County

Steubenville anchors an Ohio River steel-legacy economy; among the lowest home values in NE Ohio.

03

The tax-drag math for Jefferson County

Property tax is the single input most Ohio rental-market content skips, and it's the one that varies most by county — from under 1% to over 2.3% across the state's 88 counties. In Jefferson County it runs below the statewide middle.

A $127,800 property here — Jefferson County's own median home value, 20% down ($25,560), renting for $835/mo — financed at an observed Ohio DSCR average of 7.20% (Q2 2026)¹:

Gross rent
$835
Jefferson County property tax ($127,800 × 0.98% ÷ 12)
$104
Landlord insurance ($1220 ÷ 12)
$102
Principal & interest, $102,240 loan at an observed 7.20% Ohio average¹, 30-yr fixed
$694
PITIA (tax + insurance + P&I)
$900
DSCR (rent ÷ PITIA)
$835 ÷ $900 = 0.93

At these countywide figures, a 0.93 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 Jefferson County's lower 0.98%, this same property's monthly tax bill would run about $145 instead of $104 — Jefferson County's below-average rate is worth roughly $40/month here.

This worked example deliberately uses Jefferson 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.

0.93 on the county median isn't a verdict on Jefferson County — it's a description of the middle of the market. Below-median purchase price, above-median rent, or a larger down payment are the three levers that move a specific deal back over 1.00; the gap between the average and the achievable is the opportunity, not a warning.

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 Jefferson County

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

05

Nearby counties

Nearby in NE Ohio:

06

Get your Jefferson County DSCR quote

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

Compare DSCR quotes for a Jefferson 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.