Living in Dayton, Ohio
Dayton, founded in 1796, grew up where the Great Miami, Mad and Stillwater rivers and Wolf Creek meet near downtown. The Oregon District is a National Register historic district of buildings from 1820 to 1915, and East Fifth Street is its strip of bars, restaurants and galleries. Downtown also has the Second Street Market, the region's oldest public market, Day Air Ballpark, home of the Dayton Dragons, and the Schuster Performing Arts Center.
Montgomery County
RiverScape MetroPark has the Fountain of Lights, a bike hub and trail connections, and an ice rink from late November to February. Eastwood MetroPark has a lake and the Mad River Trail, Carillon Historical Park holds the Deeds Carillon and the 1905 Wright Flyer III, and Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park includes the Wright Cycle Company building. Lights in Flight fireworks go up on July 3 and Hauntfest on Fifth fills the Oregon District in late October.
Dayton has nineteen National Register historic districts, and the Oregon District, South Park, St. Anne's Hill and Dayton View are among them. Belmont has Cape Cods, bungalows, Foursquares and ranches, Walnut Hills has Victorians on brick streets, and newer homes include the Townes at Wright-Dunbar, and downtown has apartment conversions in its historic buildings. The city income tax is 2.5 percent. Property taxes run roughly 2 percent of market value. The median sale price in the City of Dayton was $150,000 (three-month median, September 2026).
What is in Dayton
Downtown
Courthouse Square at Main and Third Streets is the center. Within a few blocks are the Schuster Performing Arts Center (Dayton Philharmonic, Dayton Opera, Dayton Ballet), the Victoria Theatre, the Loft Theatre, the Dayton Convention Center and Second Street Market, the region's oldest operating public market, run by Five Rivers MetroParks. Day Air Ballpark in the Water Street District is home to the Dayton Dragons, the Cincinnati Reds' High-A affiliate. The Dayton Arcade is the restored glass-domed block on Third and Fourth Streets, and Levitt Pavilion Dayton at Dave Hall Plaza hosts free summer concerts.
RiverScape MetroPark and the river
Where the Great Miami bends through downtown. The Five Rivers Fountain of Lights fires water toward the center of the river, the MetroParks Ice Rink runs from the Friday after Thanksgiving through February, the RiverScape Bike Hub serves riders on the trails, and River Run replaced a low-head dam with two paddling passages. The Great Miami River Trail and the Mad River Trail meet here, part of the Miami Valley's paved trail network. Deeds Point MetroPark sits where the Mad River joins the Great Miami.
Eastwood MetroPark
On the east edge of the city, around Eastwood Lake. Boating is open on the lake, with kayaks welcome every day. The Mad River Run is a paddling feature with a float down to RiverScape. The Mad River Trail connects to downtown, Huffman MetroPark and Wright-Patterson, the Creekside Trail heads toward Kettering and Greene County, and the Buckeye Trail and North Country Trail both pass through.
Wegerzyn Gardens MetroPark
On the north side, with formal Federal, English and Victorian gardens, the Children's Discovery Garden with its grotto and waterfall, the Marie Aull Nature Trail, community garden plots and access to the Stillwater River.
Island, Wesleyan and Sunrise MetroParks, and Woodland Cemetery
Island, Deeds Point, Wesleyan and Sunrise MetroParks are inside the city limits too. Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum is the highest point in Dayton, inside Walnut Hills, and holds the graves of the Wright brothers and Paul Laurence Dunbar.
Carillon Historical Park
On the river south of downtown, an open-air history museum and the main campus of Dayton History. The Deeds Carillon has the largest set of bells in Ohio, with Sunday concerts from May to October. The 1905 Wright Flyer III is here, along with an 1835 locomotive and Carillon Brewing Company.
Wright-Dunbar and Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park
The park is six sites: the Wright Cycle Company building, the Hoover Block, Huffman Prairie Flying Field on Wright-Patterson, the Flyer III at Carillon Park, Hawthorn Hill in Oakwood and the Paul Laurence Dunbar House State Memorial. Wright-Dunbar's West Third Street business district is historic brick, mostly Romanesque Revival.
The Oregon District
A historic district between Patterson Boulevard and Wayne Avenue, built from 1820 to 1915 and on the National Register since 1975. East Fifth Street is the bar, restaurant and gallery strip, the Oregon Arts District.
St. Anne's Hill
East of downtown, with brick streets and Second Empire and Queen Anne houses. The Bossler Mansion and the Steamboat House are the two landmark houses the district's National Register record names. Fifth Street Brewpub and Gem City Catfe are on the Fifth Street corridor.
Annual events
The city's Lights in Flight fireworks go up over the river at RiverScape on July 3. Hauntfest on Fifth is the Oregon District Business Association's October fundraiser, for guests 21 and over. Levitt Pavilion holds free concerts on summer weekends. Dates move from year to year, so check each organizer before you plan around one.
The city's own site: City of Dayton.
Homes in Dayton
Historic districts near downtown
The Oregon District (45402) is Federal, Greek Revival, Italianate and Queen Anne row and detached houses from the 1820s to 1915 on brick streets, a few blocks from East Fifth Street, with some condominium conversions in former commercial buildings. South Park (45410, 45409) sits between downtown and the University of Dayton, with brick and frame houses from the 1880s to the 1910s in Second Empire, Italianate, Queen Anne, Federal and Romanesque Revival styles, with doubles and cottages mixed in.
St. Anne's Hill (45403) has Second Empire, Romanesque and Queen Anne houses built from 1860 to the early 1900s. Huffman (45403) sits directly northeast of it, with houses that nearly all date from 1870 to 1890, after William P. Huffman brought the Third Street streetcar. McPherson Town (45405) sits across the river from downtown, with Stick/Eastlake and Queen Anne houses from 1880 to 1900, plus infill built since 1995 to match.
Wright-Dunbar (45402, 45407) has mid-to-late-1800s frame houses west of the river, with West Third Street's brick commercial blocks. New single-family houses are going in there, and the Townes at Wright-Dunbar are new attached homes.
North of the river
Dayton View (45405, 45406) has Victorian, Colonial Revival, Jacobethan, Chateauesque, Foursquare and Prairie houses from the late 1880s to the 1930s on wide streets. Grafton Hill (45405, 45406) sits around the Dayton Art Institute, with Belmonte Park laid out in 1875 and Classical Revival, Craftsman, Queen Anne and Tudor houses.
Five Oaks (45405, 45406) sits on the Salem Avenue corridor beside Dayton View, with early-1900s Tudors, Craftsmans and bungalows. It has three local historic districts, Grafton-Rockwood-Wroe, Squirrel-Forest and Kenilworth, and a National Register area on Neal Avenue.
Southeast and east sides
Belmont (45410, 45420) is the southeast streetcar neighborhood on former limestone quarry land, with Cape Cods, bungalows, Foursquares, two-stories, ranches and cottages. Watervliet Avenue has locally owned restaurants, and Belmont, Nordale and Woodman Fen parks, the Lohrey Recreation Center and Iron Horse Trail access are inside the neighborhood. Walnut Hills (45410, 45420) sits beside Woodland Cemetery, with late-1800s Victorians plus early-1900s Foursquares and bungalows on brick streets, mostly single-family with some doubles. Walnut Hills Park, on one of the city's highest points, has Dayton's first native-plant urban prairie.
Eastern Hills (45403, 45410, 45431, 45432) has Cape Cods, Foursquares and Tudors and multi-family at the western edge. The Creekside Trail and Eastwood MetroPark are at its edge.
South of the University of Dayton
Shroyer Park (45409, 45419) is south of the University of Dayton near Shroyer Road, with Cape Cods and Craftsman houses plus mid-century ones. Patterson Park (45419) has 1930s and 1940s Tudors on curving streets. The 45419 ZIP continues into Oakwood and Kettering, so check the taxing district on the parcel.
Downtown and the mailing-address question
Downtown has apartment and loft conversions of older buildings. People who want to own near downtown look at the Oregon District, South Park, St. Anne's Hill or McPherson Town.
The 45429, 45440, 45458 and 45459 ZIP codes (Kettering, Washington Township and Centerville) and 45424 (Huber Heights) carry Dayton mailing addresses but are outside the city. When an address says Dayton, check whether it means the city, the ZIP code or the metro area.
Property taxes in Dayton
2.04%
Effective property tax rate, tax year 2025, payable 2026
The effective rate for Dayton, the bill divided by the auditor's market value, is about 2.04%, the same as for Montgomery County as a whole.
Most of the city is one taxing district, the City of Dayton, and Montgomery County collects. A few parts of the city sit in other taxing districts.
City income tax
The city income tax is 2.5%.
Credits
The owner-occupancy credit needs you to live there, so file for it after closing. The homestead exemption is for owners who meet the state's age or disability test and the income limit, and it is filed through the Montgomery County Auditor.
The Montgomery County Auditor parcel record shows the taxing district and last year's actual bill.
Questions people ask about Dayton
What is it like to live in Dayton?
Dayton is the Montgomery County seat on the Great Miami River, with a downtown, a long list of historic districts on the National Register, metro parks and trails, and neighborhoods that each have their own age and style of home. The Montgomery County Auditor's parcel record shows the taxing district and last year's actual bill for any address. Ask me about a neighborhood and I'll show you what is listed.
What is the property tax rate in Dayton, Ohio?
The effective rate is about 2.04% of auditor market value, and the city income tax is 2.5%. The Montgomery County Auditor's parcel record shows the taxing district and last year's actual bill for any address.
Does a Dayton address always mean the same taxing district?
Not always. Parts of the city sit in other taxing districts, and the Montgomery County Auditor's rate sheet has several Dayton rows. The parcel record shows the district for any address.
Which Dayton historic districts are on the National Register?
Nineteen. Among them are the Oregon District (built 1820 to 1915), South Park (1880s to the 1910s), St. Anne's Hill (1860 to the early 1900s), Huffman (1870 to 1890), Dayton View and Grafton Hill north of the river (1880s to 1930s) and McPherson Town (1880 to 1900, with infill built since 1995 to match).
Can I buy a home downtown in Dayton?
Downtown's converted buildings are apartment buildings. People who want to own near downtown look at the Oregon District, South Park, St. Anne's Hill or McPherson Town, and I can send you what is listed in each.
Are all Dayton, Ohio ZIP codes inside the city?
No. The 45429, 45440, 45458 and 45459 ZIP codes (Kettering, Washington Township and Centerville) and 45424 (Huber Heights) carry Dayton mailing addresses but sit outside the city. Check whether an address means the city, the ZIP code or the metro area.
Near Dayton
Oakwood
Directly south, across the city line from the University of Dayton and South Park, sharing the 45419 ZIP code with Patterson Park and Shroyer Park.
Effective property tax rate 2.61%, tax year 2025
Kettering
South and southeast, on the far side of Patterson Park and Belmont, sharing the Creekside Trail.
Effective property tax rate 2.19%, tax year 2025
Vandalia
North of Dayton in Montgomery County, home to Dayton International Airport, which sits on City of Dayton land.
Effective property tax rate 1.83%, tax year 2025
Reading on Dayton
Journal category
Everything filed under Dayton
Looking at homes in Dayton?
Tell me your price range and the districts you are curious about, and I'll send you what's listed this week, plus the tax bill and the taxing district on each parcel. Write to me here. If you're earlier than that, Homeward is the free coaching program for the run-up, and the buyer page shows how I run the numbers with you before we tour anything.