Living in Oakwood, Ohio
Oakwood sits right next to downtown Dayton, Miami Valley Hospital and the University of Dayton, and Far Hills Avenue runs through the middle of it. Dorothy Lane Market and Graeter's are both on Far Hills, with other shops and restaurants along the same stretch. Tree-lined boulevards and homes from the early 1900s give the streets a look of their own, and there are a few condos along Far Hills Avenue too.
Montgomery County
Shafor Park has tennis courts, Gardner Pool and a ground-level fountain, and Orchardly Park has a splash pad and pickleball courts. Smith Memorial Gardens is a small garden with a pond and bird and butterfly plantings, Creager Field has a dog park, and Hills & Dales MetroPark sits on the Oakwood and Kettering line. Hawthorn Hill, Orville Wright's home from 1914 to 1948, is a National Historic Landmark. That Day in May fills Shafor Park every third Saturday of May with a parade, pancake breakfast, 5K and 10K and a car show.
Most Oakwood homes were built before World War II and have character and charm. West of Far Hills the streets are hilly and the houses larger, many on wooded lots, including the Schantz Park Historic District. East of Far Hills it is flatter, with Cape Cods and bungalows from the 1920s to the 1940s. The median sale price in Oakwood was $425,000 for September 2026. The city income tax is 2.5 percent, and property taxes run roughly 2.6 percent of market value.
What is in Oakwood
Far Hills Avenue
Oakwood's storefronts line Far Hills between roughly Park Avenue and Dorothy Lane. Dorothy Lane Market's Oakwood store and Graeter's are both on Far Hills, and The Oakwood Club has its dining room on the same stretch. Condo and apartment buildings stand on the strip too, which is where the few attached homes in the city are. Tenants change, so look before you plan a day around one of them.
Schantz Park Historic District
A National Register district on the hilly west side with houses from the turn of the 20th century. If you want to see what the city's original planning looked like, drive here: boulevards with planted center strips (Far Hills, Shafor, Triangle and Forrer were all laid out that way), wooded lots, and a different architectural style every few doors.
Hawthorn Hill
On Harman Avenue, the house Orville Wright planned with his brother Wilbur and lived in from 1914 until his death in 1948. It's a National Historic Landmark and Dayton History runs tours; check their calendar for current dates.
Hills & Dales MetroPark
The Five Rivers MetroPark on the Oakwood and Kettering line, laid out by the Olmsted Brothers for John H. Patterson's NCR. Creeks, ravines, the Adirondack Trail, picnic camps and the Dogwood pavilion; birders know it. Paw Paw Camp on Deep Hollow Road carries an Oakwood address, while the Twin Oak, Adirondack and Dogwood Pond entrances are off South Patterson Boulevard in Kettering.
Shafor Park and the Oakwood Community Center
Patterson Road is home to the city's main recreation site, with tennis courts, a basketball court, a small ball field, a ground-level fountain, a reservable shelter and Gardner Pool. The community center beside it houses the Leisure Services department. Membership rules change; oakwoodohio.gov has the current ones.
Smith Memorial Gardens
At Oakwood Avenue and Walnut Lane, planted for birds and butterflies, with a pond and a garden house the city rents for weddings and private events. The Summer Blanket Concert Series happens here.
The rest of the city parks
Orchardly Park in the southeast has a splash pad, a full basketball court, two tennis courts, pickleball courts, restrooms and a reservable shelter. Creager Field is the dog park, with agility equipment. Hollinger Memorial Tennis Center, Old River Sports Complex (soccer fields), Cook Park, Fairridge Park, Francine's Garden, Katharine Wright Park and the strip of green along Houk Stream (Loy Garden and Centennial Park) round out the system.
That Day in May
The Rotary Club of Oakwood's fundraiser, the third Saturday of May at Shafor Park: a parade down Shafor Boulevard, pancake breakfast, 5K and 10K, dog show, car show. It has run for more than fifty years.
Wright Memorial Public Library and the Long-Romspert House
The library on Far Hills is one of the city's notable civic buildings. The Long-Romspert House on Coolidge Drive, begun in 1863, is the Oakwood Historical Society's museum and one of the oldest houses in the city.
The city's own site: City of Oakwood.
Homes in Oakwood
Far Hills Avenue divides Oakwood's homes into a west half and an east half, each with its own lot size and style.
West of Far Hills the ground rises. Lots are bigger and wooded, houses are bigger, and this is where Schantz Park, Oak Knoll Drive, Harman Avenue and Ridgeway Road are.
East of Far Hills, toward Shroyer Road, the land flattens and the lots shrink. You'll find 1920s two-stories and 1930s and 1940s Cape Cods and bungalows on smaller lots.
Attached homes are few and sit on the two main roads: condo buildings on Far Hills Avenue and units on Shroyer Road. There aren't many, so a condo search here is a patience game; tell me what you need and I'll flag each one as it lists.
Oakwood is fully built, with tree-lined streets of homes that have original woodwork and settled yards. Each house has its own story of updates, and I'll pull the permit history alongside the listing photos. All current listings.
Property taxes in Oakwood
2.61%
Effective property tax rate, tax year 2025, payable 2026
The effective rate for Oakwood is about 2.61% of market value for an owner-occupied home.
City income tax
The city income tax is 2.5%.
Credits and exemptions
The homestead exemption, for owners who meet the state's age or disability test and the income limit, is filed through the Montgomery County Auditor; the owner-occupancy credit runs through the same office.
The parcel record at the Montgomery County Auditor shows the taxing district and last year's actual bill.
Questions people ask about Oakwood
What is it like to live in Oakwood?
Oakwood is a city of tree-lined boulevards and homes from the early 1900s, with storefronts along Far Hills Avenue, Shafor Park, Hills & Dales MetroPark and Hawthorn Hill, and downtown Dayton, Miami Valley Hospital and the University of Dayton right next door. The Montgomery County Auditor's parcel record shows the full tax bill for any address. Ask me about one and I'll pull the full history.
What is the property tax rate in Oakwood, Ohio?
The effective rate is about 2.61% of market value for an owner-occupied home. The Montgomery County Auditor's parcel record shows the taxing district and last year's actual bill for any address.
What county is Oakwood, Ohio in?
Montgomery County. Ohio has two other Oakwoods, a village in Cuyahoga County (ZIP 44146) and one in Paulding County (ZIP 45873), and some searches mix them up. This one is ZIP 45419, between Dayton and Kettering.
Is the 45419 ZIP code the same as the City of Oakwood?
No. 45419 continues south and west into Kettering, so a ZIP-level search blends the two cities and reads differently from a city-only one. When a site shows "Oakwood" homes, check which boundary it means.
What is the difference between the west and east sides of Far Hills Avenue?
West is hilly, with larger wooded lots and the biggest houses; the Schantz Park Historic District and Hawthorn Hill are there. East is flatter, with smaller lots and 1920s to 1940s Cape Cods and bungalows toward Shroyer Road.
Near Oakwood
Dayton
The city line is Oakwood's northern and eastern edge, with the University of Dayton and the South Park and Brown Street area on the other side of it.
Effective property tax rate 2.04%, tax year 2025
Kettering
South and west, sharing Hills & Dales MetroPark, the Dorothy Lane corridor and the lower half of the 45419 ZIP.
Effective property tax rate 2.19%, tax year 2025
Want an Oakwood address checked for tax?
Once you have a price range, I'll send what's listed in Oakwood this week, the tax bill on each one and the monthly payment.