A typical Polk home is worth about $277,000
Up 4.1% in a year, 11% above the Ohio typical home.
Only 2 sales in February 2026: in a market this size, monthly medians swing a lot, so the typical value is the steadier guide.
What kind of housing town is Polk?
Read from the numbers below. The page puts what stands out first.
88% of Polk households own their home
Half of Polk’s homes were built before 1938.
Ohio: 67% own.
U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 · figures for a place this size carry wide margins of error.
Up 37.3% in five years
Faster than Ohio (29.2%).
Show as a table
| January | Polk | Ohio |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | $143,000 | $133,000 |
| 2018 | $145,000 | $141,000 |
| 2019 | $151,000 | $150,000 |
| 2020 | $158,000 | $158,000 |
| 2021 | $185,000 | $178,000 |
| 2022 | $206,000 | $195,000 |
| 2023 | $228,000 | $211,000 |
| 2024 | $239,000 | $224,000 |
| 2025 | $262,000 | $237,000 |
| 2026 | $268,000 | $245,000 |
| August 2026 | $277,000 | $249,000 |
A typical Polk home worth $141K in September 2016 is worth about $277K today.
Zillow Home Value Index: the typical value of all homes (middle third), smoothed and seasonally adjusted, through August 2026.
What it takes to buy in Polk
Try your own numbers below.
That’s $15K short of a typical Polk home.
A two-bedroom rents for about $970 a month here, $780 less than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, the Ohio typical property tax (1.31% 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 $970
Renters already here pay a median of $675, 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 (Ashland County, OH): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
No new homes permitted in 2025
No permits for new homes were issued in Polk in 2025. The last year with any was 2010 (1 new home).
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Polk's population fell by 26 even though 1 new home was permitted. Homes are holding fewer people: households are getting smaller, or more homes are used part of the year. Across Ohio: 1.3 new residents per new home.
Every year as a table
| Year | New homes | Single-family | 2+ per building | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Jan–Aug) | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2025 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2024 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2023 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2022 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2021 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2020 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2019 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2018 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2017 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2016 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2015 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2014 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2013 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2012 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2011 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2010 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $250,000 |
| 2009 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2008 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2007 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2006 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2005 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2004 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2003 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2002 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $70,000 |
| 2001 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
Polk's permit office didn't report to the Census in 2025, so the 2025 figures are Census estimates.
Homes authorized by building permits, counted in the year the permit was issued. U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
Neighbors talk housing
What Polk buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research, August 2026. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center, February 2026. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. New homes: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey. Fair Market Rents: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Listings link to their publishers. The calculator is an estimate, not a loan offer.