Allegany County

Allegany County sits at a median home price of $141,748, making it one of the most affordable entry points in New York State and placing it first in the state and fourth nationally out of 1,000 counties in this dataset. The affordability index hits 100, the highest possible score, and home prices rose 6.69% year-over-year, which signals that even at this price level the market is not stagnant. The dataset does not include a rent figure or cap rate for Allegany, so a precise gross yield calculation cannot be completed here; investors will need to source local rent comps before running a full underwrite. What the price point alone tells you is that the denominator on any yield calculation is unusually low for New York, which creates favorable conditions for cash flow if rents are competitive, though the cash flow score of 0 in this dataset suggests the tool could not confirm that from available data. Appreciation scores at 91 out of 100, meaning this is a market the model views as having above-average price growth potential relative to its cost basis.

The profile here is most likely to appeal to an appreciation-oriented buyer who also wants optionality on cash flow, and potentially to a value-add operator looking for low acquisition costs. At $141,748, an investor putting 20% down is in at roughly $28,350 and financing around $113,398. Even at 6.85%, that mortgage is structurally manageable if rents clear a reasonable threshold, and properties at this price point frequently attract section-8 or workforce-housing tenants who provide stable occupancy. A pure cash-flow buyer should run local rent comps carefully before committing, since the cash flow score of 0 signals the tool lacked sufficient rental data to confirm positive carry rather than confirming it is negative. A value-add operator will find the low purchase price attractive for repositioning deals where forced appreciation from renovation can move the needle meaningfully.

On the economic side, no employer or economic anchor data was provided for Allegany County, so no claims can be made about specific job drivers or institutional demand. What the population figure of 47,222 does convey is a small, rural county, and investors should factor in the demand ceiling that comes with limited population depth. Tenant pools are narrower, vacancy risk per unit is higher, and a single large employer departure would be disproportionately felt. This is not a fabricated risk; it is the arithmetic reality of a county this size.

The carry cost picture deserves careful attention. At the state-average effective property tax rate of 1.72% (a Tax Foundation 2024 estimate, with the explicit caveat that actual county and township rates in New York vary considerably and may be higher), the annual tax bill on a $141,748 home comes to approximately $2,438. Combined with an estimated $340 in annual insurance at a 0.24% rate, the combined monthly tax and insurance burden is $232. That $232 is a real line on the underwrite. At a 1.72% rate, property taxes in New York are high enough that they meaningfully compress net operating income, and investors accustomed to lower-tax states should not underestimate this drag. Before closing, verify the actual Allegany County millage rate, since township-level rates in upstate New York can diverge substantially from the state average.

The comparative picture against neighboring counties sharpens the investment thesis. Broome County carries a median price of $187,106 and a rent-to-price ratio of 9.11%, with an overall score of 76. Chemung County sits at $151,982 with a rent-to-price ratio of 9.17% and a score of 73. Cattaraugus County, the geographically closest analog in terms of price at $158,795, shows a rent-to-price ratio of 8.23% and scores 73. Oneida County is priced at $225,470 with a 7.84% ratio and scores 75. Allegany's $141,748 entry point is the lowest of the group by a meaningful margin, and its overall score of 81 exceeds every neighbor listed. If your thesis is maximum affordability and appreciation upside at the cost of some cash-flow certainty, Allegany is the pick. If you want a confirmed positive rent-to-price ratio with more populated tenant pools, Broome at 9.11% or Chemung at 9.17% offer higher yield signals alongside their own low price bases, though both require more capital to enter. An investor choosing Allegany over its neighbors is essentially making a bet that the price gap more than compensates for the thinner rental market data and smaller population, and that 6.69% annual appreciation on a sub-$142,000 asset compounds well over a five-to-ten year hold.