Steuben County

Steuben County lands at a 5.76% cap rate with a gross rent-to-price ratio of 8.87%, which puts it squarely in cash-flow territory for upstate New York. At a median home price of $172,442 and median rent of $1,274, the price-to-rent multiple sits around 135, well below the 150-180 range that typically signals an appreciation-driven market. Year-over-year price growth of 4.09% is real but not the story here. The story is entry price and yield. The model underwrite at 6.85% interest shows a cash-on-cash return of -2.3% on a 20% down payment, which means the deal is close but not quite self-funding at conventional financing terms, something any serious buyer should stress-test with additional rent comps and expense verification before committing. The cap rate of 5.76% is the more useful number for unlevered comparison, and it holds up well against what you can find elsewhere in New York state.

Steuben ranks first among all 62 New York counties in the model's overall scoring, and 13th nationally out of 1,000 counties tracked, placing it in the 98th percentile nationally. An affordability index of 93 and a cash-flow score of 89 tell you this is a market built for the yield-oriented, buy-and-hold operator, not the equity growth speculator. If you are a cash-flow buyer targeting sub-$200,000 acquisitions with legitimate rent yield, Steuben deserves serious attention. The appreciation score of 83 is a secondary bonus, not a thesis anchor. A value-add operator should find plenty of room to work given the price basis: buying at $172,000 and repositioning to capture even $100 more per month in rent materially changes the cash-on-cash picture.

The $282 per month in combined tax and insurance is a line item that cannot be treated casually. At a state-average effective property tax rate of 1.72%, New York is a genuinely high-tax environment, and that figure deserves its own line on your underwrite. On a $172,000 asset, the $247 per month in property tax alone ($2,966 annually) nearly matches the mortgage principal paydown in the early years of the loan. The insurance load at $414 annually ($34/month) is manageable, but the tax burden is not. Note that 1.72% is a state-average estimate from Tax Foundation 2024 data; actual rates at the county or township level in Steuben may differ, and you should pull the specific parcel tax history before closing on any individual asset.

The stability score of 50 is the number that demands the most scrutiny. A county of 93,584 people in rural southern New York does not have the labor market depth of a metropolitan area, and that score reflects real concentration risk. Population in small upstate New York counties has trended flat to declining over the past decade as a general regional pattern. Without specific economic anchor data provided for Steuben, it would be speculation to name industries or employers. What the numbers do suggest is that rental demand is present given the rent levels, but an investor should independently verify the local employment base, the student or healthcare workforce presence, and whether rent demand is driven by a few large institutions or broadly distributed. Thin tenant pools cut both ways: lower vacancy in a supply-constrained market, but longer re-leasing timelines when a unit turns.

Comparing Steuben to its neighbors sharpens the thesis. Broome County offers a higher rent-to-price ratio of 9.11% at a median price of $187,106, making it the closest direct competitor for cash-flow buyers, though its overall score of 76 trails Steuben's 79. Chemung County at $151,982 median price and a 9.17% rent-to-price ratio actually posts the highest gross yield of any neighbor, but its overall score of 73 suggests other factors, possibly stability or appreciation, weigh it down. Oneida County at $225,470 and a 7.84% rent-to-price ratio is the weakest yield proposition in the peer group. Cattaraugus County at $158,795 and an 8.23% ratio comes in cheaper than Steuben but with a lower rent level and a lower overall score. The case for choosing Steuben over its neighbors rests on the combination of its entry price, yield, affordability score of 93, and its ranking as the top county in New York. If maximizing raw gross yield is the singular goal, Chemung deserves a hard look. If the investor wants the market that scores best across yield, affordability, and appreciation together in the state, Steuben is the answer the data returns.