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How affordable is this community?
- ACS 5-year estimates · B19013, B25082, B25090 · 2010–2024
- Zillow ZHVI
- FRED 30-year fixed mortgage rate
- HUD Income Limits · FY 2025
- Insurance premium rates (CommunityScale)
- User-adjustable assumptions
- Congressional Budget Office CBO Per Capita Wage Growth · Per capita wage growth
- Federal Reserve FRED 30-Year Mortgage Rate · 30-year mortgage rate
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics BLS CPI-U Inflation Ratios · Consumer price inflation factors
- U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · B01001, B19001, B19013, B19113 +7 more ACS Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS), 5-Year · Household records, Person records, Puerto Rico household records, Puerto Rico person records Census Address Count Listing · Address counts, December 2025 LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES) · Block crosswalk
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development HUD Income Limits · Income limits
- U.S. Department of the Treasury Homeowners Insurance Premiums by ZIP Code · Premiums by ZIP code
- Zillow Zillow Housing Data · Home values and rents by ZIP code
- Geography Geographic Crosswalks · Place to county, Tract crosswalk across Census years, ZIP code to ZCTA NTAD Metropolitan Planning Organizations · Metropolitan planning organizations TIGER/Line Boundaries · Boundaries
- CommunityScale Data CommunityScale App Datasets · Average homeowners insurance rates, Home values by geography, Household type by age group, Households by income band +3 more CommunityScale Population Forecasts · County population forecasts, Municipality population forecasts
This chart tracks whether housing prices are keeping pace with local incomes. The gap between what homes cost and what households can afford reveals affordability trends over time.
| $249,026 | Typical home price (Zillow) |
| 6.86% | 30-year fixed mortgage rate (Freddie Mac) |
| 2.02% | Effective property tax rate |
| $1,113 | Average annual homeowner's insurance |
| $68,138 | Median household income (Census, 2024) |
| 30% | Assumed max housing cost share of income |
Enter your household income and adjust assumptions to see what you could afford to buy in this community, compared to typical local prices. The calculator defaults to the current local median income, mortgage rate, and other financial assumptions factored into the housing affordability chart above.
Just comparing prices to incomes, much of the region's housing stock is affordable to most of the region's households. However, most lower-priced homes need some degree of renovation to bring them to market-ready condition. This appears as a discount on the sale price but becomes a real added cost to homeownership, effectively raising the price. The chart shows how many homes recently sold at or above typical condition (move-in-ready) versus below it, and how deep that condition discount runs, by county and price tier. Given the high cost of renovation, it is likely that restoring a discounted home to full market value could cost the equivalent of the discount if not more.
How is the population changing?
- Census Population Estimates Program (PEP) · 2010–2025
- ACS 5-year estimates · B01001 · 2010–2024
- CommunityScale population projection model
- U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · B01001
- Geography Geographic Crosswalks · Tract crosswalk across Census years NTAD Metropolitan Planning Organizations · Metropolitan planning organizations TIGER/Line Boundaries · Boundaries
- CommunityScale Data CommunityScale App Datasets · Population forecast summary CommunityScale Population Forecasts · County population forecasts, Municipality population forecasts
Population growth patterns reveal how communities are evolving. This chart shows historical population changes by age group and projects future trends based on demographic patterns.
Population change since a baseline year, broken out by age group. Each line shows the net gain or loss for one cohort, revealing which groups are driving growth or decline.
The share of people aged 25-34 indicates the pipeline of workers entering the labor force, while the share aged 65+ shows the pace of retirement. Comparing these trends reveals whether communities face a tightening or expanding labor supply.
Historical population comes from the U.S. Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program (PEP): counties directly from PEP's annual estimates by age, and municipalities from PEP sub-county totals with age detail from the American Community Survey (ACS). Projections use CommunityScale's PEP-anchored cohort-migration forecast model.
The model follows each five-year age cohort through the community's 2010–2024 population history and projects those cohort trends forward, launching from the most recent PEP estimate (2025). Group-quarters residents — college dorms, prisons, military barracks, nursing facilities — do not follow household demographics, so they are separated out, projected on their own trend, and added back. In small communities, where year-to-year cohort data is noisy, the model blends each cohort's trend toward the community's recent overall trend to keep projections stable.
How is the job market changing?
- U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · B01001 LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES) · Block crosswalk, Jobs by workplace block
- Geography NTAD Metropolitan Planning Organizations · Metropolitan planning organizations TIGER/Line Boundaries · Boundaries
- CommunityScale Data CommunityScale App Datasets · Job growth
Total job counts over time show how employment opportunities are growing or shrinking in a community. Comparing across geographies reveals which areas are attracting the most new employment.
Jobs grouped into four broad sector categories show the economic composition of a community.
Wage ranges for common occupations show how local pay compares across sectors. Bars show the 25th to 75th percentile annual salary range, with the median marked.
Job counts are derived from the LEHD LODES Workplace Area Characteristics (WAC) dataset published by the US Census Bureau.
How are households changing by income?
- ACS 5-year estimates · B25007, B01001, B19001, B19113 · 2010–2024
- HUD Income Limits · FY 2025
- BLS CPI-U · 2010–2024
- Census PUMS 5-year · 2019–2023
- Congressional Budget Office CBO Per Capita Wage Growth · Per capita wage growth
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics BLS CPI-U Inflation Ratios · Consumer price inflation factors
- U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · B01001, B19001, B19113, B25001 +6 more ACS Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS), 5-Year · Household records, Person records, Puerto Rico household records, Puerto Rico person records Census Address Count Listing · Address counts, December 2025 LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES) · Block crosswalk
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development HUD Income Limits · Income limits
- U.S. Department of the Treasury Homeowners Insurance Premiums by ZIP Code · Premiums by ZIP code
- Zillow Zillow Housing Data · Home values and rents by ZIP code
- Geography Geographic Crosswalks · Tract crosswalk across Census years, ZIP code to ZCTA NTAD Metropolitan Planning Organizations · Metropolitan planning organizations TIGER/Line Boundaries · Boundaries
- CommunityScale Data CommunityScale App Datasets · Average homeowners insurance rates, Home values by geography, Household type by age group, Households by income band +3 more CommunityScale Population Forecasts · County population forecasts, Municipality population forecasts
Understanding how households at different income levels are growing or declining helps identify which groups face the greatest housing pressure and where new housing is most needed.
| AMI Group | Income Range | Households |
|---|---|---|
| <30% AMI | <$29K | 50,132 |
| 30-50% AMI | $29K - $48K | 36,842 |
| 50-80% AMI | $48K - $77K | 47,085 |
| 80-100% AMI | $77K - $96K | 23,739 |
| 100-120% AMI | $96K - $115K | 19,151 |
| >120% AMI | >$115K | 61,504 |
Household change since a baseline year, broken out by income group. Each line shows the net gain or loss for one income bracket, revealing which groups are driving household growth or decline.
Who lives here today?
- ACS 5-year estimates · B19001, B19037, B19113, B19131 · 2020–2024
- HUD Income Limits · FY 2025
- Congressional Budget Office CBO Per Capita Wage Growth · Per capita wage growth
- U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · B01001, B19001, B19001A, B19001B +11 more
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development HUD Income Limits · Income limits
- Geography Geographic Crosswalks · Tract crosswalk across Census years NTAD Metropolitan Planning Organizations · Metropolitan planning organizations TIGER/Line Boundaries · Boundaries
- CommunityScale Data CommunityScale App Datasets · Housing characteristics, Population forecast by age CommunityScale Population Forecasts · County population forecasts, Municipality population forecasts
Households may have different structure type preferences depending on characteristics such as household size, income, employment, presence of children, age of individuals, and lifestyle choices. Understanding the housing stock in corresponding terms helps assess how well existing units align with existing households' ideals.
This chart shows how household composition has changed over time, comparing the distribution of household types between 2015 and 2023. Changes in household types can indicate shifting demographics and evolving housing needs in a community.
Cost burden measures the share of household income spent on housing. Households paying more than 30% are considered cost burdened, while those paying more than 50% are severely cost burdened. Lower-income households typically face the highest rates of cost burden.
Cost burdened households pay 30% or more of their income on housing. Severely cost burdened households pay 50% or more. Tracking these rates over time shows whether affordability is improving or worsening. Toggle between combined (Total), Homeowners, and Renters to see how burden differs by tenure.
What does the housing stock look like?
- U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · B01001, B25024, B25032, B25041 +1 more
- Geography Geographic Crosswalks · Tract crosswalk across Census years NTAD Metropolitan Planning Organizations · Metropolitan planning organizations TIGER/Line Boundaries · Boundaries
- CommunityScale Data CommunityScale App Datasets · Housing stock, Population forecast by age CommunityScale Population Forecasts · County population forecasts, Municipality population forecasts
The mix of housing types and ownership patterns shapes a community's character. This chart breaks down housing units by structure type and whether they're owner-occupied or rented. Toggle the comparison control to overlay New York State or U.S. proportions for each category.
Comparing housing stock composition across geographies reveals how communities differ in their mix of structure types, unit sizes, and ownership patterns. Toggle between views and switch between raw counts and percentages to explore the data.
The age of the housing stock reveals construction booms, periods of stagnation, and how much of the community's housing predates modern building codes. The most recent decade uses building permit data for a more current picture of construction activity.
Annual building permits reflect the pipeline of new housing construction. Single family permits show detached home building activity, while multifamily permits (units in buildings with 2+ units) indicate apartment and townhome development. Together they reveal how a community's housing supply is growing and what types of housing are being added.
This chart shows rental and homeowner vacancy rates over time. A healthy rental vacancy rate is around 7.5%, and a healthy homeowner vacancy rate is around 1.5%. Rates well below these thresholds suggest a tight housing market with limited options for people looking to move.
Explore the characteristics of recent for-sale listings in this project area. Use the controls to filter by bedrooms, unit size, lot size, year built, and price.
Explore the characteristics of recent rental listings in this project area. Use the controls to filter by bedrooms, unit size, year built, and monthly rent.
How much new housing supply is needed?
- Congressional Budget Office CBO Per Capita Wage Growth · Per capita wage growth
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics BLS CPI-U Inflation Ratios · Consumer price inflation factors
- U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · B01001, B19001, B19113, B25001 +8 more ACS Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS), 5-Year · Household records, Person records, Puerto Rico household records, Puerto Rico person records
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development HUD Income Limits · Income limits
- Geography Geographic Crosswalks · Tract crosswalk across Census years NTAD Metropolitan Planning Organizations · Metropolitan planning organizations TIGER/Line Boundaries · Boundaries
- CommunityScale Data CommunityScale App Datasets · Household type by age group, Households by income band, Housing stock by age, Housing supply benchmarks +3 more CommunityScale Population Forecasts · County population forecasts, Municipality population forecasts
To keep up with growth and fill current housing shortages, Southern Tier 8 Region needs 4,271 new units over the next 5 years.
| 4,271 |
Units to address shortages in existing housing stock
Production needs to address vacancy rates and other factors.
|
| 2,187 |
Replacement housing
Effective annual loss rate is 1.5 per 1,000 units.
|
| 366 |
Ownership vacancy adjustment
Owner-occupied vacancy is 1.3%. This is below the minimum stable target of 1.5%.
|
| 1,718 |
Rental vacancy adjustment
Rental vacancy is 5.5%. This is below the minimum stable target of 7.4%.
|
| 4,271 |
Total 5-year housing production need (2026-2031)
|
| 854 |
Annual production pace
Average units needed per year to meet 5-year need
|
| 1.5% |
Total housing unit growth
Percent increase in housing stock over 5 years
|
| 0.3% |
Annual housing unit growth
Average percent increase in housing stock per year
|