You don’t have to be an emperor to live like a king in the Empire State.
The cheapest places to live in New York come from the best parts of the state.
To determine the most affordable places to live in New York, we used Saturday Night Science and Census data on costs of living, rents, and home prices for every town with over 5,000 people. We discovered some suburbs of NYC and others with easy commutes around Upstate New York offer budget bliss.
Whether you’re a city slicker or a country lover, rest assured there’s a place for you. It’s all about knowing where to look.
About 11.8 percent of New York workers now work from home, the 28th-highest share in the country — our state-by-state commute breakdown shows what that flip did to carpooling.
$43,523 median income · $759 median rent · #7 home prices in New York
Located in
Chautauqua County, New York
Jamestown took home the first place on the list of cheap living in New York. Residents enjoy a home price of $117,914 and an average rent of $759. The city’s average income is $43,523, meaning those 10.0% lower housing costs go even further.
An hour plus south of Buffalo, Jamestown is close to Panama Rocks Scenic Park for affordable weekend fun.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$47,385 median income · $784 median rent · #5 home prices in New York
Located in
Steuben County, New York
If you give us a New York minute, we’ll tell you why Hornell is the Empire State’s second most affordable city for 2026. Maple City is fifth when it comes to home price to income ratio. We’re not surprised it’s so affordable. And we definitely think it’s because they have such a strong economy.
Jobs in manufacturing, healthcare, and waste management support Hornell’s economy. H-Tizzle’s $47,385/year median income provides stability, affordability, and some extra cheddar for a Lake Ontario beach trip or two. And if you’re looking for a side hustle to make Hornell even more affordable, we hear they’re always hiring dealers at the local casino.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$51,458 median income · $722 median rent · #6 home prices in New York
Located in
St. Lawrence County, New York
Located just south of the Canadian border, Massena is the third cheapest place to live in New York. Home prices in Massena are the 6 lowest in the state, about eight times lower than the statewide average. The median home price in Massena is $115,435 and the median income is $51,458, giving the town the fourth best income to home price ratio in the state. Rent is a little steeper in Massena, but if you keep your hobbies to free outdoorsy things like hiking at Robert Moses State Park, you should still have plenty left for your savings.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$41,667 median income · $688 median rent · #1 home prices in New York
Located in
Cattaraugus County, New York
Salamanca, within the Allegany Indian Reservation, has the fourth lowest cost of living in New York. The city’s 90 cost of living index falls below the national average, supported by a $96,934 that is the lowest in the state, according to Zillow.
Salamanca’s position near the Allegheny River and Allegany State Park gives you plenty of cheap things to do on the weekend.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$43,120 median income · $909 median rent · #9 home prices in New York
Located in
Chemung County, New York
Elmira snuck onto the list as the fifth lowest cost place in New York. The cost of living index is 24.8% lower than the state’s average.
Located in Southern New York as the county seat of Chemung County, Elmira shines with an affordable 2.84 home price to income ratio and a $909 ranking at 28th lowest state-wide.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$61,824 median income · $778 median rent · #4 home prices in New York
Located in
St. Lawrence County, New York
Head northeast from Hornell, towards the Canadian border, and you will run right into our sixth most affordable city in New York: Ogdensburg.
This city in St. Lawrence County is the most affordable city in terms of home to income ratio and it is the 20th cheapest for rent to income ratio. Up two spots from last year, we’re pretty sure the residents in border city know a good deal. More importantly, those numbers scream buy, don’t rent.
We’re pretty sure this is also why Ogdensburg is one of HomeSnacks’ best places to retire in New York for 2026. Either way, seems like they’re keeping their townies happy and their city affordable.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$62,843 median income · $694 median rent · #14 home prices in New York
Located in
Herkimer County, New York
Ilion thinks that their NY pizza is the best, we just think they’re the best because they are our seventh most affordable city in New York for 2026. Ilion residents are all about celebrating one of their most notable people: Billy the Kidd. We think they should also be celebrating the fact that they’re our seventh most affordable city in terms of home price to income ratio.
Once Great Lakes region manufacturing powerhouse, Ilion’s residents now find themselves working in healthcare, logistics, and engineering to offset their cost of living. So do yourself and your wallet a favor, and get-a-movin’ to this affordable Herkimer County city.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$59,231 median income · $906 median rent · #20 home prices in New York
Located in
Orleans County, New York
No this isn’t the Funky Cold Medina that Tone Loc sings about. Medina is actually New York’s eighth most affordable city for 2026. This little Erie Canal city is 18th when it comes to home price to income ratio. We’re not surprised it’s so affordable. And we definitely think it’s because they have such a strong economy as a result of agriculture and sandstone
Now if growing fruit and/or carving sandstone isn’t your shtick, but living in the oh so affordable Mediana is, we heard “‘The Jewel of the Erie Canal” is alway looking for canal boat guides.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$60,548 median income · $839 median rent · #11 home prices in New York
Located in
Franklin County, New York
Malone is a town in Franklin County, New York, United States. The population was 14,545 at the 2010 census. The town contains a village also named Malone, which is the county seat. The town is an interior town located in the north-central part of the county.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$49,101 median income · $823 median rent · #17 home prices in New York
Located in
Niagara County, New York
Niagara Falls is a great place to live if you’re looking for affordable housing in New York. With a median home value of $166,405 and a median rent of just $823, it’s one of the most cost-effective places to reside in the state. T
Located near the Niagara River and alongside the city of Niagara Falls, Ontario, there are plenty of opportunities for outdoor activities and sightseeing. Plus, it’s part of the Buffalo-Niagara Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, which offers access to all kinds of services and conveniences.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is New York’s statewide median.
New York statewide median: $507,794
New York statewide median: $85,974
On the map
Where your money goes furthest in New York
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we determined the most affordable places to live in the Empire State for 2026
Determining affordability for places in New York boils down to how much it costs to live here.
You need to understand your costs relative to what people in the rest of the state are paying.
With that logic in mind, we derived several cost of living statistics from the latest Census American Community Survey 2020-2024 for New York using Saturday Night Science. We indexed the cost of living statistics across the following categories:
- Housing
- Transportation
- Services
- Groceries
- Healthcare
- Utilities
These are then weighted together to produce an overall cost of living index where 100 is the United States average. Anything below 100 is relatively affordable. Anything over 100 is relatively expensive.
We applied the biggest weight to housing as it typically accounts for 25% or more of your budget. Additionally, housing costs are the highest variant cost across a state. We then compare these cost of living metrics for each place in New York to figure out which is the least expensive.
The “Cost of Living Index” allows you to rank all of the 166 places in New York that have more than 5,000 people from least expensive to most expensive. Any ties went to the larger city.
The place in New York with the lowest cost of living according to the data is Jamestown.
We updated this article for 2026. This report reflects our eleventh time ranking the cheapest places to live in New York. The median New York home is 67 years old — old enough that it pays to compare home warranty plans before something expensive breaks.
The full plate
Cheapest Places To Live In New York
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | Cost Of Living Index | Median Income | Home Prices | Rent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jamestown | 28,188 | 84 | $43,523 | $117,914 | $759 |
| 2 | Hornell | 8,152 | 89 | $47,385 | $109,104 | $784 |
| 3 | Massena | 10,238 | 90 | $51,458 | $115,435 | $722 |
| 4 | Salamanca | 5,846 | 90 | $41,667 | $96,934 | $688 |
| 5 | Elmira | 26,257 | 91 | $43,120 | $122,491 | $909 |
| 6 | Ogdensburg | 9,455 | 92 | $61,824 | $106,454 | $778 |
| 7 | Ilion | 7,593 | 92 | $62,843 | $147,236 | $694 |
| 8 | Medina | 5,770 | 92 | $59,231 | $172,122 | $906 |
| 9 | Malone | 5,429 | 92 | $60,548 | $128,926 | $839 |
| 10 | Niagara Falls | 47,987 | 93 | $49,101 | $166,405 | $823 |
| 11 | Lackawanna | 19,753 | 93 | $52,110 | $168,586 | $872 |
| 12 | Johnson City | 14,940 | 93 | $56,283 | $156,863 | $1,031 |
| 13 | Endicott | 13,387 | 93 | $47,290 | $193,755 | $853 |
| 14 | Potsdam | 8,427 | 93 | $34,546 | $177,296 | $898 |
| 15 | Albion | 5,506 | 93 | $41,581 | $98,611 | $881 |
| 16 | Auburn | 26,285 | 94 | $51,052 | $214,996 | $897 |
| 17 | Olean | 13,738 | 94 | $51,261 | $103,164 | $794 |
| 18 | Bath | 5,560 | 94 | $47,150 | $121,856 | $735 |
| 19 | Binghamton | 47,151 | 95 | $45,578 | $181,130 | $870 |
| 20 | Oswego | 17,033 | 95 | $53,172 | $144,502 | $1,109 |
| 21 | Dunkirk | 12,549 | 95 | $53,299 | $128,151 | $866 |
| 22 | Fulton | 11,272 | 95 | $52,046 | $175,606 | $887 |
| 23 | Herkimer | 7,566 | 95 | $48,529 | $159,599 | $821 |
| 24 | Syracuse | 146,384 | 96 | $47,819 | $210,251 | $1,039 |
| 25 | Amsterdam | 18,166 | 96 | $56,178 | $235,742 | $1,006 |
| 26 | Tonawanda | 15,030 | 96 | $58,326 | $208,006 | $835 |
| 27 | Gloversville | 14,962 | 96 | $51,556 | $170,948 | $903 |
| 28 | Newark | 8,991 | 96 | $60,006 | $196,938 | $979 |
| 29 | Norwich | 6,782 | 96 | $53,333 | $145,101 | $867 |
| 30 | Buffalo | 276,854 | 97 | $50,041 | $238,089 | $1,046 |
| 31 | Rochester | 208,772 | 97 | $47,213 | $235,784 | $1,081 |
| 32 | Schenectady | 68,847 | 97 | $58,399 | $318,449 | $1,145 |
| 33 | Utica | 64,217 | 97 | $52,484 | $202,754 | $951 |
| 34 | North Tonawanda | 30,198 | 97 | $66,961 | $273,946 | $934 |
| 35 | Lockport | 20,610 | 97 | $62,410 | $257,725 | $945 |
| 36 | Cortland | 17,450 | 97 | $59,482 | $197,781 | $975 |
| 37 | Batavia | 15,097 | 97 | $59,446 | $197,340 | $925 |
| 38 | Johnstown | 8,111 | 97 | $63,763 | $192,659 | $914 |
| 39 | Canton | 7,167 | 97 | $62,054 | $185,238 | $796 |
| 40 | Horseheads | 6,449 | 97 | $61,223 | $213,484 | $1,181 |
| 41 | Liberty | 5,142 | 97 | $64,913 | $217,951 | $889 |
| 42 | Rome | 31,795 | 98 | $59,925 | $202,147 | $909 |
| 43 | Geneva | 12,512 | 98 | $79,435 | $218,802 | $972 |
| 44 | Oneida | 10,171 | 98 | $61,597 | $209,146 | $903 |
| 45 | Solvay | 6,544 | 98 | $61,166 | $179,729 | $946 |
| 46 | East Rochester | 6,218 | 98 | $73,344 | $227,077 | $1,132 |
| 47 | Plattsburgh | 19,830 | 99 | $57,630 | $244,069 | $1,030 |
| 48 | Corning | 10,643 | 99 | $61,760 | $189,794 | $1,014 |
| 49 | North Syracuse | 6,693 | 99 | $71,026 | $230,806 | $995 |
| 50 | Watertown | 24,375 | 100 | $51,753 | $195,771 | $967 |
| 51 | Lancaster | 10,113 | 100 | $66,148 | $242,275 | $969 |
| 52 | Port Jervis | 8,652 | 100 | $47,917 | $310,671 | $1,260 |
| 53 | Monticello | 7,279 | 100 | $50,583 | $275,474 | $1,166 |
| 54 | Brockport | 7,277 | 100 | $69,866 | $269,355 | $995 |
| 55 | Oneonta | 15,045 | 101 | $61,111 | $220,587 | $1,021 |
| 56 | Hudson Falls | 7,395 | 101 | $62,969 | $230,035 | $927 |
| 57 | Depew | 15,000 | 102 | $73,556 | $260,965 | $1,061 |
| 58 | Canandaigua | 10,514 | 102 | $64,929 | $274,506 | $1,095 |
| 59 | Baldwinsville | 7,715 | 102 | $77,241 | $321,320 | $1,201 |
| 60 | Scotia | 7,264 | 103 | $76,525 | $249,645 | $1,031 |
| 61 | Mechanicville | 5,124 | 103 | $50,675 | $483,740 | $1,070 |
| 62 | Troy | 51,033 | 104 | $58,477 | $286,799 | $1,175 |
| 63 | Newburgh | 28,519 | 104 | $56,960 | $392,141 | $1,454 |
| 64 | Cohoes | 18,159 | 104 | $61,145 | $330,326 | $1,251 |
| 65 | Glens Falls | 14,609 | 104 | $67,788 | $264,460 | $1,077 |
| 66 | Watervliet | 10,287 | 104 | $57,919 | $308,697 | $1,083 |
| 67 | Hamburg | 9,792 | 104 | $112,292 | $297,871 | $1,097 |
| 68 | Fredonia | 9,467 | 104 | $50,433 | $204,763 | $878 |
| 69 | Rensselaer | 9,287 | 104 | $70,080 | $306,690 | $1,219 |
| 70 | Kenmore | 15,044 | 105 | $77,639 | $249,943 | $1,081 |
| 71 | Geneseo | 7,701 | 106 | $46,589 | $271,031 | $971 |
| 72 | Hilton | 5,968 | 106 | $87,377 | $300,281 | $1,262 |
| 73 | Kingston | 23,911 | 107 | $68,186 | $378,030 | $1,469 |
| 74 | Webster | 5,718 | 107 | $70,495 | $386,505 | $1,239 |
| 75 | Albany | 100,492 | 110 | $61,986 | $320,506 | $1,216 |
| 76 | Middletown | 30,289 | 111 | $79,346 | $402,620 | $1,661 |
| 77 | Hudson | 5,865 | 111 | $54,139 | $436,090 | $1,343 |
| 78 | Fairport | 5,403 | 111 | $107,009 | $396,821 | $1,165 |
| 79 | Poughkeepsie | 31,958 | 113 | $60,741 | $339,927 | $1,400 |
| 80 | Williamsville | 5,469 | 113 | $98,850 | $410,876 | $1,404 |
| 81 | East Aurora | 5,993 | 114 | $103,949 | $431,047 | $1,196 |
| 82 | Ithaca | 32,814 | 115 | $48,784 | $410,621 | $1,447 |
| 83 | Ballston Spa | 5,027 | 115 | $101,667 | $422,527 | $1,122 |
| 84 | Wappingers Falls | 5,761 | 116 | $65,040 | $486,033 | $1,538 |
| 85 | Walden | 6,868 | 117 | $87,487 | $412,020 | $1,625 |
| 86 | Colonie | 7,702 | 118 | $103,983 | $341,964 | $1,570 |
| 87 | Washingtonville | 5,707 | 118 | $95,313 | $516,964 | $1,351 |
| 88 | Haverstraw | 12,325 | 119 | $75,167 | $444,473 | $2,114 |
| 89 | Beacon | 14,834 | 122 | $107,859 | $538,601 | $1,658 |
| 90 | West Haverstraw | 10,711 | 122 | $86,301 | $425,897 | $1,803 |
| 91 | Peekskill | 25,625 | 124 | $85,954 | $500,840 | $2,036 |
| 92 | New Paltz | 8,314 | 124 | $52,774 | $496,651 | $1,672 |
| 93 | Goshen | 5,773 | 126 | $104,643 | $558,034 | $1,805 |
| 94 | Spring Valley | 33,192 | 127 | $57,196 | $871,487 | $1,695 |
| 95 | Suffern | 11,441 | 128 | $104,607 | $576,040 | $2,091 |
| 96 | Warwick | 6,585 | 129 | $89,609 | $566,347 | $1,296 |
| 97 | Mount Vernon | 72,427 | 132 | $78,779 | $568,431 | $1,629 |
| 98 | Patchogue | 12,396 | 132 | $107,306 | $586,013 | $2,263 |
| 99 | Hempstead | 58,801 | 133 | $90,420 | $627,531 | $1,622 |
| 100 | Woodbury | 11,334 | 133 | $121,221 | $1,478,907 | $1,868 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024, cost-of-living data. 166 places with more than 5,000 residents.
Summary
New York Affordability Summary
This is an accurate list of the most affordable places to live in New York for 2026, if you’re looking at the cost of living numbers in New York.
The cheapest cities in New York are Jamestown, Hornell, Massena, Salamanca, Elmira, Ogdensburg, Ilion, Medina, Malone, and Niagara Falls. Not sold on New York? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Most Affordable Places To Live In New York FAQs
What is the cheapest place to live in New York?
Jamestown is the cheapest place to live in New York for 2026. It posts the lowest Cost of Living Index of the 166 places we analyzed; Hornell and Massena are next.
How cheap is housing in Jamestown?
The median home value in Jamestown is $117,914, versus $507,794 statewide, and the median rent is $759. Housing carries the biggest weight in our cost of living index, and it is the main reason Jamestown takes the top spot.
What are the most affordable places to live in New York?
The most affordable places to live in New York are Jamestown, Hornell, and Massena. We ranked all 166 places with more than 5,000 residents on housing, transportation, services, groceries, healthcare, and utilities costs; the full top ten is in the table above.
What is the most expensive place to live in New York?
Scarsdale is the most expensive place to live in New York. It ranks last of the 166 places we scored on the Cost of Living Index, and the other priciest spots are listed next to the summary above.
How do you measure the cost of living in New York?
We index cost of living data from the Census American Community Survey across housing, transportation, services, groceries, healthcare, and utilities, with housing weighted heaviest since it eats the biggest share of a budget. A score of 100 is the national average; anything under 100 counts as affordable.
