Tompkins County, New York Housing Market Prices
Tompkins County Home Prices and Rent at a Glance
The median home price (often called the average home price), rent costs, affordability metrics, and housing stock characteristics for this housing market.
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Median home price 75% below the New York median$116,927
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Median rent 13% below the New York median More expensive than 79% of counties in New York$1,408
Median Home Price Map: Nearby Counties
Housing Market Overview
| Metric | Tompkins County | New York Avg | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Home Price | $116,927 | $471,885 | $248,835 |
| Price Trend (Annual %) | -5.6% | 7.1% | 7.5% |
| Median Gross Rent | $1,408 | $1,621 | $1,407 |
| Rent Trend (Annual %) | 4.3% | 4.3% | 5.1% |
| Household Income Trend (Annual %) | — | — | — |
The median home price in Tompkins County is about 75% lower than in New York. Rent is about 13% lower than the New York average.
Median Home and Rent Price Trends
Median Home Prices, 2015-2024
Median Rent Prices, 2015-2024
Home prices and rent are moving in opposite directions in Tompkins County: home prices fell about 5.6% a year while rent rose about 4.3% a year. That is an unusual pattern worth watching.
Median rent in Tompkins County rose about 42.7% between 2015 and 2024, from $987 to $1,408. Over the same span, rent in New York rose about 43.2%.
Affordability
On average, housing unit costs 1.6 yearly household incomes in Tompkins County.
Buying the median-priced home in Tompkins County costs roughly 6.9 years of rent at the median monthly rate. That is a relatively low price-to-rent ratio, which tends to favor buying over renting in Tompkins County. The price-to-rent ratio in New York is about 24.3.
| Metric | Tompkins County | New York Avg | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Home Price | $116,927 | $471,885 | $248,835 |
| Median Household Income | $74,388 | $86,556 | $80,455 |
| Price-to-Income Ratio | 1.6 | 5.5 | 3.1 |
Home Prices vs Income Over Time
Between 2015 and 2024, the median home price in Tompkins County fell about 42.5%, while median household income rose about 53.3% between 2009 and 2025 — income grew faster than the home price.
Income Growth vs Housing Cost Growth (Year-over-Year %)
Compare income and housing cost trends.
Occupancy & Tenure
| Metric | Tompkins County | New York Avg | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homeownership Rate | 49.0% | 48.8% | 58.5% |
| Rental Rate | 41.4% | 41.1% | 31.2% |
| Vacancy Rate | 9.5% | 10.1% | 10.2% |
| Median Tenure (years) | 14.0 | 17.0 | 15.0 |
| Median Year Moved In | 2012 | 2009 | 2011 |
Tompkins County has a homeownership rate of 49.0%, about the same as the New York average of 48.8%. Its housing vacancy rate is 9.5%, compared with 10.1% in New York.
Housing Stock
| Metric | Tompkins County | New York Avg | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Household Size | 2.05 people | 2.49 people | 2.53 people |
| Median Structure Built Year | 1970 | 1960 | 1978 |
| Median Number of Rooms | 5.4 | 5.0 | 5.5 |
The typical housing unit in Tompkins County was built around 1970. On average, 2.0 people live in a home with about 5.4 rooms, staying for about 14.0 years on average.
Tompkins County, NY Housing Compared With Nearby Counties
Tompkins County, NY is the largest of the 4 counties compared here, 103,844 residents against a local median of 47,858. Tompkins County, NY's median rent, at $1,408, runs 43% above the $983 typical of the counties around it.
Median home price tells the same story from another angle: $116,927 against a local median of $88,571, 32% above it. The one measure here that carries a verdict is homeownership, and at 21% below the local median it puts Tompkins County, NY at the weaker end of the local range. The counties themselves sit within $131 of each other on median rent, a tighter band than the gap between any of them and Tompkins County, NY, which makes it a genuine outlier here rather than one end of a wide local spread. Tompkins County, NY has the highest median rent of the 4 areas compared here.
| Area | Population | Median home price | Median rent | Homeownership |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tompkins County, NY | 103,844 | $116,927 #2/4 | $1,408 #1/4 | 54.2% #4/4 |
| Tioga County, NY | 47,858 | $86,426 | $928 | 79.1% |
| Chemung County, NY | 82,147 | $88,571 | $1,059 | 68.4% |
| Cortland County, NY | 46,246 | $139,484 | $983 | 66.3% |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about the housing market in Tompkins County, New York.
What is the median home price in Tompkins County, New York?
The median home price in Tompkins County, New York is $116,927, lower than the New York average of $471,885.
What is the average home price in Tompkins County, New York?
The typical home price in Tompkins County, New York, reported as the median sale price, is $116,927. The median is used instead of a mathematical average because it is not skewed by a small number of very expensive or very cheap homes, so it better reflects what a typical buyer pays.
What is the median rent in Tompkins County, New York?
The median gross rent in Tompkins County, New York is $1,408 per month, lower than the New York average of $1,621.
What was the median gross rent in Tompkins County in 2020?
In 2020, the median gross rent in Tompkins County, New York was $1,143 per month.
What is the price-to-rent ratio in Tompkins County, New York?
The price-to-rent ratio in Tompkins County, New York is about 6.9, meaning it would take roughly 6.9 years of rent payments at the median rent to equal the median home price. That is a relatively low price-to-rent ratio, which tends to favor buying over renting in Tompkins County.
Are home prices or rent rising faster in Tompkins County, New York?
Home prices and rent are moving in opposite directions in Tompkins County: home prices fell about 5.6% a year while rent rose about 4.3% a year. That is an unusual pattern worth watching.
What is the homeownership rate in Tompkins County, New York?
49.0% of households in Tompkins County, New York own their home, about the same as the New York average.
What is the vacancy rate in Tompkins County, New York?
The housing vacancy rate in Tompkins County, New York is 9.5%, lower than the New York average of 10.1%.
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