Best Places to Buy Rental Property in New York (2026)

There is no honest way to rank New York cities by rental return without rent data, and this page does not have it. What it does have is transaction evidence: the median price homes actually closed at inside each city's limits, and how many closings happened. That answers the two questions that come before any cash flow analysis, what it costs to get in and whether you can get back out.

What this page measures, and what it does not

Every city below cleared at least 100 closings in its reporting window, which filters out markets too thin to read. They are ranked cheapest first by median closed price, from $109,000 to $320,000. You will not find rent estimates, rent-to-price ratios, cap rates, cash-on-cash projections or gross yield rankings here. Resideline does not have verified rent data for these cities, so publishing those numbers would be invention rather than analysis. Entry price and transaction volume are what the data supports. Every figure describes closings inside the city limits, not the wider postal area that shares the city's name. The two can differ a lot: a postal area usually reaches into surrounding townships, which pulls the median toward whatever those townships are worth. New York's statewide median closed price is $535,000 across 78,341 tracked closings.

The rankings

1. Elmira, $109,000, 157 closings

At $109,000 the entry price is about 20 percent of the New York median. Resideline tracked 157 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 26 a month. Full detail is on the Elmira market page.

2. Niagara Falls, $120,000, 276 closings

At $120,000 the entry price is about 22 percent of the New York median. Resideline tracked 276 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 46 a month. Full detail is on the Niagara Falls market page.

3. Binghamton, $166,000, 271 closings

At $166,000 the entry price is about 31 percent of the New York median. Resideline tracked 271 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 45 a month. Full detail is on the Binghamton market page.

4. Rochester, $178,000, 1,033 closings

At $178,000 the entry price is about 33 percent of the New York median. Resideline tracked 1,033 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 172 a month. Full detail is on the Rochester market page.

5. Syracuse, $180,000, 629 closings

At $180,000 the entry price is about 34 percent of the New York median. Resideline tracked 629 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 105 a month. Full detail is on the Syracuse market page.

6. Buffalo, $200,000, 1,173 closings

At $200,000 the entry price is about 37 percent of the New York median. Resideline tracked 1,173 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 196 a month. Full detail is on the Buffalo market page.

7. Tonawanda, $224,500, 239 closings

At $224,500 the entry price is about 42 percent of the New York median. Resideline tracked 239 closings there over the last last 12 months, roughly 20 a month. About 86 percent of those closings are houses, so the figure describes that segment rather than every property type. Full detail is on the Tonawanda market page.

8. Schenectady, $240,000, 344 closings

At $240,000 the entry price is about 45 percent of the New York median. Resideline tracked 344 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 57 a month. Full detail is on the Schenectady market page.

9. Greece, $249,500, 122 closings

At $249,500 the entry price is about 47 percent of the New York median. Resideline tracked 122 closings there over the last last 12 months, roughly 10 a month. That is a thin market: both your comparable set and your eventual exit depend on a small buyer pool. About 88 percent of those closings are houses, so the figure describes that segment rather than every property type. This is a low-volume market, so treat the median as directional. Full detail is on the Greece market page.

10. North Tonawanda, $250,500, 154 closings

At $250,500 the entry price is about 47 percent of the New York median. Resideline tracked 154 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 26 a month. About 87 percent of those closings are houses, so the figure describes that segment rather than every property type. Full detail is on the North Tonawanda market page.

11. Cheektowaga, $251,400, 342 closings

At $251,400 the entry price is about 47 percent of the New York median. Resideline tracked 342 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 57 a month. About 86 percent of those closings are houses, so the figure describes that segment rather than every property type. Full detail is on the Cheektowaga market page.

12. West Seneca, $280,000, 153 closings

At $280,000 the entry price is about 52 percent of the New York median. Resideline tracked 153 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 26 a month. Full detail is on the West Seneca market page.

13. Albany, $295,000, 420 closings

At $295,000 the entry price is about 55 percent of the New York median. Resideline tracked 420 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 70 a month. Full detail is on the Albany market page.

14. Newburgh, $299,000, 189 closings

At $299,000 the entry price is about 56 percent of the New York median. Resideline tracked 189 closings there over the last last 12 months, roughly 16 a month. Full detail is on the Newburgh market page.

15. Queens, $320,000, 833 closings

At $320,000 the entry price is about 60 percent of the New York median. Resideline tracked 833 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 139 a month. About 99 percent of those closings are condos, so the figure describes that segment rather than every property type. Full detail is on the Queens market page.

How to use this list

Treat it as a shortlist, not an answer. A citywide median cannot price a specific address: property type, size, condition and location move a number far more than the city line does. Run any address on this list through Resideline for the comparable set behind its value.

Figures last updated August 23, 2026 from closings Resideline tracked.