Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author or not provided · Public domainRenting in Van Lear: a two-bedroom costs about $870
Van Lear is too small for a cost of living grade (TownRatings grades places of 1,000 or more).
Only 1 sale in September 2026: in a market this size, monthly medians swing a lot, so the typical value is the steadier guide.
Housing in Van Lear, in brief
Prices are 10% below their 2025 peak
The typical Van Lear home peaked at $139K in May 2025 and is worth about $125K now. Across Kentucky, values are at or near their high. Over five years, Van Lear is still up 24%. Price trend ↓
Owning can cost less than renting
With 20% down at the calculator’s rate, the typical Van Lear home runs about $730 a month with tax and insurance. A two-bedroom rents for about $870. Can I afford it? ↓
Written from the data on this page. Home values are the Zillow Home Value Index, through September 2026; incomes, rents paid, taxes and ownership come from the Census American Community Survey, which has wide margins in a place this size.
Why Van Lear isn’t graded
The grade needs at least two of four Census figures: home value, rent, property tax and the share of households paying 30% or more for housing.
Next door, West Van Lear grades A for cost of living.
A two-bedroom rents for about $870
Fair Market Rent a month, utilities included
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents by ZIP code (Floyd County, KY): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
Low tax bills, but a high tax rate
The median bill is $638, under the Kentucky median of $1,544, because homes cost less. As a share of value it’s 0.79% a year, against 0.75% statewide.
Census American Community Survey 2020–24: the median real-estate tax bill homeowners report, and that bill ÷ the median home value. Bills include town, school and county taxes. The Census reports bills over $10,000 only as “$10,000+”.
Van Lear vs. its neighbors
Of the 1 towns here with a Zillow value, Van Lear has the lowest. West Van Lear has no Zillow value, so it is in the table only.
Cost next door · one source per column
| Town | Cost | Typical home Zillow, September 2026 | Median value Census 2020–24 | Tax rate bill ÷ value | 2-bed rent HUD 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Van Lear | – | $125K | $81K | 0.79% | $870 |
| West Van Lear | A | — | $135K | 0.86% | $920 |
“—” under Cost: not graded (too little Census data, or under 1,000 residents). “—” under Zillow: Zillow publishes no value for that town, so it’s left blank rather than mixed with Census figures.
Questions about the cost of living in Van Lear
How much is rent in Van Lear?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $870 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in.
What are property taxes in Van Lear?
The median bill is $638 a year, 0.79% of the median home value (Kentucky: $1,544, 0.75%), from the Census 2020–24.
Why doesn’t Van Lear have a cost of living grade?
Van Lear is too small for a cost of living grade (TownRatings grades places of 1,000 or more).
Neighbors talk housing
What Van Lear buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research, September 2026. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center, September 2026. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. Fair Market Rents: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The calculator is an estimate, not a loan offer. Regional price levels: BEA; electricity: EIA. How TownRatings grades cost of living.