Mentz Church · Photo: bluemars21 · CC BY-SA 3.0Measured against area pay, Montezuma costs less to live in than 80% of U.S. towns
Builders were permitted 1 new home in 2025.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of the Auburn, NY micro area ($68K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
Only 1 sale in May 2026: in a market this size, monthly medians swing a lot, so the typical value is the steadier guide.
The grade compares costs with what households across the Auburn-area micro earn ($68K, Census 2020–24). The typical home costs 1.7 years of area income, and 56% of renters pay 30% or more of income for housing.
In dollars
- $1,190a month for a two-bedroom, utilities includedHUD Fair Market Rent, 2026
In paychecks the grade
- 1.7 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$68K, Auburn-area income
- 17%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 17%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
What kind of housing town is Montezuma?
Read from the numbers below. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Montezuma’s grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Montezuma is more affordable than 80% of U.S. towns. Property tax pulls the grade down most; home prices hold it up.
A typical home costs 1.7 years of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Montezuma’s own median, or type yours.
That covers a typical Montezuma home, with $114K to spare.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,190 a month here, $390 more than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Montezuma’s typical property tax (1.99% of value a year, from the Census) and insurance of about 0.35%. Mortgage insurance, HOA fees and other debts aren’t included.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,190
Renters already here pay a median of $983, so moving in tends to cost more than staying put.
Fair Market Rent a month, utilities included
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents by ZIP code (Cayuga County, NY): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
1 new home permitted in 2025
Builders were permitted 1 new home in Montezuma in 2025. That's 0.8 per 1,000 residents, slower than across New York (1.8). Over the past 10 years, Montezuma has permitted 10 homes in all.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Montezuma's population fell by 100 even though 14 new homes were permitted. Homes are holding fewer people: households are getting smaller, or more homes are used part of the year. Across New York: 2.2 new residents per new home.
Every year as a table
| Year | New homes | Single-family | 2+ per building | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Jan–Aug) | 2 | 2 | 0 | $200,000 |
| 2025 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $100,000 |
| 2024 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2023 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $80,000 |
| 2022 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $193,000 |
| 2021 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $193,000 |
| 2020 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $385,000 |
| 2019 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2018 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $450,000 |
| 2017 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $225,000 |
| 2016 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $140,000 |
| 2015 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $140,000 |
| 2014 | 5 | 5 | 0 | $536,000 |
| 2013 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $181,000 |
| 2012 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $180,000 |
| 2011 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2010 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $35,000 |
| 2009 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2008 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2007 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $125,000 |
| 2006 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2005 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2004 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2003 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $90,000 |
| 2002 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2001 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $230,000 |
| 2000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
Homes authorized by building permits, counted in the year the permit was issued. U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
Low tax bills, but a high tax rate
The median bill is $2,310, under the New York median of $6,582, because homes cost less. As a share of value it’s 1.99% a year, against 1.55% 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+”.
The rest of a budget near Montezuma
Only figures published free for the whole country, each labeled with the area it covers: New York, or New York. Groceries follow the goods price level; nobody publishes them town by town.
| Cost | Here | Compared with | Area | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electricity cents per kWh, homes | 29.9¢ | U.S. 18.3¢ | state | EIA, July 2026 |
Price levels: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities 2024 (metro area and state). Electricity: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A.
Montezuma vs. its neighbors
Zillow publishes no value for Montezuma. Throop and Aurelius and Tyre and Conquest and Mentz have no Zillow value, so they are in the table only.
Cost next door · one source per column
| Town | Cost | Typical home Zillow, latest | Median value Census 2020–24 | Tax rate bill ÷ value | 2-bed rent HUD 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montezuma | A− | — | $116K | 1.99% | $1,190 |
| Tyre | – | — | $162K | 1.45% | $1,290 |
| Conquest | B+ | — | $150K | 1.71% | $1,220 |
| Savannah | A− | $166K | $102K | 2.17% | $1,290 |
| Mentz | B− | — | $116K | 2.51% | $1,190 |
| Aurelius | B | — | $167K | 2.11% | $1,190 |
| Throop | B− | — | $186K | 2.29% | $1,190 |
“—” under Zillow: Zillow publishes no value for that town, so it’s left blank rather than mixed with Census figures. “—” under Cost: not graded (too little Census data, or under 1,000 residents).
Questions about the cost of living in Montezuma
Is Montezuma expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Montezuma costs less than 80% of U.S. towns: an A− for cost of living. The typical home costs 1.7 years of the median household income of the Auburn, NY micro area ($68K).
How much is rent in Montezuma?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $1,190 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $983 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Montezuma?
The median bill is $2,310 a year, 1.99% of the median home value (New York: $6,582, 1.55%), from the Census 2020–24.
Neighbors talk housing
What Montezuma buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center, May 2026. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. New homes: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits 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.