Photo: Andre Carrotflower · CC BY-SA 4.0Measured against area pay, Olean costs less to live in than 64% of U.S. towns
Home prices around Olean have risen about 80% over the past 5 years. No new homes were permitted in 2025.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of the Olean, NY micro area ($60K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
The grade compares costs with what households across the Olean-area micro earn ($60K, Census 2020–24). The typical home costs 2.7 years of area income, and 57% of renters pay 30% or more of income for housing.
In dollars
- $1,040a month for a two-bedroom, utilities includedHUD Fair Market Rent, 2026
In paychecks the grade
- 2.7 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$60K, Olean-area income
- 13%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 19%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
Housing in Olean, in brief
Low tax bills, but a high tax rate
The median tax bill is $4,027, under the New York median of $6,582, because homes cost less. As a share of value, though, it’s 2.54% a year, against 1.55% statewide. On the typical home, that’s about $450 a month. Property taxes ↓
Prices rose faster than New York’s over five years
There’s no Zillow index for Olean, so the page uses the federal house price index for the ZIP code around it, which follows repeat sales of the same homes. It rose 80% over five years, against 52% across New York. Price trend ↓
Written from the data on this page. There’s no Zillow index for Olean, so the typical value is an estimate: the Census median carried forward with the federal house price index; permits are Census figures through 2025 (2025 partly estimated); incomes, rents paid, taxes and ownership come from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Olean’s grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Olean is more affordable than 64% of U.S. towns. Property tax pulls the grade down most; rent holds it up.
Home prices up 80% in 5 years
The federal house price index for the ZIP code around Olean rose 80% over the past 5 years, faster than across New York (52%). Last year prices rose 15%. Carrying the Census median home value forward with that index puts the typical Olean home at roughly $214,000 today.
Carrying the Census median forward with the index puts a typical home at about $214K.
Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (annual) for the ZIP codes around Olean, weighted by land area. It tracks repeat sales of the same homes, so it shows how prices changed, not what homes cost.
A year’s rent takes 13% of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Olean’s own median, or type yours.
That’s $24K short of a typical Olean home.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,040 a month here, $540 less than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Olean’s typical property tax (2.54% 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 $1,040
Renters already here pay a median of $666, 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 (Cattaraugus County, NY): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
No new homes permitted in 2025
No permits for new homes were issued in Olean in 2025. The last year with any was 2023 (4 new homes).
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Olean's population fell by 82 even though 21 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) | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2025 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2024 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2023 | 4 | 4 | 0 | $446,000 |
| 2022 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $223,000 |
| 2021 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $223,000 |
| 2020 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $223,000 |
| 2019 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $223,000 |
| 2018 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $223,000 |
| 2017 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $223,000 |
| 2016 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $223,000 |
| 2015 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $223,000 |
| 2014 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $223,000 |
| 2013 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $223,000 |
| 2012 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $223,000 |
| 2011 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $223,000 |
| 2010 | 3 | 3 | 0 | $334,000 |
| 2009 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $223,000 |
| 2008 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $223,000 |
| 2007 | 3 | 3 | 0 | $334,000 |
| 2006 | 4 | 4 | 0 | $446,000 |
| 2005 | 5 | 5 | 0 | $557,000 |
| 2004 | 6 | 6 | 0 | $668,000 |
| 2003 | 6 | 6 | 0 | $668,000 |
| 2002 | 5 | 5 | 0 | $557,000 |
| 2001 | 5 | 5 | 0 | $557,000 |
| 2000 | 5 | 5 | 0 | $557,000 |
Olean's permit office didn't report to the Census in 2025, so the 2025 figures are Census estimates.
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 $4,027, under the New York median of $6,582, because homes cost less. As a share of value it’s 2.54% 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 Olean
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.
Olean vs. its neighbors
Zillow publishes no value for Olean. Allegany and Weston Mills and St. Bonaventure and Portville and Hinsdale 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olean | B | — | $159K | 2.54% | $1,040 |
| Portville | B | — | $119K | 2.47% | $1,020 |
| Hinsdale | B+ | — | $91K | 1.95% | $1,070 |
| Allegany | B | — | $169K | 2.35% | $1,040 |
| Weston Mills | – | — | $155K | 2.18% | $1,040 |
| St. Bonaventure | – | — | $125K | 2.34% | $1,040 |
“—” 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 Olean
Is Olean expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Olean costs less than 64% of U.S. towns: a B for cost of living. The typical home costs 2.7 years of the median household income of the Olean, NY micro area ($60K).
How much is rent in Olean?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $1,040 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $666 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Olean?
The median bill is $4,027 a year, 2.54% of the median home value (New York: $6,582, 1.55%), from the Census 2020–24.
Neighbors talk housing
What Olean buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. New homes: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey. Price trend: Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index. 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.