Measured against area pay, Pendleton costs more to live in than 73% of U.S. towns
It ranks #460 of 757 in New York for affordability.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY metro area ($72K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
The grade compares costs with what households across the Buffalo metro earn ($72K, Census 2020–24). Even so, the typical home costs 4.1 years of metro income, and 7% of renters pay 30% or more of income for housing.
In dollars
- $1,250a month for a two-bedroom, utilities includedHUD Fair Market Rent, 2026
- 96prices across the Buffalo metro, where the U.S. is 100 (housing 81)BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
In paychecks the grade
- 4.1 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$72K, Buffalo-area income
- 17%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 7%of renters pay 30%+ of income for housing; across New York: 52%Census 2020–24
- 27%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
What Pendleton’s housing numbers say
About two in three homes sell above asking
In September, 67% of the homes that sold went for more than the asking price and 68% went under contract within two weeks. There were about 1.4 months of homes for sale at that pace, against 3.9 across New York: 9 listings for 6 sales that month. Expect competition on well-priced homes. How fast homes sell ↓
Nearly every household owns
91% of Pendleton households own their home, against 54% across New York. There are only 242 renter households, so rentals are scarce. Property taxes ↓
A high property tax rate
Owners pay about 2.25% of a home’s value a year in property tax, against 1.55% across New York. The median bill is $6,623 (New York: $6,582). On the typical home, that’s about $680 a month. Property taxes ↓
New building is almost all single-family houses
Of the 262 homes permitted in Pendleton’s past 10 years, 99% were single-family houses. New homes ↓
Written from the data on this page. There’s no Zillow index for Pendleton, so the typical value is an estimate: the Census median carried forward with the federal house price index; sales and supply are Redfin’s for September 2026; permits are Census figures through 2025; incomes, rents paid, taxes and ownership come from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Pendleton’s grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Pendleton is more affordable than 27% of U.S. towns, #460 of 757 in New York. Property tax pulls the grade down most; rent holds it up.
Home prices up 62% in 5 years
The federal house price index for the ZIP codes around Pendleton rose 62% over the past 5 years, faster than across New York (52%). Last year prices rose 6.3%. Carrying the Census median home value forward with that index puts the typical Pendleton home at roughly $365,000 today.
Carrying the Census median forward with the index puts a typical home at about $365K.
Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (annual) for the ZIP codes around Pendleton, weighted by land area. It tracks repeat sales of the same homes, so it shows how prices changed, not what homes cost.
Too few sales to read the market
Only 6 homes sold in September 2026, the latest month in Redfin’s figures: too few to describe the market or quote a median sale price.
A typical home costs 4.1 years of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Pendleton’s own median, or type yours.
That’s $129K short of a typical Pendleton home.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,250 a month here, $1,350 less than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Pendleton’s typical property tax (2.25% 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 $1,250
Renters already here pay a median of $994, 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 (Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY MSA): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
13 new homes permitted in 2025
Builders were permitted 13 new homes in Pendleton in 2025: 11 single-family houses and 2 in buildings with two or more homes, worth about $6 million to build. That's 1.8 per 1,000 residents, about the pace of New York as a whole. Over the past 10 years, Pendleton has permitted 262 homes in all.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Pendleton gained 638 residents while 318 new homes were permitted: about 2 new residents per new home, about the same as across New York (2.2).
Every year as a table
| Year | New homes | Single-family | 2+ per building | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Jan–Aug) | 4 | 4 | 0 | $1.9 million |
| 2025 | 13 | 11 | 2 | $6 million |
| 2024 | 12 | 12 | 0 | $6.5 million |
| 2023 | 54 | 54 | 0 | $25.7 million |
| 2022 | 29 | 29 | 0 | $11.6 million |
| 2021 | 15 | 15 | 0 | $5.5 million |
| 2020 | 4 | 4 | 0 | $1.6 million |
| 2019 | 15 | 15 | 0 | $4.7 million |
| 2018 | 31 | 31 | 0 | $8.8 million |
| 2017 | 60 | 60 | 0 | $16.2 million |
| 2016 | 29 | 29 | 0 | $8.8 million |
| 2015 | 43 | 43 | 0 | $13.4 million |
| 2014 | 31 | 31 | 0 | $8.2 million |
| 2013 | 35 | 35 | 0 | $9.4 million |
| 2012 | 27 | 25 | 2 | $7.2 million |
| 2011 | 16 | 16 | 0 | $4.1 million |
| 2010 | 31 | 31 | 0 | $8.5 million |
| 2009 | 26 | 26 | 0 | $5.6 million |
| 2008 | 20 | 20 | 0 | $5.9 million |
| 2007 | 19 | 19 | 0 | $3.8 million |
| 2006 | 25 | 25 | 0 | $5.3 million |
| 2005 | 20 | 20 | 0 | $3.6 million |
| 2004 | 26 | 26 | 0 | $5.1 million |
| 2003 | 46 | 46 | 0 | $7.6 million |
| 2002 | 32 | 32 | 0 | $4.8 million |
| 2001 | 47 | 47 | 0 | $7.1 million |
| 2000 | 44 | 44 | 0 | $6.6 million |
Homes authorized by building permits, counted in the year the permit was issued. U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
Property tax runs above the New York norm
The median bill is $6,623 (New York: $6,582), 2.25% of a home’s value 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 Pendleton
Only figures published free for the whole country, each labeled with the area it covers: the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY metro area, or New York. Groceries follow the goods price level; nobody publishes them town by town.
| Cost | Here | Compared with | Area | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prices overall U.S. = 100 | 96 | NY 108 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Goods (groceries, clothing, cars…) U.S. = 100 | 100 | NY 107 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Utilities U.S. = 100 | 129 | NY 134 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Other services U.S. = 100 | 98 | NY 104 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| 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.
Pendleton vs. its neighbors
Zillow publishes no value for Pendleton. Wheatfield and Amherst and Lockport 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pendleton | C | — | $294K | 2.25% | $1,250 |
| Amherst | D | — | $312K | 1.90% | $1,770 |
| Wheatfield | C− | — | $315K | 1.82% | $1,240 |
| Lockport | – | — | $235K | 2.34% | $1,240 |
“—” 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 Pendleton
Is Pendleton expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Pendleton costs more than 73% of U.S. towns: a C for cost of living, #460 of 757 in New York. The typical home costs 4.1 years of the median household income of the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY metro area ($72K).
How much is rent in Pendleton?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $1,250 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $994 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Pendleton?
The median bill is $6,623 a year, 2.25% of the median home value (New York: $6,582, 1.55%), from the Census 2020–24.
Neighbors talk housing
What Pendleton buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center, September 2026. 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.