Property Tax in Cattaraugus County, New York

What the Cattaraugus County numbers mean

Read the two medians together: $2,946 is the middle tax bill among owner-occupied households in Cattaraugus County, and $109,400 is the middle home value. Neither figure describes a specific property — together they describe the typical homeowner's situation in the county.

The derived effective rate for Cattaraugus County is 2.69% (median tax ÷ median value). Treat it as an estimate for comparison only: it comes from survey medians of different households, not from the county's rate schedule.

The key figures for Cattaraugus County

For context, the New York medians are $6,450 of tax on $403,000 of value, and the US medians are $2,969 on $303,400. *Derived figures are estimates from Census medians, not official rates.

Cattaraugus County at a glance

• Median tax rank in New York: #54 of 62 counties
• Median home value rank in New York: #61 of 62
• Population rank in New York: #35 of 62 (76,479 residents)
• Population density rank: #51 of 62 (58 people per square mile)
• Land area rank in New York: #8 of 62 (1,308 sq mi, 2.8% of the combined county land area)
• Median tax as a monthly figure: $246; per $1,000 of home value: $2.69

How Cattaraugus County compares

The median tax bill in Cattaraugus County is about 54% lower than the state median ($6,450 for New York) and about the same as the US median ($2,969 nationally). By median taxes paid, the county ranks #54 out of 62 New York counties with published Census data — 53 counties in the state have a higher median bill.

Comparisons cut both ways: a county can have a modest rate but high bills because homes are expensive, or a high rate but modest bills because homes are cheaper. Cattaraugus County's derived rate of 2.69% sits above the derived US figure of 0.98%.

Some extra context for Cattaraugus County: the median bill works out to about $246 a month, and the derived rate equals roughly $2,693 of tax per $100,000 of home value. The county is home to 76,479 people — the #35 most populous county in New York, spread over 1,308 square miles, a density of about 58 people per square mile. Its median home value, $109,400, ranks #61 among the state's 62 counties with data.

Zooming out: of 3133 counties nationwide with published Census figures, only 457 record a higher median tax bill than Cattaraugus County — it sits in the top 15% nationally. The county holds roughly 0.4% of New York's people. Its homes are worth less than the state norm (median $109,400 versus $403,000), and a decade at the derived rate of 2.69% adds up to about 26.93% of the median home's value in tax. The cheapest county in the state, Hamilton County, medians $2,369 — $577 less than Cattaraugus County per year.

Counties nearest Cattaraugus County in the New York ranking

Cattaraugus County and its population peers

Counties of a similar size can tax very differently. The table below shows the counties closest to Cattaraugus County in population across the United States, with their median bills and home values. Within the group of 9, Cattaraugus County ($2,946) ranks #4 of 9 by median tax paid.

The closest population match is Grays Harbor County, Washington (76,397 residents), where the median real estate tax paid is $2,441 on a median home value of $279,500 — $505 more than Cattaraugus County pays.

Inside New York itself, the counties closest to Cattaraugus County in population are Sullivan County (79,147 residents, median tax $5,082 on a median value of $234,800); Clinton County (78,961 residents, median tax $3,461 on a median value of $175,100); Cayuga County (75,464 residents, median tax $3,747 on a median value of $164,200); Madison County (67,572 residents, median tax $4,058 on a median value of $176,800). Same state, same broad tax framework — yet the median bills still differ, because assessed values and the mix of county, municipal and school-district rates are set locally.

How the tax is worked out

Think of the final bill as three ingredients: the assessed value of the property, the exemptions subtracted from it, and the combined rate of every district the property sits in. Cattaraugus County's medians imply a derived rate of 2.69%; applied illustratively, a $400,000 home would owe about $10,772 a year, or around $898 a month spread evenly. Individual properties depart from the illustration in both directions.

Illustrative bills in Cattaraugus County at the derived rate

The derived rate of 2.69% is only an estimate built from medians, but applying it to different home values gives a sense of scale for Cattaraugus County — and a quick way to compare with the state derived rate of 1.60% and the US figure of 0.98%:

Illustration only: real bills are computed from the assessed value, exemptions, and the combined rates of the property's actual taxing districts.

Checking your assessment in Cattaraugus County

If your bill looks wrong, work through these steps:

1. Get your property record card from the assessor and check the basics — living area, lot size, bedrooms, condition, and any exemptions you should have.
2. Compare your assessed value with recent sale prices of similar homes in Cattaraugus County.
3. Talk to the assessor's office informally first; clear errors are often fixed without a hearing.
4. If needed, file a formal appeal with the local review board before the deadline on your assessment notice, with your evidence attached.
5. Keep paying the bill as issued while the appeal runs, unless your notice says otherwise — unpaid taxes accrue penalties regardless of an appeal.

More New York counties

• Cayuga County, NY — $3,747
• Clinton County, NY — $3,461
• Sullivan County, NY — $5,082
• Chemung County, NY — $3,332
• Madison County, NY — $4,058
• Warren County, NY — $3,789

Frequently asked questions