Census-designated place Forest Home is a census-designated place in New York, in Tompkins County. A census-designated place is an unincorporated community that the Census Bureau defines for statistics; it has no city government of its own.
The median owner-occupied home in Forest Home had a real-estate tax bill of $10,001 a year, compared with $6,450 in New York and $2,969 nationwide. The median home value was $496,900 (± $244,165), compared with $403,000 in New York and $303,400 nationwide.
| Measure | Forest Home | New York | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 1,164 ± 337 | 19,872,319 | 332,387,540 |
| Median annual property tax bill (homeowners) | $10,001 | $6,450 ± $17 | $2,969 ± $3 |
| Median home value | $496,900 ± $244,165rough guide only: the margin of error is 49% of the estimate | $403,000 ± $1,347 | $303,400 ± $362 |
| Median household income | $59,107 ± $19,747rough guide only: the margin of error is 33% of the estimate | $84,578 ± $372 | $78,538 ± $176 |
| Property tax as a share of home value (calculated) | 2.01% | 1.60% ± 0.01 points | 0.98% ± under 0.01 points |
| Homes lived in by their owners | 35.5% ± 10.5 pointsrough guide only: the margin of error is 30% of the estimate | 54.3% ± 0.2 points | 65.0% ± 0.3 points |
| Owner households headed by someone 65 or older | Too imprecise to report (estimate 38.8%, margin of error ± 28.7 points) | 33.9% ± 0.1 points | 32.6% ± 0.2 points |
| Owners spending 30% or more of income on housing costs | Too imprecise to report (estimate 23.0%, margin of error ± 37.6 points) | 27.2% ± 0.2 points | 22.2% ± 0.1 points |
How to read these numbers
- These are estimates from a survey, not a count. The American Community Survey asks a sample of households. The ± figure is the Census Bureau’s margin of error: the true value is very likely within that range of the estimate. Small places have large margins.
- “Too imprecise to report” means the margin of error is at least half of the estimate, so printing the number would suggest accuracy that does not exist. A “rough guide only” note means the margin is a quarter to a half of the estimate.
- Property tax bill and home value are medians for owner-occupied homes. Half of the homes are above the figure and half below. A median bill is not the rate set by a city or town; the bill combines taxes levied by every local government that serves the home, such as the school district and county.
- “Calculated” rows are worked out by Untax the Roof from the Census figures above them. They compare two medians, so they describe the place, not a particular household.
- Missing is not zero. Where the Census Bureau publishes no figure, this page says so.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2019–2023: tables B25103 (real estate taxes), B25077 (home value), B19013 (household income), B01003 (population), B25003 (owners and renters), B25007 (age of householder), B25091 (housing costs as a share of income); see the Census ACS data page.
If property taxes go unpaid in New York
How it works. Local enforcing tax district uses RPTL Article 11 in-rem foreclosure, followed by sale/disposition of tax-foreclosed property; separate tax-lien-sale route may be used where authorized
Excess sale money. Post-Tyler Title 6 (RPTL 1195-1197) requires determination of surplus after sale of tax-foreclosed property and permits persons with prior right/title/interest/lien/equity of redemption to claim surplus. Public-sale price is used as value for surplus calculation under current law
These rules are set by New York, not by Forest Home, so this section is the same for every place in the state. Last verified 2026-09-25. See the full New York entry with statute links.