Region · Census Middle Atlantic division · Northeast
Middle Atlantic rental markets
New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. 3 states and 551 ranked cities, summarized by the median Overall across those cities.
The honest read
Middle Atlantic ranks #8 of 9 U.S. regions for rental investing, with a median Overall of 39.4/100 across its ranked cities, below the national median. 3 states make up this division. Its strongest factor is rent growth: 4.4%, 3rd of 9, backed by home-value growth (3rd).
The biggest drag is population growth: 0.1%, 9th of 9. A region grade is the median of its ranked cities, a screen for where to look, not underwriting. Open any city below for its full shown-math breakdown, or run a specific deal through the cap rate and cash-flow calculators.
Where it ranks, factor by factor
Every value is the median across the 551 ranked cities in this region. The national rank compares all 9 regions on that one factor; the engine already flips inverted factors (affordability, low unemployment) so a better rank always means a better market. Each factor sits in one of the model’s three categories (Cash Flow, Growth, or Stability); this is a representative summary, and the full thirteen-factor breakdown is on each city’s page. Full methodology.
| Factor | Category | Region value | National rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross rent yield | Cash Flow | 6.3% | #5 of 9 |
| Rent growth | Growth | 4.4% | #3 of 9 |
| Home value growth | Growth | 4.6% | #3 of 9 |
| Population growth | Growth | 0.1% | #9 of 9 |
| Job growth | Growth | 0.4% | #7 of 9 |
| Price-to-income | Cash Flow | 7.4× | #8 of 9 |
| Unemployment | Stability | 4.9% | #8 of 9 |
| Rental demand | Stability | 56% renters · 4.2% vacancy | two-part measure |
| Income growth | Growth | 5.2% | #5 of 9 |
States in the Middle Atlantic division
Ordered by median Overall across each state's ranked cities. A public rank appears only for states that clear the 20-city and 10-county coverage threshold.
| Div rank | State | Overall score | Grade | Gross yield | Home-value growth | Price-to-income | Ranked cities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #25 | Pennsylvania | 44.6 | C | 7.7% | 4.9% | 4.1× | 194 |
| #35 | New York | 37.7 | D | 6.1% | 4.1% | 8.9× | 167 |
| #36 | New Jersey | 35.4 | F | 5.5% | 5.9% | 6.6× | 190 |
Top 25 cities in the Middle Atlantic division
The 25 highest-ranked of its 551 ranked cities, in national order. Every city links to its full shown-math breakdown; all 551 are in the market explorer.
| Div rank | City | Grade | Cash Flow | Growth | Stability | Typical home value | Gross yield | National rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 med | West York PA | 72 | A | C | B | $123,600 ACS | 9.4% ACS | #104 |
| 2 med | Steelton PA | 69 | A | C | B | $134,800 ACS | 11.5% ACS | #168 |
| 3 | Bridgeport PA | 69 | B | B | B | $352,210 | 7.4% | #169 |
| 4 med | Sharon Hill PA | 67 | A | C | B | $195,885 | 10.7% ACS | #276 |
| 5 med | Nanticoke PA | 65 | A | C | B | $171,746 | 8.8% ACS | #347 |
| 6 med | Wilson PA | 64 | A | C | B | $210,700 ACS | 7.8% ACS | #381 |
| 7 med | Great Neck Plaza NY | 62 | B | C | B | $416,100 ACS | 7.1% ACS | #512 |
| 8 med | Lewistown PA | 62 | B | C | B | $173,253 | 9.7% ACS | #562 |
| 9 med | Palmyra NJ | 62 | B | C | C | $314,179 | 8.7% ACS | #576 |
| 10 | Conshohocken PA | 62 | B | C | B | $485,702 | 6.1% | #579 |
| 11 med | Folcroft PA | 61 | A | D | B | $217,723 | 9.3% ACS | #620 |
| 12 med | Waldwick NJ | 61 | C | B | B | $764,191 | 7.0% ACS | #643 |
| 13 med | Oswego NY | 60 | A | C | C | $120,600 ACS | 11.0% ACS | #687 |
| 14 med | Mount Joy PA | 60 | C | C | B | $266,500 ACS | 5.3% ACS | #698 |
| 15 med | Beachwood NJ | 60 | B | B | C | $471,777 | 7.9% ACS | #701 |
| 16 med | Manheim PA | 60 | C | C | B | $246,400 ACS | 5.6% ACS | #712 |
| 17 med | Ephrata PA | 60 | B | C | B | $224,400 ACS | 6.1% ACS | #715 |
| 18 | Olyphant PA | 60 | B | C | B | $250,966 | 7.7% | #748 |
| 19 med | Gloversville NY | 59 | A | C | C | $184,930 | 10.2% ACS | #839 |
| 20 med | Shippensburg PA | 59 | C | C | B | $177,700 ACS | 6.0% ACS | #849 |
| 21 med | Pine Hill NJ | 58 | C | C | C | $287,614 | 8.3% ACS | #861 |
| 22 med | Hatboro PA | 58 | C | B | B | $447,021 | 6.5% ACS | #867 |
| 23 med | Chester PA | 58 | A | C | D | $83,100 ACS | 15.8% ACS | #903 |
| 24 med | Gloucester City NJ | 58 | B | C | C | $243,469 | 9.3% ACS | #938 |
| 25 med | Taylor PA | 58 | B | D | B | $231,474 | 7.1% ACS | #939 |
Figures marked ACS come from the Census American Community Survey (5-year, 2020–2024), because Zillow publishes no index for that city: an ACS home value is the owner-reported median, and an ACS yield is the median gross rent over that median. 22 of the 25 cities shown carry one.
Data as of: Zillow ZHVI/ZORI through the latest monthly release · Census ACS 5-yr 2020–2024 · Census PEP July 2025 · BLS LAUS county 2025 annual (11-month average). Generated 2026-10-06. Methodology & limitations · underwrite any specific deal with the free calculators.