Buffalo / Bethlehem
Bethlehem has 35,139 residents (give or take 30) (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B01003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B01003?g=060XX00US3600106354, checked 2026-10-19), about 717 people per square mile.
Bethlehem is about 256 miles from the Census center point for Buffalo in a straight line and covers 49.031 square miles of land (Census 2024 Gazetteer internal points and land area, https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2024_Gazetteer/, checked 2026-10-19).
The quote form takes a ZIP code; for Bethlehem that is 12054, 12077, 12158, 12159, 12161 (Census 2020 ZCTA to county subdivision and ZCTA to place relationship files, ZIP areas at least 20% inside the town, https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/rel2020/zcta520/tab20_zcta520_cousub20_natl.txt and https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/rel2020/zcta520/tab20_zcta520_place20_natl.txt, checked 2026-10-19).
Of the 14,722 occupied homes in Bethlehem, 70% heat with natural gas, 8% with heating oil, 16% with electricity and 4% with propane (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=060XX00US3600106354, checked 2026-10-19).
Gas heats 70% of Bethlehem against electricity at 16%, so most quotes here are a partial-home system that carries the shoulder seasons and the summer while the gas furnace handles the coldest nights, or a whole-home system when the house is ready for it.
Bethlehem has about the Albany County oil share of 6% and 7 points less electric heat than the county's 23% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=050XX00US36001, checked 2026-10-19).
Bethlehem has 15,258 housing units, 14% built before 1940 and 56% before 1980, with 20% built in 2000 or later (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=060XX00US3600106354, checked 2026-10-19).
Bethlehem has 13 points fewer pre-1940 homes than Albany County as a whole (27%) and 6 points more homes built after 2000 than the county's 14% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=050XX00US36001, checked 2026-10-19).
The median Bethlehem home was built in 1975 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25035, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25035?g=060XX00US3600106354, checked 2026-10-19) and the median home has 6.6 rooms (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25018, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25018?g=060XX00US3600106354, checked 2026-10-19).
70% of Bethlehem homes are single-family detached, 12% are in two- to four-unit buildings and 12% are in buildings of five or more units (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25024, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25024?g=060XX00US3600106354, checked 2026-10-19).
With 70% detached houses and 12% in small multi-family buildings, a Bethlehem quote is usually one or two outdoor units with ducted or ductless heads sized room by room. With 27% of Bethlehem homes rented (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25003?g=060XX00US3600106354, checked 2026-10-19), the landlord signs the quote in many of them.
Bethlehem has 20 points more detached houses than Albany County overall (50%) (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25024, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25024?g=050XX00US36001, checked 2026-10-19).
No electric utility is on file for Bethlehem on this door yet, so this page does not name one; the name on the bill decides which rebate path applies.
NYS Clean Heat (Con Edison), run by Con Edison, is a live program for New York addresses and lists a standard figure of $7,000 (registry row 5 verified 2026-10-16, https://www.coned.com/en/save-money/rebates-incentives-tax-credits/rebates-incentives-tax-credits-for-residential-customers/electric-heating-and-cooling-technology-for-renters-homeowners/save-on-a-central-air-source-heat-pump, checked 2026-10-16); confirm eligibility for the Bethlehem address before counting it. With 16% of Bethlehem homes already on electric heat and 82% on gas, oil or propane, the row that applies depends on the name on the electric bill and the fuel coming out.
Median household income in Bethlehem is $123,893 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B19013, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B19013?g=060XX00US3600106354, checked 2026-10-19); many state and utility heat pump rebate programs set higher incentive tiers for income-qualifying households, so the household income on the application, not the town median, decides which level applies.
Heating design temperature: -3F. Source: ENERGY STAR Design Temperature Limit Reference Guide (2019 Edition), Albany County row, 99% heating, PDF pages 84 to 86 of 141 (Revised 11/11/2020), https://www.energystar.gov/sites/default/files/Design%20Temperature%20Limit%20Reference%20Guide%20(2019%20Ed)%20-%20ENERGY%20STAR%20Single-Family%20New%20Homes_Rev11.pdf, fetched 2026-10-19, 99%.
That -3F figure is the Albany County cold-day number a Bethlehem heat pump is sized against, so ask the installer to show the system's heating output at -3F, not at the milder rating-label temperature.
Ask whether the quote is whole-home or partial-home, because with 70% of Bethlehem on gas and 16% already electric the two paths carry different rebate figures and different sizing.
Ask for the heat-loss calculation room by room; the median Bethlehem home has 6.6 rooms and was built around 1975, and the count of heads and the tonnage follow the rooms and the insulation, not the square footage.
The form on this page is the follow-up for Bethlehem. The public number is the number the contractor quotes from.
No local contractor is named on this door for Bethlehem yet. A request from this page goes to the first licensed shop that takes the door.