Some of you might be asking yourself, at this very moment: is New York a good place?
The answer is unequivocally yes… if you know where to locate the best places to live in New York.
Lucky for you, we’re here to help you identify the best counties to live in the Empire State based on the most recently available data from the Census. And this isn’t our first rodeo — we’ve been helping people find the best places to live in America for years.
So, the question becomes, if you wanted to relocate to the best pat of New York, where would you go? To answer that we looked at crime, cost of living, and demographic data for all 35 counties in the state.
After the analytic dust settled, we identified the 10 best counties to live in Empire State for 2018:
- Saratoga County (Photos)
- Putnam County (Photos)
- Nassau County (Photos)
- Warren County (Photos)
- Ontario County (Photos)
- Tompkins County (Photos)
- Columbia County (Photos)
- Cortland County (Photos)
- Albany County (Photos)
- Rensselaer County (Photos)
Saratoga County is the county to be when it comes to living the good life in New York. And you might want to avoid Fulton County if you can — at least according to the data.
So if you’re thinking of making the move New York, we’ve got you covered. Keep on reading for a detailed methodology.
Or, check out the best places to live in New York and the best places to raise a family in New York.
How do you determine which New York county is the best?
To give you the best county in New York, we have to look at a handful of metrics that signal the quality of a place. To do that, we need to make some assumptions about what’s a ‘best county’ and what isn’t. And, for reference, we are trying to make the kind of argument you’d make at a bar using facts, don’t take this analysis to court.
With that in mind, we went to two of the best sources of data on the internet; the American Community Survey data and FBI Crime data for the most recent time period.
We paid particular attention to:
- Violent Crime Rates
- Property Crime Rates
- Median Home Values
- Median Income
- Unemployment Rates
- Adult Education Levels
- Health Insurance Coverage
- Poverty Rates
We then ranked each county in New York across each of the criteria from one to 35, with one being the best.
Taking the average rank across all criteria, we created a quality of life score with the county posting the lowest overall score being the ‘Best County To Live In New York’.
The result is some of the safest, quiet, and best counties to raise a family in the Empire State.
Read on to see why Saratoga County is the best county, while Fulton County is probably in contention for being the worst county in New York.
1. Saratoga County
Biggest Place: Saratoga Springs
Population: 224,929
Median Income: $74,080 (4th best)
Median Home Price: $238,600 (14th best)
Unemployment Rate: 5.4% (4th best)
More on Saratoga County: Photos | Data
2. Putnam County
Biggest Place: Lake Carmel
Population: 99,408
Median Income: $97,606 (2nd best)
Median Home Price: $354,800 (11th best)
Unemployment Rate: 6.2% (13th best)
More on Putnam County: Photos | Data
3. Nassau County
Biggest Place: Hempstead
Population: 1,356,801
Median Income: $102,044 (1st best)
Median Home Price: $451,700 (9th best)
Unemployment Rate: 5.8% (9th best)
More on Nassau County: Photos | Data
4. Warren County
Biggest Place: Glens Falls
Population: 64,911
Median Income: $57,174 (13th best)
Median Home Price: $191,500 (18th best)
Unemployment Rate: 6.0% (11th best)
More on Warren County: Photos | Data
5. Ontario County
Biggest Place: Geneva
Population: 109,450
Median Income: $58,070 (12th best)
Median Home Price: $148,400 (22nd best)
Unemployment Rate: 5.5% (6th best)
More on Ontario County: Photos | Data
6. Tompkins County
Biggest Place: Ithaca
Population: 104,268
Median Income: $54,133 (16th best)
Median Home Price: $182,600 (19th best)
Unemployment Rate: 5.4% (4th best)
More on Tompkins County: Photos | Data
7. Columbia County
Biggest Place: Hudson
Population: 61,860
Median Income: $59,916 (11th best)
Median Home Price: $222,300 (15th best)
Unemployment Rate: 5.5% (6th best)
More on Columbia County: Photos | Data
8. Cortland County
Biggest Place: Cortland
Population: 48,713
Median Income: $50,910 (21st best)
Median Home Price: $111,400 (32nd best)
Unemployment Rate: 5.2% (2nd best)
More on Cortland County: Photos | Data
9. Albany County
Biggest Place: Albany
Population: 307,891
Median Income: $60,904 (8th best)
Median Home Price: $211,100 (17th best)
Unemployment Rate: 5.8% (9th best)
More on Albany County: Photos | Data
10. Rensselaer County
Biggest Place: Troy
Population: 159,959
Median Income: $61,754 (7th best)
Median Home Price: $180,700 (20th best)
Unemployment Rate: 6.8% (15th best)
More on Rensselaer County: Photos | Data
There You Have It – The Best Counties In New York To Call Home For 2018
It turns out living in New York can vary from one part of the state to the next — who woulda thought?
But now you the know the really good parts and the parts to avoid and that’s why you came here to learn at the end of the day. And for that, you are welcome.
Here’s a look at the worst counties in New York according to the data:
- Fulton County
- Bronx County
- Jefferson County
For more New York reading, check out:
- 10 Best Cities For Singles In New York
- 10 Worst Places To Live In New York State
- These Are The 10 Fastest Growing Cities In New York
- 10 Most Diverse Cities In New York
Detailed List Of The Best Counties In New York
County | Rank |
---|---|
Saratoga County | 1 |
Putnam County | 2 |
Nassau County | 3 |
Warren County | 4 |
Ontario County | 5 |
Tompkins County | 6 |
Columbia County | 7 |
Cortland County | 8 |
Albany County | 9 |
Rensselaer County | 10 |
Madison County | 11 |
Dutchess County | 12 |
Westchester County | 13 |
Genesee County | 14 |
Ulster County | 15 |
Orange County | 16 |
Schenectady County | 17 |
Onondaga County | 18 |
Herkimer County | 19 |
Erie County | 20 |
Cayuga County | 21 |
Monroe County | 22 |
Steuben County | 23 |
Chemung County | 24 |
Montgomery County | 25 |
Chenango County | 26 |
Niagara County | 27 |
Cattaraugus County | 28 |
Oneida County | 29 |
St. Lawrence County | 30 |
Broome County | 31 |
Chautauqua County | 32 |
Jefferson County | 33 |
Bronx County | 34 |
Fulton County | 35 |