These Are The 10 Best Counties To Live In New York For 2018

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:

1. Saratoga County (Photos)
2. Putnam County (Photos)
3. Nassau County (Photos)
4. Warren County (Photos)
5. Ontario County (Photos)
6. Tompkins County (Photos)
7. Columbia County (Photos)
8. Cortland County (Photos)
9. Albany County (Photos)
10. 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:

1. Fulton County
2. Bronx County
3. 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	Population	Median Income	Median Home Price
Saratoga County	1	224,929	$74,080	$238,600
Putnam County	2	99,408	$97,606	$354,800
Nassau County	3	1,356,801	$102,044	$451,700
Warren County	4	64,911	$57,174	$191,500
Ontario County	5	109,450	$58,070	$148,400
Tompkins County	6	104,268	$54,133	$182,600
Columbia County	7	61,860	$59,916	$222,300
Cortland County	8	48,713	$50,910	$111,400
Albany County	9	307,891	$60,904	$211,100
Rensselaer County	10	159,959	$61,754	$180,700
Madison County	11	72,089	$55,858	$128,000
Dutchess County	12	295,905	$72,706	$274,300
Westchester County	13	969,229	$86,226	$507,300
Genesee County	14	59,053	$52,641	$108,700
Ulster County	15	180,505	$60,393	$219,800
Orange County	16	376,242	$71,910	$258,700
Schenectady County	17	154,845	$59,959	$165,000
Onondaga County	18	468,050	$55,717	$137,000
Herkimer County	19	63,558	$48,893	$97,300
Erie County	20	922,129	$52,744	$134,600
Cayuga County	21	78,783	$53,114	$117,800
Monroe County	22	749,236	$53,568	$140,200
Steuben County	23	98,151	$48,823	$94,300
Chemung County	24	87,742	$49,578	$101,800
Montgomery County	25	49,667	$44,455	$99,100
Chenango County	26	49,286	$46,979	$93,400
Niagara County	27	213,374	$50,094	$111,500
Cattaraugus County	28	78,506	$43,884	$85,100
Oneida County	29	232,858	$49,838	$117,600
St. Lawrence County	30	111,529	$46,313	$87,400
Broome County	31	197,381	$47,744	$112,300
Chautauqua County	32	131,748	$43,211	$85,500
Jefferson County	33	117,966	$49,911	$144,400
Bronx County	34	1,436,785	$35,302	$363,600
Fulton County	35	54,297	$46,090	$108,300