City · Tompkins County, New York

Ithaca, New York

Ithaca is a city in Tompkins County, New York, part of the Ithaca, NY metro area. It has 32,814 residents. Ithaca, New York has a quality-of-life score of 68 out of 100 (high), ranking #5,027 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within New York it ranks #534 of 859 cities and towns. It ranks best on public EV charging ports (high), students per teacher (low) and public transit commuters (high). It ranks worst on income inequality (Gini index) (high), dental care shortage (high) and poverty rate (high).

68High

Quality-of-life score: #5,027 of 15,651 cities and towns
New York: #534 of 859 in NY
Population: 32,814 (2020-2024)
Land area: 5 mi²
Density: 6,088.6 /mi²
FIPS code: 3638077

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 74 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety84#2,450/15,637
Economy12#13,795/15,631
Housing2#14,692/14,977
Health91#1,417/15,609
Healthcare52#7,573/15,650
Environment85#2,330/15,453
Education91#1,365/15,649
Infrastructure54#7,131/15,650
Community56#6,862/15,651
Leisure & amenities80#3,121/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Ithaca, New York ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Tompkins County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Public EV charging ports · high25.3 /10k
98/100New York 10.8 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyTompkins County value
Students per teacher · low10.1×
98/100New York 12.0×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsTompkins County value
Public transit commuters · high9.1%
97/100New York 21.6%United States 3.2%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08301
Bachelor's degree or higher · high67.7%
96/100New York 40.2%United States 35.7%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Preventable hospital stays · low1,615 /100k
95/100New York 2,733 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteTompkins County value
Hot days · low2 days
94/100New York 3 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationTompkins County value

Weaknesses

Income inequality (Gini index) · high0.538
1/100New York 0.517United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Dental care shortage · high20.0
1/100New York 3.7United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationTompkins County value
Poverty rate · high30.4%
2/100New York 14.0%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Effective property tax rate · high2.40%
2/100New York 1.30%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Child care cost burden · high44.3%
2/100New York 37.7%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteTompkins County value
Mental health care shortage · high19.0
4/100New York 4.8United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationTompkins County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationRising
30,569 (2015-2019) → 32,814 (2020-2024)
+7.3%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
New homes permittedWorsening
14.6 /1k (2021) → 5.3 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−64%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Poverty rateImproving
39.2% (2015-2019) → 30.4% (2020-2024)
−8.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Median household incomeImproving
$34,424 (2015-2019) → $48,784 (2020-2024)
+42%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Rent as share of incomeImproving
49.5% (2015-2019) → 41.3% (2020-2024)
−8.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
71.7% (2015-2019) → 65.0% (2020-2024)
−6.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Ithaca, New York improved on 5 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 8 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved5

Poverty−8.7 points39.2% → 30.4%
Rent / income−8.2 points49.5% → 41.3%
Inequality−0.0450.583 → 0.538
Household income+42%$34,424 → $48,784
Broadband+4.1 points83.9% → 88.0%

Declined2

Uninsured+1.8 points3.7% → 5.5%
Transit use−3.7 points12.8% → 9.1%

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Ithaca, New York between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	17.6 min2015-2019	18.7 min2020-2024	+1.0 min	Within the margin of error	36%
Bachelor's degree or higher	66.9%2015-2019	67.7%2020-2024	+0.7 points	Within the margin of error	32%
Broadband subscriptions	83.9%2015-2019	88.0%2020-2024	+4.1 points	Improved	26%
Child poverty rate	17.4%2015-2019	12.2%2020-2024	−5.2 points	Within the margin of error	69%
Effective property tax rate	2.29%2015-2019	2.40%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	6%
High school diploma or higher	94.8%2015-2019	94.5%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	30%
Home price to income ratio	6.9×2015-2019	7.0×2020-2024	+0.1×	Within the margin of error	75%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5832015-2019	0.5382020-2024	−0.045	Improved	82%
Median household income	$34,4242015-2019	$48,7842020-2024	+42%	Improved	76%
Poverty rate	39.2%2015-2019	30.4%2020-2024	−8.7 points	Improved	91%
Public transit commuters	12.8%2015-2019	9.1%2020-2024	−3.7 points	Declined	9%
Rent as share of income	49.5%2015-2019	41.3%2020-2024	−8.2 points	Improved	91%
Rent-burdened households	71.7%2015-2019	65.0%2020-2024	−6.8 points	Within the margin of error	76%
Unemployment rate	4.8%2015-2019	7.3%2020-2024	+2.6 points	Within the margin of error	12%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	3.7%2015-2019	5.5%2020-2024	+1.8 points	Declined	27%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Ithaca, New York five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Ithaca, New York in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Ithaca, New York itself moved −2.1 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

32,814 residents (±31)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79
60–69

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

14,167 households (±641)

Ithaca, New York
New York share

Under $25k26%3,727
$25k–50k25%3,570
$50k–75k12%1,693

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

14,167 households (±641)

Ithaca, New York
New York share

Own30%4,196
Rent70%9,971

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+3.8 points).

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

14,653 workers (±943)

Ithaca, New York
New York share

Drive alone30%4,380
Carpool6.6%†969
Public transit9.1%†

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Ithaca, NY

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Tompkins County, the county holding most of Ithaca's residents.

Tompkins County has 2,230 employer establishments, 213 for every 10,000 residents (0.86× the US rate of 248; 0.78× New York's), with 50,869 paid employees at an average annual pay of $51,629. The Census Bureau also counts 8,145 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 2,230; 8,145 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 213; US 248 · New York 274
Paid employees: 50,869
Average annual pay: $51,629; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Tompkins County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Restaurants and other eating places	192	18.4	1.00×About typical	3,000	$25,198	21
Ambulatory health care services	188	18	0.86×About typical	2,097	$78,237	548
Lessors of real estate	122	11.7	0.95×About typical	637	$50,024	795
Specialty trade contractors	99	9.5	0.61×Fewer than typical	634	$67,756	313
Full-service restaurants	90	8.6	1.12×About typical	1,586	$26,330	10
Offices of physicians	68	6.5	1.01×About typical	817	$111,984	97
Limited-service restaurants	64	6.1	0.76×Fewer than typical	869	$21,104	9
Religious organizations	62	5.9	1.07×About typical	357	$24,779	—
Construction of buildings	61	5.8	0.77×Fewer than typical	285	$54,481	170
Services to buildings and dwellings	61	5.8	0.87×About typical	310	$38,019	285
Offices of other health practitioners	57	5.5	0.90×About typical	259	$53,100	368
Schools, colleges and instruction	51	4.9	1.39×More than typical	22,515	$46,124	618

Rank places for an industry Open Tompkins County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 104,453 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $4.5M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Ithaca, New York: $136 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $4.5M; −1.9% vs FY2025
Per resident: $136; US $1,994
Sole-source: 61%; US 30%
Single offer: 16%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of the Navy$2.6M58%
Agricultural Research Service$656.6K15%
Forest Service$451.5K10%
Department of the Army$177.7K4.0%
Department of the Air Force$139.7K3.1%
Departmental Offices$99.5K2.2%
Department of Veterans Affairs$82.9K1.9%
National Aeronautics and Space Administration$71.6K1.6%

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

1.8MFY2017
2MFY2018
1.8MFY2019
1.7MFY2020
4.1MFY2021
3.8MFY2022
1.1MFY2023
3M

Top industries (NAICS)

Colleges, universities, and professional schools · 6113$2.5M56%
Scientific research and development services · 5417$564.7K13%
Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments manufacturing · 3345$518.4K12%
Building equipment contractors · 2382$177.5K4.0%
Communications equipment manufacturing · 3342$123.2K2.8%

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Ithaca, New York

SAFETY SHOWER/EYEWASH UPGRADE AT THE RWHC IN ITHACA, NY$1.6M
AVENTUS NV, INC.· Tompkins County, NY· Construction & real property· Aug 28, 2025 – Jun 3, 2026· 1232SA25C0027
DEEP OCEAN FIBER INTEGRATED GIGAHERTZ ULTRASONIC SOUND VELOCITY MAPPER - DEVELOP A LONG-TERM STABLE ACOUSTIC SOUND VELOCITY SENSOR$1.5M
GEEGAH LLC· Tompkins County, NY· Research & development· Sep 29, 2022 – May 11, 2026· HR001122C0160
RATIFICATION OF GOVERNMENT-AT-FAULT RETROACTIVE TUITION FOR FALL 2025 SEMESTER COSTS NROTC MIDSHIPMEN TUITION AND ALLOWABLE FEES$1.3M
CORNELL UNIVERSITY· Tompkins County, NY· Education & social services· Dec 2, 2025 – Dec 2, 2025· N3560A26FB016

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Ithaca, New York, so they do not add up across cities.

Ithaca, New York's figures are part of those of Tompkins County, NY ($16.5M in FY2026), never added to them: 27% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Ithaca is mostly in Tompkins County.

See federal money in Tompkins County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Ithaca, New York is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Josh RileyD-NY-19 · 100% of residentsWith party 89%Missed 1.8%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Tompkins County84100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Ithaca, NY92

Other cities and towns in Tompkins County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/3638077

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends