Census-designated place · Cayuga County, New York

Melrose Park, New York

Melrose Park is a census-designated place in Cayuga County, New York, part of the Auburn, NY metro area. It has 1,960 residents. Melrose Park, New York has a quality-of-life score of 76 out of 100 (high), ranking #3,824 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within New York it ranks #433 of 859 cities and towns. It ranks best on uninsured residents (under 65) (low), poor or fair health (low) and unemployment rate (low). It ranks worst on new business applications (low), average commute time (high) and comfortable days (low).

76High

Quality-of-life score: #3,824 of 15,651 cities and towns
New York: #433 of 859 in NY
Population: 1,960 (2020-2024)
Land area: 4 mi²
Density: 525.3 /mi²
FIPS code: 3646503

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 71 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.

Safety95#858/15,637
Economy76#3,717/15,631
Housing33#9,967/14,977
Health81#2,972/15,609
Healthcare44#8,815/15,650
Environment72#4,399/15,453
Education76#3,749/15,649
Infrastructure74#4,044/15,650
Community55#7,003/15,651
Leisure & amenities33#10,437/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Melrose Park, New York ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Cayuga 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

Uninsured residents (under 65) · low0.0%
100/100New York 5.9%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010
Poor or fair health · low11.4%
94/100New York 16.8%United States 19.9%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Unemployment rate · low0.7%
94/100New York 4.3%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025High uncertainty
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100New York 2.7 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataCayuga County value
Lack of reliable transportation · low5.0%
94/100New York 9.1%United States 8.3%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Food insecurity · low7.6%
93/100New York 18.0%United States 15.6%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate

Weaknesses

New business applications · low6.3 /1k
1/100New York 15.1 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauCayuga County value
Average commute time · high25.9 min
4/100New York 32.6 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Comfortable days · low22.4%
4/100New York 22.7%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationCayuga County value
Effective property tax rate · high2.03%
7/100New York 1.30%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Preventable hospital stays · high4,035 /100k
8/100New York 2,733 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCayuga County value
Hospital quality rating · low2.0
9/100New York 2.8United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesCayuga County value

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
2,425 (2015-2019) → 1,960 (2020-2024)
−19%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
0.0% (2015-2019) → 17.9% (2020-2024)
+18 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
16.4% (2015-2019) → 0.0% (2020-2024)
−16 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
42.1% (2015-2019) → 50.8% (2020-2024)
+8.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
90.5% (2015-2019) → 97.0% (2020-2024)
+6.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
High school diploma or higherImproving
92.7% (2015-2019) → 98.8% (2020-2024)
+6.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%

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, Melrose Park, New York improved on 0 of 9 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 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.

Improved0

No measure improved by more than its margin of error.

Declined1

Price / income+0.4×1.7× → 2.2×

All 9 measures

Change of every measure of Melrose Park, New York between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	20.0 min2015-2019	25.9 min2020-2024	+5.9 min	Within the margin of error	7%
Bachelor's degree or higher	42.1%2015-2019	50.8%2020-2024	+8.7 points	Within the margin of error	86%
Broadband subscriptions	90.5%2015-2019	97.0%2020-2024	+6.5 points	Within the margin of error	41%
Effective property tax rate	2.64%2015-2019	2.03%2020-2024	−0.6 points	Within the margin of error	95%
High school diploma or higher	92.7%2015-2019	98.8%2020-2024	+6.1 points	Within the margin of error	86%
Home price to income ratio	1.7×2015-2019	2.2×2020-2024	+0.4×	Declined	51%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4032015-2019	0.3342020-2024	−0.070	Within the margin of error	90%
Median household income	$97,6562015-2019	$103,7232020-2024	+6.2%	Within the margin of error	13%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%

“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 Melrose Park, New York five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Melrose Park, 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, Melrose Park, New York itself moved +3.2 points in standing on average over the same 8 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

1,960 residents (±248)

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

893 households (±103)

Melrose Park, New York
New York share

Under $25k4.9%†44
$25k–50k8.6%†77
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

893 households (±103)

Melrose Park, New York
New York share

Own94%837
Rent6.3%†56

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

987 workers (±181)

Melrose Park, New York
New York share

Drive alone80%786
Carpool7.1%†70
Public transit0.0%0

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 Auburn, 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 Cayuga County, the county holding most of Melrose Park's residents.

Cayuga County has 1,509 employer establishments, 202 for every 10,000 residents (0.82× the US rate of 248; 0.74× New York's), with 17,820 paid employees at an average annual pay of $48,413. The Census Bureau also counts 4,693 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,509; 4,693 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 202; US 248 · New York 274
Paid employees: 17,820
Average annual pay: $48,413; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	144	19.3	1.25×About typical	687	$68,728	377
Restaurants and other eating places	125	16.8	0.91×About typical	1,574	$21,543	18
Ambulatory health care services	103	13.8	0.66×Fewer than typical	945	$75,737	204
Construction of buildings	68	9.1	1.21×About typical	151	$46,530	157
Automotive repair and maintenance	54	7.2	1.44×More than typical	266	$44,207	76
Full-service restaurants	53	7.1	0.93×About typical	771	$22,038	5
Limited-service restaurants	51	6.8	0.85×About typical	611	$20,295	8
Building equipment contractors	45	6	1.00×About typical	265	$60,834	51
Services to buildings and dwellings	42	5.6	0.84×About typical	115	$47,270	274
Foundation, structure and building exterior contractors	40	5.4	1.70×More than typical	192	$76,589	64
Truck transportation	40	5.4	1.06×About typical	437	$67,307	92
Religious organizations	36	4.8	0.87×About typical	113	$22,841	—

Rank places for an industry Open Cayuga County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 74,563 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 $115.1K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Melrose Park, New York: $58.72 per resident (US $1,995).

Obligations: $115.1K; +1% vs FY2025
Per resident: $58.72; US $1,995
Sole-source: 19%; US 30%
Single offer: 15%; 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 Veterans Affairs$55K48%
Federal Acquisition Service$38K33%
Defense Logistics Agency$17K15%
Environmental Protection Agency$4,4603.9%
Department of the Navy$6000.5%

Top recipients

STG INTERNATIONAL, INC.$52K45%
AMERICAN PACKAGING I, INC.$38K33%
GENERAL MARINE PRODUCTS, INC$16.8K15%
CDM FEDERAL PROGRAMS CORPORATION$4,4603.9%
CHAPEL HOUSE INC$2,9362.6%

Spending by fiscal year

167.6KFY2017
123.5KFY2018
204.4KFY2019
162.6KFY2020
191.9KFY2021
159.3KFY2022
236.8KFY2023
137.1K

Top industries (NAICS)

Outpatient care centers · 6214$52K45%
Other miscellaneous manufacturing · 3399$23.9K21%
Semiconductor and other electronic component manufacturing · 3344$14.2K12%
Converted paper product manufacturing · 3222$14.1K12%
Remediation and other waste management services · 5629$4,4603.9%
Community food and housing, and emergency and other relief services · 6242

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 6, 2026, loaded Oct 6, 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 Melrose Park, New York, so they do not add up across cities.

Melrose Park, New York's figures are part of those of Cayuga County, NY ($4M in FY2026), never added to them: 2.9% of that total.

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

See federal money in Cayuga 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.

Melrose Park, New York is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

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.

Cayuga County68100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Auburn, NY62

Other cities and towns in Cayuga 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
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/3646503

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends