Scores by category

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

Safety90#1,563/15,637
Economy20#12,434/15,631
Housing33#10,088/14,977
Health54#7,206/15,609
Healthcare31#10,791/15,650
Environment59#6,320/15,453
Education64#5,682/15,649
Infrastructure27#11,492/15,650
Community66#5,245/15,651
Leisure & amenities50#7,828/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

New homes permitted · high25.6 /1k
97/100New York 2.4 /1kUnited States 4.2 /1kSep 2025–Aug 2026U.S. Census BureauProvisional data
Violent crime rate · low55 /100k
96/100New York 368 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationTioga County value
Property crime rate · low328 /100k
96/100New York 1,575 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationTioga County value
Drought exposure · low0%
95/100New York 15%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAATioga County value
Uninsured residents (under 65) · low2.0%
92/100New York 5.9%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010High uncertainty
Mental health care shortage · low0.0
91/100New York 4.8United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationTioga County value

Weaknesses

New business applications · low6.7 /1k
1/100New York 15.1 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauTioga County value
Income inequality (Gini index) · high0.555
2/100New York 0.517United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Effective property tax rate · high2.52%
2/100New York 1.30%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Child poverty rate · high64.9%
2/100New York 17.9%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Dentists · low17 /100k
3/100New York 84 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteTioga County value
Comfortable days · low22.6%
5/100New York 22.7%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationTioga County value

Trends

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

Child poverty rateWorsening
20.6% (2015-2019) → 64.9% (2020-2024)
+44 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
25.1% (2015-2019) → 38.2% (2020-2024)
+13 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
79.1% (2015-2019) → 90.2% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Poverty rateWorsening
20.1% (2015-2019) → 29.1% (2020-2024)
+9 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Median household incomeImproving
$45,568 (2015-2019) → $60,139 (2020-2024)
+32%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Rent as share of incomeImproving
36.9% (2015-2019) → 32.2% (2020-2024)
−4.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%

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, Owego, New York improved on 3 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 9 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.

Improved3

Bachelor's++13 points25.1% → 38.2%
Broadband+11 points79.1% → 90.2%
Transit use+1.5 points0.0% → 1.5%

Declined1

Child poverty+44 points20.6% → 64.9%

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Owego, New York between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	19.7 min2015-2019	19.5 min2020-2024	−0.2 min	Within the margin of error	50%
Bachelor's degree or higher	25.1%2015-2019	38.2%2020-2024	+13 points	Improved	95%
Broadband subscriptions	79.1%2015-2019	90.2%2020-2024	+11 points	Improved	65%
Child poverty rate	20.6%2015-2019	64.9%2020-2024	+44 points	Declined	1%
Effective property tax rate	3.26%2015-2019	2.52%2020-2024	−0.7 points	Within the margin of error	97%
High school diploma or higher	89.1%2015-2019	89.6%2020-2024	+0.6 points	Within the margin of error	40%
Home price to income ratio	2.1×2015-2019	2.4×2020-2024	+0.4×	Within the margin of error	57%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4772015-2019	0.5552020-2024	+0.077	Within the margin of error	8%
Median household income	$45,5682015-2019	$60,1392020-2024	+32%	Within the margin of error	60%
Poverty rate	20.1%2015-2019	29.1%2020-2024	+9 points	Within the margin of error	5%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	1.5%2020-2024	+1.5 points	Improved	99%
Rent as share of income	36.9%2015-2019	32.2%2020-2024	−4.7 points	Within the margin of error	81%
Rent-burdened households	58.6%2015-2019	57.1%2020-2024	−1.5 points	Within the margin of error	61%

“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 Owego, New York five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Owego, 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, Owego, New York itself moved +3.3 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

3,912 residents (±29)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†
50–59†
40–49†
30–39†
20–29†
10–19†
Under 10†

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: 10–19 women (+7.3 points).

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

3,912 residents (±29)

Owego, New York
New York share

White88%3,462
Black1.9%†73
Hispanic or Latino1.0%†39

Education

2,511 residents (±175)

Owego, New York
New York share

No high school diploma10%†260
High school or GED22%554
Some college15%†381

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

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

Household income

1,606 households (±140)

Owego, New York
New York share

Under $25k23%†370
$25k–50k20%†321
$50k–75k13%†211
$75k–100k14%†222
$100k–150k13%†213
$150k–200k8.7%†140
$200k or more8.0%†129

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: $150k–200k (+5.6 points).

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,606 households (±140)

Owego, New York
New York share

Own49%789
Rent51%817

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

772 households (±139)

Owego, New York
New York share

Under $75035%†272
$750–1,00026%†199
$1,000–1,50033%†251

Home values

789 homes (±111)

Owego, New York
New York share

Under $150k52%†408
$150k–250k34%†270
$250k–400k13%†104

Age of homes

1,872 homes (±155)

Owego, New York
New York share

2010 or later4.1%†77
2000–20090.9%†16
1980–19998.3%†156

Size of homes

1,872 homes (±155)

Owego, New York
New York share

Studio1.5%†29
1 bedroom22%421
2 bedrooms20%†382

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

1,567 workers (±222)

Owego, New York
New York share

Drive alone77%1,213
Carpool7.5%†117
Public transit1.5%23
Walk3.4%†54
Bike0.0%0
Work from home9.6%†151
Other0.6%†9

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Walk (−10.2 points).

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

1,416 workers (±213)

Owego, New York
New York share

Under 15 min45%635
15–29 min22%†315
30–44 min24%†339

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

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 Binghamton, 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 Tioga County, the county holding most of Owego's residents.

Tioga County has 743 employer establishments, 156 for every 10,000 residents (0.63× the US rate of 248; 0.57× New York's), with 10,467 paid employees at an average annual pay of $64,782. The Census Bureau also counts 3,023 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 743; 3,023 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 156; US 248 · New York 274
Paid employees: 10,467
Average annual pay: $64,782; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	62	13	0.71×Fewer than typical	705	$20,911	10
Specialty trade contractors	54	11.3	0.73×Fewer than typical	187	$85,508	232
Ambulatory health care services	50	10.5	0.50×Fewer than typical	277	$58,534	127
Religious organizations	38	8	1.44×More than typical	139	$19,935	—
Full-service restaurants	33	6.9	0.90×About typical	320	$23,138	—
Construction of buildings	25	5.3	0.69×Fewer than typical	111	$51,126	124
Services to buildings and dwellings	22	4.6	0.69×Fewer than typical	46	$38,500	146
Offices of physicians	21	4.4	0.68×Fewer than typical	101	$76,594	11
Limited-service restaurants	20	4.2	0.52×Fewer than typical	373	$18,678	8
Automotive repair and maintenance	19	4	0.79×Fewer than typical	48	$39,563	54
Gasoline stations	18	3.8	1.17×About typical	187	$23,086	—
Banks and credit unions	17	3.6	1.11×About typical	131	$59,672	—

Rank places for an industry Open Tioga County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 47,606 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 $16.4M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Owego, New York: $4,196 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $16.4M; −32% vs FY2025
Per resident: $4,196; US $1,994
Sole-source: 97%; US 30%
Single offer: 1.5%; 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$13.8M84%
Defense Logistics Agency$1.5M9.0%
Defense Contract Management Agency$557.7K3.4%
Defense Microelectronics Activity$486.9K3.0%
Department of the Air Force$154.5K0.9%

Top recipients

LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATION$16.5M100%
LOCKHEED MARTIN CORP-$2,2750.0%
SIKORSKY AIRCRAFT CORPORATION-$13.8K0.0%
DMAERO, LLC-$51.2K0.0%

Spending by fiscal year

13.7MFY2017
9MFY2018
18.5MFY2019
51.6MFY2020
47MFY2021
38.9MFY2022
23.2MFY2023
47.6M

Top industries (NAICS)

Aerospace product and parts manufacturing · 3364$12.8M78%
Support activities for air transportation · 4881$1.6M9.7%
Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments manufacturing · 3345$1.3M7.9%
Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$473.5K2.9%
Computer systems design and related services · 5415$132.8K0.8%
Scientific research and development services · 5417

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 Owego, New York, so they do not add up across cities.

Owego, New York's figures are part of those of Tioga County, NY ($584.2M in FY2026), never added to them: 2.8% of that total.

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

See federal money in Tioga 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.

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

House

Nicholas A. LangworthyR-NY-23 · 100% of residentsWith party 98%Missed 1.6%

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.

Tioga County75100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Binghamton, NY77

Other cities and towns in Tioga 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/3655882

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends