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Towns / New York

Liberty, New York

Liberty is a small town of about 5,100 people in Sullivan County, New York. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.8 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, New York, is about 89 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
5,097
up 1.6% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$181,900
Sullivan County prices up 28% since 2022
Household income
$64,913
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural New York
91.6
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
5 miles
Harris, NY
To New York
89 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 8.4% below the U.S. average in the parts of New York outside metro areas.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.8 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood42 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 8.1 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 20.1 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town3 public schools: 1 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byGarnet Health Medical Center Catskills in Harris, about 5 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityNew York is about 89 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Liberty meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$181,900U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 28%Sullivan County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$889 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$64,913U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
37%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$5,625 a yearNew York: $6,582
Homes built before 1940
34%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
4%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
10%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
91.6U.S. average = 100 (the parts of New York outside metro areas)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 28% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of New York outside metro areas, not Liberty alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
5,0972020: 5,018
Median age
34.2 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
16%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
31%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
16%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
1%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (29%); manufacturing (17%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (12%)
Unemployment rate
7%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
21 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
5%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
15%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Garnet Health Medical Center Catskills, Harris, NY, about 5 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 2 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

3 public schools in Liberty, run by Liberty Central School District.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on New York's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with any internet subscription
86%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
13°F
July average high
79°F
Days 90°F or hotter
4 a year
Nights at or below freezing
163 a year
Rain and melted snow
53.1 inches a year
Snow
70 inches a year
Elevation
1,502 feet

Weather station: Liberty 1 NE (less than a mile away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Garnet Health Medical Center Catskills, Scranton, New York.

Sullivan County is outside any metro area, with 5,000 to 20,000 people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 6, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

6 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Liberty Downtown Historic District and the Liberty Village Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River15 miles
  • Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area31 miles
  • Middle Delaware National Scenic River31 miles
  • Appalachian National Scenic Trail33 miles
  • Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site41 miles

Read about Liberty's history on Wikipedia.

Know Liberty?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Swan Lake, NY (unincorporated)161 people, 3 miles
  • Loch Sheldrake, NY (unincorporated)1,308 people, 5 miles
  • Hurleyville, NY (unincorporated)1,061 people, 5 miles
  • Livingston Manor, NY (unincorporated)727 people, 8 miles
  • Fallsburg, NY (unincorporated)1,865 people, 8 miles
  • Woodbourne, NY (unincorporated)439 people, 8 miles
  • Mongaup Valley, NY (unincorporated)235 people, 8 miles
  • South Fallsburg, NY (unincorporated)1,914 people, 9 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.