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Munsons Corners, New York

Munsons Corners is an unincorporated community of about 2,700 people in Cortland County, New York. It has no city government of its own: local services come from the county, or in some states from the town or township. A typical home costs about 2.4 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, Rochester, is about 83 miles away as the crow flies.

College town

Population
2,662
Census survey, 2020-24
Typical home, 2020-24
$135,700
Cortland County prices up 21% since 2022
Household income
$56,069
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural New York
91.6
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
3 miles
Cortland, NY
To Rochester
83 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 2.4 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI doesn't publish crime figures for unincorporated communities. Call the county sheriff's office (or the town or township police, where there is one) and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town1 public school. No public high school in town: the nearest is Cortland High School, about 2 miles away.
  • A hospital close byGuthrie Cortland Regional Medical Center in Cortland, about 3 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityRochester is about 83 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 Munsons Corners 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.

What kind of town

College town. About 1 in 4 residents is a college student, with State University of New York at Cortland in town. Concerts, sports and good food all year, and a big employer that rarely closes. Expect higher home prices close to campus.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$135,700U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 21%Cortland County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$959 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$56,069U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
56%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$4,377 a yearNew York: $6,582
Homes built before 1940
11%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
0%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
2%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 21% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of New York outside metro areas, not Munsons Corners 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, 2020-2024 Census survey
2,662The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age
38.2 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
15%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
17%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
36%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
11%U.S.: 6%
College students
27%share of all residents

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 (40%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (16%); retail (14%)
Unemployment rate
6%U.S.: 5%
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: Guthrie Cortland Regional Medical Center, Cortland, NY, about 3 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 3 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

1 public school in Munsons Corners, run by Cortland City School District. The nearest public high school is Cortland High School, about 2 miles away.

Colleges in or next to town: State University of New York at Cortland (5,000 to 9,999 students).

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 cable, fiber or DSL internet
71%U.S.: 76%

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
12°F
July average high
79°F
Days 90°F or hotter
3 a year
Nights at or below freezing
156 a year
Rain and melted snow
39.5 inches a year
Snow
64 inches a year
Elevation
1,525 feet

Weather station: Freeville 1 NE (8 miles 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: Guthrie Cortland Regional Medical Center, Syracuse, Rochester.

Cortland County is outside any metro area, with 20,000 or more people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 4, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Harriet Tubman National Historical Park29 miles
  • Women's Rights National Historical Park40 miles
  • Fort Stanwix National Monument58 miles

Campus life. Check State University of New York at Cortland's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Munsons Corners's history on Wikipedia.

Know Munsons Corners?

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

  • Cortland West, NY (unincorporated)1,020 people, 2 miles
  • Blodgett Mills, NY (unincorporated)212 people, 4 miles
  • Virgil, NY (unincorporated)220 people, 4 miles
  • McLean, NY (unincorporated)410 people, 5 miles
  • McGraw, NY970 people, 5 miles
  • Freeville, NY443 people, 9 miles
  • Marathon, NY874 people, 12 miles
  • Slaterville Springs, NY (unincorporated)130 people, 14 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.