Living in Sackets Harbor, New York: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 12.3% below the U.S. average in the Watertown-Fort Drum metro area.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhood0 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 0 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town1 public school: 1 K-12 and 1 other.
A hospital close bySamaritan Medical Center in Watertown, about 10 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityRochester is about 92 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 Sackets Harbor 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: $234,900U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 14%Jefferson County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $1,343 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $77,043U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 41%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $4,111 a yearNew York: $6,582
Homes built before 1940: 37%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 11%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 11%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 87.7U.S. average = 100 (the Watertown-Fort Drum metro area)

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 14% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Watertown-Fort Drum metro area, not Sackets Harbor 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: 1,3372020: 1,374
Median age: 37.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 22%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 17%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 44%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 14%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 (35%); retail (13%)
Unemployment rate: 1%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 29 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 7%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 14%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Samaritan Medical Center, Watertown, NY, about 10 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

1 public school in Sackets Harbor, run by Sackets Harbor 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.

Weather

January average low: 10°F
July average high: 79°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 2 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 151 a year
Rain and melted snow: 44.4 inches a year
Snow: 116 inches a year
Elevation: 290 feet

Weather stations: Watertown Intl Ap (6 miles away) and Watertown (12 miles away, rain and snow). 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

Samaritan Medical CenterEmergency room10

Syracuse, NYCity of 145,00062

Rochester, NYMetro of 1.1 million92

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: Samaritan Medical Center, Syracuse, Rochester.

Jefferson County is in a metro area of fewer than 250,000 people (USDA rural-urban code 3, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

5 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including Madison Barracks and the Sackets Harbor Village Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Fort Stanwix National Monument60 miles

Read about Sackets Harbor's history on Wikipedia.

Know Sackets Harbor?

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

Adams, NY1,600 people, 10 miles
Watertown, NY24,000 people, 10 miles
Calcium, NY2,900 people, 15 miles
Black River, NY1,200 people, 16 miles
Clayton, NY1,700 people, 21 miles
West Carthage, NY1,700 people, 25 miles

Smaller places

Dexter, NY989 people, 6 miles
Henderson, NY (unincorporated)207 people, 7 miles
Adams Center, NY (unincorporated)1,075 people, 8 miles
Brownville, NY911 people, 8 miles
Glen Park, NY436 people, 9 miles
Chaumont, NY581 people, 9 miles
Belleville, NY (unincorporated)220 people, 10 miles
Rodman, NY (unincorporated)220 people, 10 miles

Sources

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.