Living in Utica, New York: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 7.3% below the U.S. average in the Utica-Rome metro area.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.9 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhood287 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 4.5 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 29.6 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town15 public schools: 12 elementary, 2 middle and 1 high school.
A hospital close byWynn Hospital is in town and has an emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityRochester is about 121 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 Utica 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: $151,300U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 23%Oneida County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $951 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $52,484U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 50%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $3,246 a yearNew York: $6,582
Homes built before 1940: 50%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 3%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 92.7U.S. average = 100 (the Utica-Rome 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 23% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Utica-Rome metro area, not Utica 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: 62,9782020: 65,154
Median age: 35.2 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 15%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 25%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 22%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 7%U.S.: 6%
College students: 7%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 (27%); retail (15%); manufacturing (10%)
Unemployment rate: 8%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 20 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 7%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 28%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Wynn Hospital, Utica, NY, in town. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 1 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

15 public schools in Utica, run by Utica City School District and Whitesboro Central School District.

Colleges in or next to town: Mohawk Valley Community College (5,000 to 9,999 students); Utica University (1,000 to 4,999 students); SUNY Polytechnic Institute (1,000 to 4,999 students); Saint Elizabeth College of Nursing (under 1,000 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: 73%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 87%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: 14°F
July average high: 80°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 5 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 140 a year
Rain and melted snow: 48 inches a year
Elevation: 492 feet

Weather stations: Utica Oneida Co Ap (9 miles away) and New Hartford 0.8 S (4 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

Syracuse, NYCity of 145,00046

Rochester, NYMetro of 1.1 million121

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: Syracuse, Rochester.

Oneida County is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

38 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Roscoe Conkling House, Utica State Hospital, the Bagg's Square East Historic District and the Downtown Genessee Street Historic District. Two are National Historic Landmarks, the country's highest honor for a historic place.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Fort Stanwix National Monument14 miles

Campus life. Check Utica University's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Utica's history on Wikipedia.

Know Utica?

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

Yorkville, NY2,600 people, 3 miles
New York Mills, NY3,200 people, 3 miles
New Hartford, NY1,800 people, 4 miles
Whitesboro, NY3,600 people, 4 miles
Oriskany, NY1,300 people, 7 miles
Clinton, NY1,600 people, 8 miles

Smaller places

Marcy, NY (unincorporated)697 people, 3 miles
Washington Mills, NY (unincorporated)2,112 people, 4 miles
Chadwicks, NY (unincorporated)791 people, 5 miles
Clark Mills, NY (unincorporated)1,591 people, 8 miles
Clayville, NY332 people, 8 miles
Stittville, NY (unincorporated)155 people, 9 miles
Hamilton College, NY (unincorporated)2,058 people, 10 miles
East Frankfort, NY (unincorporated)571 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.