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Towns / New York

Waterville, New York

Waterville is a small town of about 1,500 people in Oneida County, New York. It has lost about 3% of its people since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.1 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 114 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
1,491
down 3.4% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$170,100
Oneida County prices up 23% since 2022
Household income
$82,273
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Utica area
92.7
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
12 miles
Hamilton, NY
To Rochester
114 mi
straight line

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 2.1 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Waterville itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byCommunity Memorial Hospital, INC in Hamilton, about 12 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityRochester is about 114 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 Waterville 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
$170,100U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 23%Oneida County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$820 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$82,273U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
54%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$3,425 a yearNew York: $6,582
Homes built before 1940
64%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
1%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 Waterville 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
1,4912020: 1,544
Median age
44.9 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
22%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
19%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
25%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
4%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 (34%); construction (13%); retail (12%)
Unemployment rate
1%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
22 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
15%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
8%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Community Memorial Hospital, INC, Hamilton, NY, about 12 miles away. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Nearest general hospital: Wynn Hospital, Utica, NY, about 13 miles away. 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

2 public schools in Waterville, run by Waterville 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
12°F
July average high
80°F
Days 90°F or hotter
7 a year
Nights at or below freezing
158 a year
Rain and melted snow
42.1 inches a year
Snow
77 inches a year
Elevation
1,208 feet

Weather station: Sherburne (19 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: Community Memorial Hospital, Utica, 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

2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Waterville Triangle Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Fort Stanwix National Monument20 miles
  • Harriet Tubman National Historical Park60 miles

Read about Waterville's history on Wikipedia.

Know Waterville?

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

  • Oriskany Falls, NY633 people, 4 miles
  • Madison, NY313 people, 7 miles
  • Clayville, NY332 people, 7 miles
  • Bridgewater, NY (unincorporated)543 people, 7 miles
  • Hamilton College, NY (unincorporated)2,058 people, 9 miles
  • Chadwicks, NY (unincorporated)791 people, 9 miles
  • Unadilla Forks, NY (unincorporated)190 people, 9 miles
  • Washington Mills, NY (unincorporated)2,112 people, 10 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.