Living in Ithaca, NY
Tompkins County
Ithaca is a genuine, one-of-a-kind Finger Lakes college town, defined substantially by Cornell University -- a real, major Ivy League research university that is by a wide margin Tompkins County's largest employer (11,285 direct jobs, more than the county's next nine largest employers combined) -- alongside a real, separate second higher-ed anchor, Ithaca College. Combined, the two institutions enroll more students than Ithaca's own year-round resident population, a genuine, honestly disclosed seasonal population swing between the academic year and school breaks. 'Ithaca is Gorges' is a real, genuine, widely used city slogan, precisely earned: the Ithaca area holds more than 150 glacier-carved waterfalls within roughly 10 miles, several within the city itself (Ithaca Falls, the Cascadilla Gorge Trail linking downtown to Cornell's campus), with the region's tallest, Taughannock Falls (215 feet, genuinely taller than Niagara Falls' own drop), a short distance north in the Town of Ulysses. Ithaca sits at the southern tip of Cayuga Lake, anchoring a real, internationally recognized Finger Lakes wine-country identity. Housing runs genuinely more affordable than New York's own statewide average (itself skewed upward by the NYC metro), though Tompkins County's own effective property-tax rate runs meaningfully above the national median, and New York's real, graduated state income tax (3.9%-10.9% for 2026) applies fully -- though this record verifies directly that Ithaca itself levies no separate local income tax, unlike New York City and Yonkers. Crime runs genuinely two-sided: an overall index above the national average, driven substantially by elevated property crime, even as violent crime runs meaningfully below the national average -- both trending in a real, improving direction year-over-year.
Explore Ithaca in depth
- Moving to Ithaca: Pros, Cons & What to Know
- Cost of Living in Ithaca
- Housing Market in Ithaca
- Buying a Home in Ithaca
- Renting in Ithaca
- Taxes in Ithaca
- Homeowners Insurance & Natural Hazard Costs in Ithaca
- Climate & Weather in Ithaca
- Jobs & Economy in Ithaca
- Schools in Ithaca
- Crime & Safety in Ithaca
- Healthcare in Ithaca
- Traffic & Transportation in Ithaca
- Best Areas to Live in Ithaca
- Pros and Cons of Living in Ithaca
- Retiring in Ithaca
- Who Should / Shouldn’t Move to Ithaca
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Learn moreHousing
Taxes
Not independently sourced at the Tompkins County level this session. New York's top state income tax rate is 10.90%. See the New York hub page for the statewide property tax context -- do not treat that figure as Ithaca-specific.
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Get local guidanceThe tradeoffs
Pros
A genuine, singular Finger Lakes college-town identity anchored by Cornell University, a real major Ivy League research university and by far Tompkins County's dominant employer; a real, distinctive 'Ithaca is Gorges' natural-scenery identity with more than 150 waterfalls in the immediate area, several within city limits; genuine housing affordability relative to New York's own statewide average; a real, growing city-proper population (+5.84% since 2020, distinct from several other upstate New York cities' continued decline); a real, cited improving year-over-year crime trend; and Ithaca's own verified advantage that -- unlike New York City and Yonkers -- it levies no separate local income tax.
Cons
A real, genuinely elevated Tompkins County effective property-tax rate (2.24%-2.53% depending on source) running well above the national median; New York's real, graduated state income tax running to a genuine 10.9% top marginal rate, among the highest in the US; an overall crime index running above the national average (driven by property crime specifically, even as violent crime runs below it); a real, dramatic seasonal population swing tied to the Cornell/Ithaca College academic calendar; and elevated annual snowfall (approximately 63 inches) relative to the roughly 28-inch national average.
Who this fits
Best for: Best fits movers connected to Cornell University or Ithaca College specifically (faculty, staff, academic-adjacent employment), outdoor-recreation seekers drawn to the area's real, extensive gorge-and-waterfall scenery and Finger Lakes wine country, and small-town-living seekers who value a genuine, singular college-town identity -- while budgeting realistically for Tompkins County's elevated property-tax rate and researching specific neighborhoods given the area's real, disclosed elevated property-crime rate.
Maybe not for you if: Probably not the right fit for buyers prioritizing the lowest effective property-tax rate among New York's Tier A markets, given Tompkins County's real, disclosed elevated figures; anyone who would find a genuine, academic-calendar-driven seasonal population swing a daily-life friction point; and anyone prioritizing the lowest possible winter snowfall, given Ithaca's real, above-national-average annual totals.
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