Best PlacesChemung County, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Chemung County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages are not the whole story, and the strongest areas score well above them. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Chemung County ranks 1,337th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Property taxes pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on walkability.
The best neighborhoods in Chemung County
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
The best areas in Chemung County
The parts of Chemung County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Horseheads
Fewer homes sit empty, more adults hold degrees, and crime runs lower.
West Elmira & Pine City
It is quieter, though fewer households have young kids.
Elmira
Streets are more walkable, though fewer residents vote.
Southport
Incomes run lower and tree cover is thinner.
Scores across Chemung County run from about the 4th to the 87th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Chemung County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Chemung County ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 88% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than 87% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than 86% of counties
- TransitBetter than 84% of counties
- BikingBetter than 84% of counties
Where Chemung County ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 1% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 10% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 11% of counties
- Cheap childcare$1,088 a month, better than only 12% of counties
- Local economyBetter than only 14% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Chemung County
A household needs to earn about $46,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Chemung County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $67,418, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Chemung County's effective rate of 2.13%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Chemung County
Chemung County runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Chemung County.
Who works in Chemung County, and how
Work in Chemung County centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in Chemung County
Chemung County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 88% of counties and more parkland per resident than 80% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Chemung County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Chemung County growing, and who is moving in?
Chemung County has lost about 7% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Binghamton, NY.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Chemung County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Chemung County, month by month
Chemung County sees roughly 68 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 38, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38° | 28° | 18° |
| April | 62° | 47° | 34° |
| July | 87° | 72° | 58° |
| October | 67° | 53° | 41° |
Flying in and out of Chemung County
The nearest airport, Elmira/Corning Regional, is about 5 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Newark Liberty International, about 169 miles away.
The best schools in and around Chemung County
Schools across Chemung County average a B−, better than 82% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Gardner Road Elementary SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
- Ridge Road SchoolA · 68% proficient
- Big Flats SchoolA · 65% proficient
Top middle schools
- Spencer-van Etten Middle SchoolB+ · 48% proficient
- Corning-painted Post Middle SchoolB · 43% proficient
- Horseheads Middle SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Top high schools
- Horseheads Senior High SchoolA+ · 95% proficient
- Corning-painted Post High SchoolA+ · 92% proficient
- Waverly High SchoolA+ · 88% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Chemung County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Chemung County measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Chemung County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Chemung County suits
Common questions about living in Chemung County
Is Chemung County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Chemung County ranks 1,337th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on walkability, low disaster risk, and clean air, and lowest on property taxes and car insurance costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Chemung County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $148,319. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $67,418 median income, cost of living beats 39% of counties.
Is Chemung County safe?
Yes, Chemung County is safer than 70% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $326 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Chemung County?
July highs average about 87 degrees, and January highs near 38 with lows near 18. That works out to about 68 pleasant days a year, more than 17% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Chemung County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Horseheads, West Elmira & Pine City, and Elmira. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Chemung County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Chemung County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Chemung County represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Chemung County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Chemung County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Chemung County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Chemung County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Chemung County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Chemung County detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.