Best PlacesCortland County, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Cortland County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Cortland County ranks 868th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on heat safety by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Cortland 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.
Cortland County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Cortland County ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 98% of counties
- School gradeA−, better than 95% of counties
- TransitBetter than 91% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 90% of counties
- BikingBetter than 90% of counties
Where Cortland 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 12% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Cortland County
A household needs to earn about $51,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Cortland County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $73,706, 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 Cortland County's effective rate of 2.29%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Cortland County
Cortland County's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Cortland County.
Who works in Cortland County, and how
Work in Cortland County centers on education and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in Cortland County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Cortland County.
Is Cortland County growing, and who is moving in?
Cortland County has lost about 6% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from New York, NY.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Cortland County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Cortland County, month by month
Cortland County sees roughly 94 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 81 degrees. January highs sit near 32, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 32° | 25° | 18° |
| April | 56° | 44° | 35° |
| July | 81° | 69° | 59° |
| October | 61° | 50° | 42° |
Flying in and out of Cortland County
The nearest airport, Ithaca Tompkins International, is about 18 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Newark Liberty International, about 166 miles away.
The best schools in and around Cortland County
Schools across Cortland County average an A−, better than 95% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Cincinnatus Elementary SchoolA+ · 80% proficient
- Mcgraw Elementary SchoolA · 68% proficient
- Groton Elementary SchoolA · 68% proficient
Top middle schools
- Greene Middle SchoolA− · 55% proficient
- Tioughnioga Riverside AcademyA− · 54% proficient
- Randall Middle SchoolB+ · 48% proficient
Top high schools
- Dryden High SchoolA+ · 98% proficient
- Greene High SchoolA+ · 96% proficient
- Homer Senior High SchoolA+ · 94% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Cortland County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Cortland 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 Cortland County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Cortland County suits
Retirees
The weather beats 56% of counties and health care access beats 75%.
Common questions about living in Cortland County
Is Cortland County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Cortland County ranks 868th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on heat safety, good schools, and transit, 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 Cortland County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $162,875. The overall cost of living runs about 6% below the national average. Set against a $73,706 median income, cost of living beats 42% of counties.
Is Cortland County safe?
Yes, Cortland County is safer than 82% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $276 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Cortland County?
July highs average about 81 degrees, and January highs near 32 with lows near 18. That works out to about 94 pleasant days a year, more than 56% of counties.
Is Cortland County good for families?
Schools beat 95% of counties, crime safety beats 82%, and childcare runs $1,088 a month.
Compare Cortland County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Cortland County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Cortland 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.
Cortland County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Cortland County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Cortland County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Cortland County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Cortland County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Cortland 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.