Best PlacesCortland, NE Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Cortland, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Cortland ranks 7,470th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Cortland
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's strengths and weaknesses
Where Cortland ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 99% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than 98% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than 96% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 87% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than 85% of towns
Where Cortland ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 54 pleasant days a year, better than only 2% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than only 17% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 22% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 32% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 36% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Cortland
A household needs to earn about $82,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Cortland home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $80,662; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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's effective rate of 1.16%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Cortland
Cortland's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Cortland.
Who works in Cortland, and how
Work in Cortland centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 19%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in Cortland
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Cortland.
What the weather is like in Cortland, month by month
Cortland sees roughly 54 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 37, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs May and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 37° | 26° | 18° |
| April | 67° | 53° | 41° |
| July | 89° | 78° | 68° |
| October | 69° | 55° | 44° |
Flying in and out of Cortland
The nearest airport, Lincoln, is about 25 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 70 miles away.
The best schools in and around Cortland
Schools across Cortland average a B+, better than 75% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Norris Intermediate SchoolA− · 62% proficient
- Tri County Elementary SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Freeman Elementary-adamsB+ · 55% proficient
Top middle schools
- Norris Middle SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Crete Middle SchoolB · 47% proficient
Top high schools
- Freeman High SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Norris High SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Wilber-clatonia High SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Cortland school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Cortland 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 against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Cortland
Is Cortland a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Cortland ranks 7,470th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state finances, few empty homes, and low crime, and lowest on the weather and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Cortland expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $298,707. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $80,662 median income, cost of living beats 69% of towns.
Is Cortland safe?
Yes, Cortland is safer than 96% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $146 per resident a year.
Compare Cortland with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Cortland. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Cortland 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 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Cortland: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Cortland: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Cortland: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Cortland: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Cortland 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.
- 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.