Best PlacesHerkimer County, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Herkimer County, 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.
Herkimer County ranks 895th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on good schools by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Herkimer 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 Herkimer County
The parts of Herkimer 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.
Ilion
It is quieter, crime runs lower, and local pay stretches further.
Frankfort
Fewer homes sit empty, though fewer households have young kids.
Herkimer
Streets are more walkable, though tree cover is thinner.
Mohawk
Biking is better, though fewer adults hold degrees.
Little Falls & Dolgeville
Homes cost less, though incomes run lower.
Scores across Herkimer County run from about the 12th to the 89th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Herkimer County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Herkimer County ranks high
- School gradeA−, better than 94% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than 93% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than 90% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than 90% of counties
- TransitBetter than 88% of counties
Where Herkimer County ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 3% 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
- State infrastructureBetter than only 14% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Herkimer County
A household needs to earn about $46,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Herkimer County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $71,584, 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 Herkimer County's effective rate of 1.84%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Herkimer County
Herkimer 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 Herkimer County.
Who works in Herkimer County, and how
Work in Herkimer County centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Herkimer County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Herkimer County.
Is Herkimer County growing, and who is moving in?
Herkimer County has lost about 6% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Utica, NY metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Herkimer County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Herkimer County, month by month
Herkimer County sees roughly 66 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 34, with lows near 15. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34° | 24° | 15° |
| April | 59° | 45° | 33° |
| July | 85° | 72° | 60° |
| October | 65° | 52° | 41° |
Flying in and out of Herkimer County
The nearest airport, Syracuse Hancock International, is about 56 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bradley International, about 141 miles away.
The best schools in and around Herkimer County
Schools across Herkimer County average an A−, better than 94% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Deerfield Elementary SchoolA+ · 83% proficient
- Hughes Elementary SchoolA+ · 80% proficient
- Poland Elementary SchoolA+ · 80% proficient
Top middle schools
- Whitesboro Middle SchoolA · 64% proficient
- Sauquoit Valley Middle SchoolA− · 54% proficient
- Perry Junior High SchoolA− · 53% proficient
Top high schools
- New Hartford Senior High SchoolA+ · 98% proficient
- Beaver River Senior High SchoolA+ · 98% proficient
- Whitesboro High SchoolA+ · 95% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Herkimer County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Herkimer 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 Herkimer County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Herkimer County suits
Common questions about living in Herkimer County
Is Herkimer County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Herkimer County ranks 895th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on good schools, low crime, 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 Herkimer County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $153,559. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $71,584 median income, cost of living beats 63% of counties.
Is Herkimer County safe?
Yes, Herkimer County is safer than 93% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $237 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Herkimer County?
July highs average about 85 degrees, and January highs near 34 with lows near 15. That works out to about 66 pleasant days a year, more than 14% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Herkimer County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Ilion, Frankfort, and Herkimer. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Herkimer County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Herkimer County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Herkimer 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.
Herkimer County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Herkimer County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Herkimer County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Herkimer County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Herkimer County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Herkimer 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.