How big is Ithaca, New York?

Ithaca has a population of approximately 66,495 residents according to the latest U.S. Census American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2019–2023). It is a city by Census Place size classification.

Is housing in Ithaca affordable?

By the years-to-own measure, housing in Ithaca is expensive. The median home value ($394,172) divided by the median household income ($69,689) gives a ratio of 5.7 — meaning the median home costs about 5.7 years of pre-tax household income. (Lower is more affordable; the U.S. median is ~4.) Methodology: /methodology/years-to-own/.

What is the climate like in Ithaca?

Ithaca has an annual average temperature of 48.1°F. The coldest month is January (average 22.8°F) and the warmest is July (average 68.9°F). Source: NOAA NCEI nClimDiv, 1991–2020 climate normals.

Is the climate changing in Ithaca?

Ithaca is steadily warming at a rate of 2.04°F per century, measured as the linear regression slope of annual mean temperature on year since 1970. Source: NOAA NCEI nClimDiv. Methodology: /methodology/warming-velocity/.

What is the median household income in Ithaca?

The median household income in Ithaca is $69,689, which ranks at the 51th percentile nationally — higher than 51% of U.S. Census places. Source: U.S. Census American Community Survey 5-year 2019–2023.

How did Ithaca vote in the 2024 presidential election?

Ithaca is strongly democratic-leaning. In the 2024 presidential election, the underlying county recorded 25% Republican and 75% Democratic. Source: MIT Election Lab.

What is the local economy like in Ithaca?

Ithaca's economy is diverse across major industry sectors, with a Herfindahl–Hirschman Index of 2,092. The single largest NAICS sector accounts for 36% of local establishments. Source: U.S. Census County Business Patterns. Methodology: /methodology/industry-hhi/.

What county is Ithaca in?

Ithaca is in Tompkins County, NY. Tompkins County has a total population of 78,012 with a years-to-own ratio of 5.4.

Where is Ithaca located?

Ithaca is located in New York, in the Finger Lakes region. The Finger Lakes region has a population of approximately 767,791.

How old is the population in Ithaca?

The median resident in Ithaca is 28.7 years old, which is younger than the U.S. median of about 38.9. Source: U.S. Census ACS.

Ithaca, New York — Commerce Institute

55 years

The slow remaking of a tompkins

Per-capita personal income from 1969 to 2024, drawn from BEA County Income data.

Per-capita personal income

BEA Personal Income · Tompkins County

Income up 17.4× in 55 years. Tompkins County per-capita personal income rose from $3,251 in 1969 to $56,490 in 2024.

Time machine

Ithaca in 2024 is what Blair, NE was in 2019.

Across our 8 dimensions, Ithaca's 2024 profile most closely matches Blair, NE's 2019 profile. Similarity score 0.97.

The setting

The lay of the land

Topography

Elevation

495 ft

Coastal plain or river valley.

126 years of weather, in one panel

What weather looks like here

Annual averages back to 1900 (NOAA NCEI nClimDiv), severe weather counts since 1950 (NOAA Storm Events Database).

1900–2025 — every year's average temperature

Each stripe is one year. Blue = cooler, red = warmer. The trend is the story. Dashed line marks 1970, when the modern warming era began. 126 years of NOAA nClimDiv records.

Long-run shift

+1.7°F

1900–1929 avg → 2000s+ avg

Warmest year

2012 · 49.5°F

Coldest year

1926 · 42.6°F

By the numbers

Annual avg temp

48.1°F

↗ +0.7°F since 1900

Hottest month

68.9°F

July average

Coldest month

22.8°F

January average

Annual precip

40.6″

Above US avg (30″)

Heating degree days

6,553

cold heating bills

Cooling degree days

437

light AC use

Severe weather, 1950–2024

Counted events from NOAA Storm Events Database

Tornadoes

≈ 1 every 9 years

Hail

139

≈ 1 per year

Flash floods

75-yr record

Floods

75-yr record

Lightning

75-yr record

Within driving distance

In Ithaca's orbit

Nearby places — neighbors, the closest county seat, the closest college town. Click through to compare.

Munsons Corners

NY · pop

Horseheads North

NY · pop

Trumansburg

NY · pop

Moravia

NY · pop

Dundee

NY · pop

Homer

NY · pop

Groton

NY · pop

Newark Valley

NY · pop

Against every other US town

What stands out

Where Ithaca ranks among 32,000+ US Census places. Each dot is this place; the gray band is the national distribution; the red tick is the national median.

Industry mix

Local establishment count by NAICS sector · Census County Business Patterns · 2014–2022

Food & lodging22%

Retail21%

Healthcare20%

Professional19%

Construction12%

Manufacturing6%

Agriculture0%

What's notable about Ithaca

Top 5% nationally for population size
Top quartile nationally for home values (rank 79)
Top quartile nationally for housing cost burden (rank 87)
Bottom quartile nationally for climate trend (rank 13)
Top quartile nationally for industry diversity (rank 88)

If you like Ithaca

Towns that feel familiar

Across our 768-dimensional embedding of demographics, climate, and economy, these are the places most like Ithaca.

#1 · 0.98

Trumansburg

NY · pop

HHI$86k

Jan temp22°F

#2 · 0.98

Freeville

NY · pop

HHI$79k

Jan temp21°F

#3 · 0.96

Rushville

NY · pop

HHI$63k

#4 · 0.96

Forest Home

NY · pop

Jan temp23°F

Frequently asked

Common questions about Ithaca

Each answer is computed from the data on this page. Citation sources linked in each answer.

How big is Ithaca, New York?: Ithaca has a population of approximately 66,495 residents according to the latest U.S. Census American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2019–2023). It is a city by Census Place size classification.
Is housing in Ithaca affordable?: By the years-to-own measure, housing in Ithaca is expensive. The median home value ($394,172) divided by the median household income ($69,689) gives a ratio of 5.7 — meaning the median home costs about 5.7 years of pre-tax household income. (Lower is more affordable; the U.S. median is ~4.) Methodology: /methodology/years-to-own/.
What is the climate like in Ithaca?: Ithaca has an annual average temperature of 48.1°F. The coldest month is January (average 22.8°F) and the warmest is July (average 68.9°F). Source: NOAA NCEI nClimDiv, 1991–2020 climate normals.
Is the climate changing in Ithaca?: Ithaca is steadily warming at a rate of 2.04°F per century, measured as the linear regression slope of annual mean temperature on year since 1970. Source: NOAA NCEI nClimDiv. Methodology: /methodology/warming-velocity/.
What is the median household income in Ithaca?: The median household income in Ithaca is $69,689, which ranks at the 51th percentile nationally — higher than 51% of U.S. Census places. Source: U.S. Census American Community Survey 5-year 2019–2023.
How did Ithaca vote in the 2024 presidential election?: Ithaca is strongly democratic-leaning. In the 2024 presidential election, the underlying county recorded 25% Republican and 75% Democratic. Source: MIT Election Lab.
What is the local economy like in Ithaca?: Ithaca's economy is diverse across major industry sectors, with a Herfindahl–Hirschman Index of 2,092. The single largest NAICS sector accounts for 36% of local establishments. Source: U.S. Census County Business Patterns. Methodology: /methodology/industry-hhi/.
What county is Ithaca in?: Ithaca is in Tompkins County, NY. Tompkins County has a total population of 78,012 with a years-to-own ratio of 5.4.
Where is Ithaca located?: Ithaca is located in New York, in the Finger Lakes region. The Finger Lakes region has a population of approximately 767,791.
How old is the population in Ithaca?: The median resident in Ithaca is 28.7 years old, which is younger than the U.S. median of about 38.9. Source: U.S. Census ACS.

Every number on this page comes from a federal data source.

Commerce Institute builds profiles from public-domain federal datasets only — no surveys, no proprietary scoring, no opaque indexes. Every metric on this page is queryable; every methodology is published.

U.S. Census ACS — demographics, housing, education, 2014–2023
BEA Personal Income — per-capita income, 1969–2024
BLS QCEW — wages by NAICS sector, 1990–2024
NOAA NCEI nClimDiv — climate, 1901–2024
NOAA Storm Events — severe weather, 1950–2024
Zillow ZHVI — home values, 2000–2025
FHFA HPI — housing index, 1975–2025
IRS SOI Migration — net flows + AGI, 1991–2022
MIT Election Lab — presidential, 2008–2024
Census CBP — business establishments by NAICS, 2014–2022
USGS Elevation — place elevation
OpenStreetMap — retail brand presence, F&B amenities
+ 23 more sources — covering health, schools, banking, agriculture, mobility, civic life

Rendered 2026-05-12. See methodology for every metric definition.

Ithaca,
New York.

14850

Tompkins County, NY

Finger Lakes

New York

The slow remaking of a tompkins

The lay of the land

What weather looks like here

In Ithaca's orbit

What stands out

What's notable about Ithaca

Towns that feel familiar

Common questions about Ithaca

Every number on this page comes from a federal data source.