Some of you might be asking yourself, at this very moment, is New York a good place?
The answer is unequivocally yes… if you know where to locate the best counties to live in New York.
Lucky for you, we’re here to help you identify the best counties to live in the Empire State based on the most recently available data from the Census. And this isn’t our first rodeo — we’ve been using Saturday Night Science to rank places for years.
The question becomes if you wanted to relocate to the best part of New York, where would you go? To answer that, we looked at crime, cost of living, and demographic data for all 62 counties in the state.
Saratoga County is the county to be when it comes to living the good life in New York. And you should avoid Bronx County if you can — at least according to the data.
$100,787 median income · 3.3% unemployment
$146,202 median income · 4.8% unemployment
$82,324 median income · 3.7% unemployment
$126,257 median income · 4.4% unemployment
$78,442 median income · 4.3% unemployment
$130,686 median income · 4.7% unemployment
$85,333 median income · 5.0% unemployment
$99,478 median income · 5.2% unemployment
$87,915 median income · 5.3% unemployment
$75,499 median income · 4.2% unemployment
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is New York’s statewide median.
New York statewide median: $85,974
New York statewide median: $507,794
New York statewide median: 6.4%
On the map
Where New York’s best counties are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How do you determine which New York county is the best?
To give you the best county in New York, we have to look at a handful of metrics that signal the quality of a place. To do that, we made assumptions about what’s in a “best county” and what isn’t. For reference, we are trying to make the kind of argument you’d make at a bar using facts, Saturday Night Science.
With that in mind, we went to two of the best data sources on the internet. Namely, the American Community Survey data and FBI Crime data for the most recent period.
We paid particular attention to:
- Violent Crime Rates
- Property Crime Rates
- Median Home Values
- Median Income
- Unemployment Rates
- Adult Education Levels
- Health Insurance Coverage
- Poverty Rates
We then ranked each county in New York across each of the criteria from one to 62, with one being the best.
Taking the average rank across all criteria, we created a quality of life score with the county posting the lowest overall score being the “Best County To Live In New York.”
The result is some of the safest, quietest, and best counties to raise a family in the Empire State.
We updated this article for 2026. This report is our eleventh time ranking the best counties to live in New York.
Read on to see why Saratoga County is the best county, while Bronx County is probably in contention for being the worst county in New York.
The full plate
Detailed List Of The Best Counties In New York
Click any column to sort. Search by county name.
| Rank | County | Population | Median Income | Median Home Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saratoga County | 238,284 | $100,787 | $454,235 |
| 2 | Nassau County | 1,389,591 | $146,202 | $833,989 |
| 3 | Ontario County | 112,625 | $82,324 | $312,677 |
| 4 | Putnam County | 98,107 | $126,257 | $554,659 |
| 5 | Warren County | 65,517 | $78,442 | $365,412 |
| 6 | Suffolk County | 1,530,146 | $130,686 | $697,539 |
| 7 | Albany County | 317,018 | $85,333 | $360,528 |
| 8 | Dutchess County | 298,220 | $99,478 | $483,492 |
| 9 | Rensselaer County | 160,332 | $87,915 | $314,837 |
| 10 | Madison County | 67,328 | $75,499 | $248,276 |
| 11 | Columbia County | 61,100 | $81,528 | $466,520 |
| 12 | Monroe County | 753,753 | $76,382 | $279,468 |
| 13 | Greene County | 47,409 | $77,945 | $355,244 |
| 14 | Genesee County | 57,787 | $73,314 | $217,952 |
| 15 | Livingston County | 61,498 | $74,001 | $237,471 |
| 16 | Hamilton County | 5,089 | $68,835 | $260,924 |
| 17 | Onondaga County | 471,129 | $76,945 | $270,792 |
| 18 | Erie County | 950,622 | $72,839 | $287,781 |
| 19 | Essex County | 36,973 | $71,661 | $264,817 |
| 20 | Richmond County | 494,956 | $98,333 | $718,959 |
| 21 | Westchester County | 999,677 | $118,976 | $841,836 |
| 22 | Schenectady County | 160,369 | $79,623 | $300,238 |
| 23 | Schoharie County | 30,049 | $70,133 | $246,702 |
| 24 | Orange County | 406,616 | $97,178 | $456,106 |
| 25 | Wyoming County | 39,753 | $69,110 | $198,511 |
| 26 | Tompkins County | 104,537 | $74,024 | $347,570 |
| 27 | Wayne County | 90,929 | $74,506 | $239,210 |
| 28 | Washington County | 60,522 | $73,495 | $243,327 |
| 29 | Niagara County | 210,721 | $69,633 | $243,485 |
| 30 | Rockland County | 341,883 | $109,959 | $740,627 |
| 31 | Clinton County | 78,493 | $71,224 | $219,745 |
| 32 | Ulster County | 182,601 | $86,271 | $431,544 |
| 33 | Tioga County | 47,864 | $72,739 | $193,886 |
| 34 | New York County | 1,629,477 | $103,931 | $1,203,663 |
| 35 | Fulton County | 52,487 | $66,533 | $210,970 |
| 35 | Cortland County | 46,246 | $70,418 | $196,363 |
| 37 | Oneida County | 229,124 | $70,154 | $227,317 |
| 38 | Herkimer County | 59,757 | $68,515 | $190,678 |
| 39 | Yates County | 24,526 | $69,701 | $308,449 |
| 40 | Cayuga County | 75,102 | $67,904 | $224,377 |
| 41 | Lewis County | 26,607 | $68,182 | $189,418 |
| 42 | Queens County | 2,323,052 | $86,136 | $737,653 |
| 43 | Jefferson County | 115,040 | $66,301 | $220,944 |
| 44 | Otsego County | 60,108 | $68,885 | $205,265 |
| 45 | Chenango County | 46,321 | $62,948 | $158,322 |
| 46 | Sullivan County | 79,721 | $72,382 | $312,275 |
| 47 | Kings County | 2,631,580 | $80,263 | $946,395 |
| 48 | Steuben County | 92,588 | $65,887 | $164,947 |
| 49 | Schuyler County | 17,562 | $67,663 | $237,962 |
| 50 | Seneca County | 32,920 | $68,089 | $216,606 |
| 51 | Broome County | 197,378 | $62,616 | $189,468 |
| 52 | Delaware County | 44,487 | $63,337 | $240,381 |
| 53 | Orleans County | 39,608 | $65,969 | $192,949 |
| 54 | Oswego County | 117,953 | $69,183 | $198,056 |
| 55 | Montgomery County | 49,528 | $64,943 | $205,808 |
| 56 | Chemung County | 82,147 | $63,716 | $152,650 |
| 57 | Franklin County | 46,696 | $65,151 | $169,097 |
| 58 | Allegany County | 47,159 | $62,869 | $134,984 |
| 59 | St. Lawrence County | 107,226 | $62,850 | $146,060 |
| 60 | Cattaraugus County | 76,145 | $59,540 | $157,763 |
| 61 | Chautauqua County | 125,544 | $58,351 | $169,266 |
| 62 | Bronx County | 1,404,779 | $48,676 | $497,543 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS + FBI crime data via Saturday Night Science. All 62 New York counties.
Summary
Summary: The Best Counties In New York To Call Home For 2026
Living in New York can vary from one part of the state to the next — who woulda thought?
The best counties in New York are Saratoga County, Nassau County, Ontario County, Putnam County, Warren County, Suffolk County, Albany County, Dutchess County, Rensselaer County, and Madison County.
But now you know the outstanding parts and the parts to avoid, and that’s why you came here to learn at the end of the day.
You are welcome.
