Is being in an area of New York that’s growing quickly a good thing or a bad thing?
Depends on who you ask.
Some want bigger, more exciting cities like New York and Buffalo, while others want peace and quiet like in Ballston Spa and Sea Cliff, thank you very much.
But today, we’re going to put opinions aside and look at the cold, hard facts — since 2010, which cities in New York have grown the fastest.
After getting knee-deep in the Census’s American Community Survey using Saturday Night Science, we emerged with this set of cities in the Empire State that have people climbing over each other to get in.
New York lost a net 137,586 people to other states in the year ending July 2025 — 50th in the nation for domestic migration; the full moving statistics breakdown shows who’s coming and going.
103.9% growth since 2010 · 19,827 net new residents
Located in
Orange County, New York
Kiryas Joel is a village within the town of Monroe in Orange County, New York, United States. The majority of its residents are Yiddish-speaking Hasidic Jews who belong to the worldwide Satmar Hasidic sect.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
51.8% growth since 2010 · 3,345 net new residents
Located in
Rockland County, New York
New Square is an all-Hasidic village in the town of Ramapo, Rockland County, New York, United States. It is located north of Hillcrest, east of Viola, south of New Hempstead, and west of New City. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 6,944. Its inhabitants are predominantly members of the Skverer Hasidic movement who seek to maintain a Hasidic lifestyle disconnected from the secular world.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
34.5% growth since 2010 · 2,706 net new residents
Located in
Rockland County, New York
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
28.4% growth since 2010 · 1,258 net new residents
Coordinates: 4107N 7404W 41.117; -74.067
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
23.2% growth since 2010 · 1,565 net new residents
Located in
Ulster County, New York
New Paltz is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 14,003 at the 2010 census. The town is located in the southeastern part of the county and is south of Kingston. New Paltz contains a village also with the name New Paltz. The town is named for Palz, the dialect name of the Rhenish Palatinate, called Pfalz ) in standard German.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
21.1% growth since 2010 · 1,779 net new residents
Located in
Rockland County, New York
Airmont is a village in the town of Ramapo, Rockland County, New York, United States, located north of the state of New Jersey, east of Suffern, south of Montebello, and west of Chestnut Ridge. The population was 8,628 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
17.6% growth since 2010 · 770 net new residents
Data | Movers
14.8% growth since 2010 · 980 net new residents
Located in
Nassau County, New York
Great Neck Plaza is a village in the town of North Hempstead in Nassau County, New York in the United States. The population was 6,707 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
14.4% growth since 2010 · 1,195 net new residents
Located in
Orange County, New York
Monroe is a town in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 39,912 at the 2010 census. The town is named after President James Monroe.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
14.2% growth since 2010 · 890 net new residents
Located in
St. Lawrence County, New York
Canton is a town in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 10,995 at the 2010 census. The town contains two villages: one also named Canton, the other named Rensselaer Falls. The town is named after the great port of Canton in China. Canton is the home of St. Lawrence University and SUNY Canton. Canton Central School District is centered in the village of Canton.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is New York’s statewide median.
On the map
Where New York’s growth is happening
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How We Measured The Fastest Growing Cities In the Empire State for 2026
To figure out which cities are growing the most, we used Saturday Night Science to look at the growth rates for cities since the beginning of the decade, according to the American Community Survey put out by the census every year. Specifically:
- Current Population
- Population in 2010
- Growth rate from 2010 to Current (the latest available data, which came out in Dec 2024)
We ranked all 168 New York cities with a population over 5,000 people from highest growth rate to lowest.
The city with the highest growth rate during this time was crowned the fastest-growing city in the Empire State.
And for those of you who are a little rusty with their statistics, you can calculate the growth rate by the following formula: [Current Population – Population 2010] / [Population 2010].
The data has been updated for 2026. This report is our eleventh time ranking the fastest growing cities in New York.
The full plate
Fastest Growing Places In New York For 2026
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | Population 2010 | Growth | Absolute Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kiryas Joel | 38,916 | 19,089 | 103.9% | 19,827 |
| 2 | New Square | 9,803 | 6,458 | 51.8% | 3,345 |
| 3 | Chestnut Ridge | 10,557 | 7,851 | 34.5% | 2,706 |
| 4 | Kaser | 5,694 | 4,436 | 28.4% | 1,258 |
| 5 | New Paltz | 8,314 | 6,749 | 23.2% | 1,565 |
| 6 | Airmont | 10,205 | 8,426 | 21.1% | 1,779 |
| 7 | Liberty | 5,142 | 4,372 | 17.6% | 770 |
| 8 | Great Neck Plaza | 7,593 | 6,613 | 14.8% | 980 |
| 9 | Monroe | 9,515 | 8,320 | 14.4% | 1,195 |
| 10 | Canton | 7,167 | 6,277 | 14.2% | 890 |
| 11 | Wesley Hills | 6,196 | 5,452 | 13.6% | 744 |
| 12 | Mineola | 21,211 | 18,691 | 13.5% | 2,520 |
| 13 | Kings Point | 5,634 | 4,974 | 13.3% | 660 |
| 14 | Cedarhurst | 7,320 | 6,466 | 13.2% | 854 |
| 15 | Cohoes | 18,159 | 16,116 | 12.7% | 2,043 |
| 16 | Great Neck | 11,087 | 9,842 | 12.6% | 1,245 |
| 17 | Elmsford | 5,186 | 4,620 | 12.3% | 566 |
| 18 | Sleepy Hollow | 10,887 | 9,701 | 12.2% | 1,186 |
| 19 | Larchmont | 6,567 | 5,860 | 12.1% | 707 |
| 20 | Harrison | 29,961 | 26,780 | 11.9% | 3,181 |
| 21 | Peekskill | 25,625 | 23,220 | 10.4% | 2,405 |
| 22 | Ithaca | 32,814 | 29,774 | 10.2% | 3,040 |
| 23 | Hempstead | 58,801 | 53,365 | 10.2% | 5,436 |
| 24 | North Hills | 5,415 | 4,940 | 9.6% | 475 |
| 25 | Spring Valley | 33,192 | 30,326 | 9.5% | 2,866 |
| 26 | New Rochelle | 82,769 | 75,823 | 9.2% | 6,946 |
| 27 | New Hempstead | 5,472 | 5,016 | 9.1% | 456 |
| 28 | Valley Stream | 40,315 | 36,981 | 9.0% | 3,334 |
| 29 | Middletown | 30,289 | 27,806 | 8.9% | 2,483 |
| 30 | Tuckahoe | 6,973 | 6,408 | 8.8% | 565 |
| 31 | Port Chester | 31,102 | 28,610 | 8.7% | 2,492 |
| 32 | Ossining | 26,950 | 24,812 | 8.6% | 2,138 |
| 33 | White Plains | 60,666 | 55,881 | 8.6% | 4,785 |
| 34 | Hastings-on-Hudson | 8,434 | 7,782 | 8.4% | 652 |
| 35 | Woodbury | 11,334 | 10,458 | 8.4% | 876 |
| 36 | Lackawanna | 19,753 | 18,239 | 8.3% | 1,514 |
| 37 | Rye Brook | 9,900 | 9,151 | 8.2% | 749 |
| 38 | Manorhaven | 6,958 | 6,433 | 8.2% | 525 |
| 39 | Mount Vernon | 72,427 | 67,073 | 8.0% | 5,354 |
| 40 | Pelham | 7,305 | 6,776 | 7.8% | 529 |
| 41 | Monticello | 7,279 | 6,753 | 7.8% | 526 |
| 42 | Yonkers | 209,978 | 194,880 | 7.7% | 15,098 |
| 43 | Rockville Centre | 25,765 | 23,941 | 7.6% | 1,824 |
| 44 | Oneonta | 15,045 | 14,006 | 7.4% | 1,039 |
| 45 | Saratoga Springs | 28,631 | 26,683 | 7.3% | 1,948 |
| 46 | Haverstraw | 12,325 | 11,522 | 7.0% | 803 |
| 47 | Suffern | 11,441 | 10,704 | 6.9% | 737 |
| 48 | Webster | 5,718 | 5,366 | 6.6% | 352 |
| 49 | West Haverstraw | 10,711 | 10,079 | 6.3% | 632 |
| 50 | New Hyde Park | 10,220 | 9,621 | 6.2% | 599 |
| 51 | Nyack | 7,393 | 6,964 | 6.2% | 429 |
| 52 | Dobbs Ferry | 11,443 | 10,782 | 6.1% | 661 |
| 53 | Westbury | 15,808 | 14,910 | 6.0% | 898 |
| 54 | Rye | 16,428 | 15,497 | 6.0% | 931 |
| 55 | East Hills | 7,257 | 6,853 | 5.9% | 404 |
| 56 | Mamaroneck | 19,826 | 18,728 | 5.9% | 1,098 |
| 57 | Baldwinsville | 7,715 | 7,307 | 5.6% | 408 |
| 58 | Schenectady | 68,847 | 65,366 | 5.3% | 3,481 |
| 59 | Scarsdale | 18,010 | 17,109 | 5.3% | 901 |
| 60 | Wappingers Falls | 5,761 | 5,475 | 5.2% | 286 |
| 61 | Tarr | 11,784 | 11,200 | 5.2% | 584 |
| 62 | Glen Cove | 28,112 | 26,728 | 5.2% | 1,384 |
| 63 | Lawrence | 6,778 | 6,445 | 5.2% | 333 |
| 64 | Pleasantville | 7,371 | 7,015 | 5.1% | 356 |
| 65 | New York | 8,483,844 | 8,078,471 | 5.0% | 405,373 |
| 66 | Lynbrook | 20,325 | 19,380 | 4.9% | 945 |
| 67 | Patchogue | 12,396 | 11,836 | 4.7% | 560 |
| 68 | Williston Park | 7,542 | 7,239 | 4.2% | 303 |
| 69 | Buffalo | 276,854 | 266,012 | 4.1% | 10,842 |
| 70 | Goshen | 5,773 | 5,551 | 4.0% | 222 |
| 71 | Long Beach | 34,756 | 33,442 | 3.9% | 1,314 |
| 72 | Croton-on-Hudson | 8,202 | 7,896 | 3.9% | 306 |
| 73 | Utica | 64,217 | 61,835 | 3.9% | 2,382 |
| 74 | Farmingdale | 8,474 | 8,169 | 3.7% | 305 |
| 75 | Garden City | 22,941 | 22,120 | 3.7% | 821 |
| 76 | Pelham Manor | 5,644 | 5,449 | 3.6% | 195 |
| 77 | Port Jefferson | 8,091 | 7,827 | 3.4% | 264 |
| 78 | Freeport | 44,088 | 42,702 | 3.2% | 1,386 |
| 79 | Hamburg | 9,792 | 9,513 | 2.9% | 279 |
| 80 | Bronxville | 6,510 | 6,329 | 2.9% | 181 |
| 81 | Williamsville | 5,469 | 5,320 | 2.8% | 149 |
| 82 | Albany | 100,492 | 97,951 | 2.6% | 2,541 |
| 83 | East Rockaway | 10,077 | 9,836 | 2.5% | 241 |
| 84 | Hilton | 5,968 | 5,838 | 2.2% | 130 |
| 85 | Hudson Falls | 7,395 | 7,237 | 2.2% | 158 |
| 86 | Troy | 51,033 | 50,011 | 2.0% | 1,022 |
| 87 | Irvington | 6,531 | 6,419 | 1.7% | 112 |
| 88 | Rensselaer | 9,287 | 9,162 | 1.4% | 125 |
| 89 | Sea Cliff | 5,033 | 4,972 | 1.2% | 61 |
| 90 | Syracuse | 146,384 | 144,734 | 1.1% | 1,650 |
| 91 | North Syracuse | 6,693 | 6,619 | 1.1% | 74 |
| 92 | Floral Park | 16,169 | 16,013 | 1.0% | 156 |
| 93 | Mount Kisco | 10,737 | 10,653 | 0.8% | 84 |
| 94 | Bayville | 6,744 | 6,701 | 0.6% | 43 |
| 95 | Amityville | 9,588 | 9,537 | 0.5% | 51 |
| 96 | Endicott | 13,387 | 13,320 | 0.5% | 67 |
| 97 | Lake Grove | 11,061 | 11,018 | 0.4% | 43 |
| 98 | Fairport | 5,403 | 5,395 | 0.1% | 8 |
| 99 | Horseheads | 6,449 | 6,442 | 0.1% | 7 |
| 100 | Massapequa Park | 16,963 | 16,965 | -0.0% | -2 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS, 2010-current. 168 New York cities with more than 5,000 residents.
Summary
Summary: These Places Grew Up So Fast In New York, You Know?
So there you have it, the fastest growing cities in New York are led by Kiryas Joel which has been growing at a blistering pace this decade relative to other cities and towns around the state.
The fastest-growing cities in New York are Kiryas Joel, New Square, Chestnut Ridge, Kaser, New Paltz, Airmont, Liberty, Great Neck Plaza, Monroe, and Canton.
It’ll be interesting to see if these places can keep growing at the same rate over the next couple of years. We’ll be here to let you know! Not sold on New York? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Fastest Growing Cities In New York FAQs
What is the fastest-growing city in New York?
Kiryas Joel is the fastest-growing city in New York for 2026, based on population change since 2010. New Square and Chestnut Ridge are growing nearly as fast.
What are the top 10 fastest-growing cities in New York?
The fastest-growing cities in New York are Kiryas Joel, New Square, Chestnut Ridge, Kaser, New Paltz, Airmont, Liberty, Great Neck Plaza, Monroe, and Canton. We ranked all 168 cities with more than 5,000 residents.
How do you measure growth?
Growth is the percent change in population from the 2010 Census to the latest American Community Survey estimates. No projections, no vibes — just how many more people actually live there now.
What is the slowest-growing city on the list?
Ogdensburg posts the smallest population change of the 168 New York cities we ranked. Slow growth is not automatically bad news, but the momentum is clearly elsewhere.
Do small towns count in this ranking?
Only places with more than 5,000 residents qualify, which keeps one new subdivision from turning a tiny town into a statistical rocket. 168 New York cities cleared that bar this year.
