Best places to live in New York

The 51 New York cities and towns of 20,000+ where people are moving in, ranked on growth, commute times and cost, using Census data. Looking for the lowest prices instead? See the cheapest places to live in New York.

By Sol Lakein, founder of Slower Sundays. Updated November 2026.

Kiryas Joel#1 pickScore 86 of 100
Kiryas JoelFastest growing+43.1% since 2020
IthacaShortest commute18.7 min average

The top 3 in New York

#1Score 86
Kiryas Joel
Growth
+43.1%
Home value
$758,800
Commute
19 min
#2Score 56
Ithaca
Growth
+4.8%
Home value
$342,700
Commute
19 min
#3Score 54
Grand Island (town)
Growth
+1.0%
Home value
$327,000
Commute
19 min

The 10 best places to live in New York

Score out of 100. Values and rents are Census medians for each city or town.

#	Place	Score	Median home value	Median rent	Commute	Growth since 2020
1	Kiryas Joel	86	$758,800	$1,604	18.9 min	+43.1%
2	Ithaca	56	$342,700	$1,447	18.7 min	+4.8%
3	Grand Island (town)	54	$327,000	$1,199	18.9 min	+1.0%
4	Amherst (town)	52	$311,600	$1,393	20.0 min	+0.7%
5	Colonie (town)	52	$322,900	$1,436	20.0 min	+1.5%
6	Niskayuna (town)	52	$362,000	$1,586	20.7 min	+4.0%
7	Guilderland (town)	51	$357,400	$1,564	21.4 min	+3.5%
8	Poughkeepsie	50	$283,700	$1,400	23.8 min	+2.9%
9	Orchard Park (town)	49	$360,700	$1,304	21.5 min	+0.4%
10	Lysander (town)	49	$288,400	$1,130	24.0 min	+0.1%

Every New York city and town we ranked

See all 51, with scores

#	Place	Score	Median home value	Median rent	Commute	Growth since 2020	Population 2025
1	Kiryas Joel	86	$758,800	$1,604	18.9 min	+43.1%	47,147
2	Ithaca	56	$342,700	$1,447	18.7 min	+4.8%	33,632
3	Grand Island (town)	54	$327,000	$1,199	18.9 min	+1.0%	21,587
4	Amherst (town)	52	$311,600	$1,393	20.0 min	+0.7%	130,442
5	Colonie (town)	52	$322,900	$1,436	20.0 min	+1.5%	86,837
6	Niskayuna (town)	52	$362,000	$1,586	20.7 min	+4.0%	24,211
7	Guilderland (town)	51	$357,400	$1,564	21.4 min	+3.5%	38,216
8	Poughkeepsie	50	$283,700	$1,400	23.8 min	+2.9%	32,499
9	Orchard Park (town)	49	$360,700	$1,304	21.5 min	+0.4%	29,804
10	Lysander (town)	49	$288,400	$1,130	24.0 min	+0.1%	23,110
11	Halfmoon (town)	48	$387,700	$1,559	23.7 min	+3.9%	26,658
12	Bethlehem (town)	47	$370,400	$1,721	22.0 min	+1.8%	35,684
13	Spring Valley	47	$381,800	$1,695	24.2 min	+4.3%	34,482
14	Clarence (town)	47	$408,500	$1,279	23.0 min	+0.7%	33,198
15	Hyde Park (town)	44	$331,200	$1,227	28.7 min	+2.0%	21,394
16	Ramapo (town)	43	$653,100	$1,787	26.1 min	+8.5%	161,564
17	Poughkeepsie (town)	42	$354,900	$1,677	26.7 min	+0.9%	45,986
18	Saratoga Springs	40	$478,100	$1,470	27.2 min	+0.9%	28,768
19	Monroe (town)	39	$462,100	$2,186	36.4 min	+13.8%	24,343
20	Haverstraw (town)	38	$387,500	$1,906	30.1 min	+3.4%	40,462
21	Wallkill (town)	38	$353,200	$1,790	31.1 min	+3.0%	31,414
22	White Plains	36	$620,800	$2,269	27.4 min	+5.6%	62,871
23	Riverhead (town)	36	$486,600	$1,974	27.5 min	+1.2%	36,394
24	Port Chester	35	$582,600	$2,028	26.9 min	+1.8%	32,303
25	Montgomery (town)	34	$347,600	$1,610	33.9 min	+0.5%	23,425
26	New Rochelle	33	$702,500	$1,917	32.5 min	+7.7%	85,864
27	Hempstead (village)	33	$459,500	$1,622	33.3 min	+1.1%	59,819
28	Islip (town)	32	$535,300	$2,209	28.3 min	+0.3%	340,867
29	Harrison	32	$1,010,700	$2,616	29.2 min	+14.4%	32,273
30	Brookhaven (town)	30	$489,200	$2,314	32.3 min	+2.2%	496,410
31	Babylon (town)	30	$522,100	$2,168	31.0 min	+0.7%	219,766
32	Clarkstown (town)	30	$602,100	$2,185	31.7 min	+3.3%	89,659
33	Rye (town)	30	$689,400	$2,066	28.2 min	+0.8%	50,011
34	Lindenhurst	30	$521,500	$1,885	32.2 min	+0.4%	27,258
35	Orangetown (town)	29	$638,100	$2,015	33.2 min	+3.6%	50,377
36	New Windsor (town)	29	$371,900	$1,606	37.3 min	+0.1%	27,844
37	Southold (town)	29	$859,300	$2,135	26.6 min	+2.3%	24,260
38	Peekskill	28	$395,600	$2,036	37.2 min	+1.8%	25,891
39	Yonkers	27	$501,600	$1,784	35.6 min	+0.5%	212,603
40	Mount Pleasant (town)	27	$788,900	$1,941	30.9 min	+2.2%	45,444
41	East Fishkill (town)	27	$478,400	$1,788	36.2 min	+0.3%	29,801
42	Mineola	26	$651,200	$2,415	32.1 min	+2.7%	21,376
43	East Hampton (town)	25	$1,178,500	$2,578	21.9 min	+3.7%	29,400
44	Ossining (village)	25	$449,100	$2,154	36.1 min	+0.2%	27,579
45	Smithtown (town)	24	$669,900	$2,233	32.2 min	+0.4%	116,847
46	Southampton (town)	24	$928,100	$2,363	29.8 min	+3.7%	71,601
47	Carmel (town)	24	$495,100	$1,683	41.2 min	+2.5%	34,442
48	Lynbrook	24	$611,900	$2,230	35.2 min	+1.7%	20,855
49	Hempstead (town)	21	$640,800	$2,101	36.6 min	+0.3%	795,734
50	Huntington (town)	19	$715,600	$2,358	35.2 min	+0.8%	205,891
51	North Hempstead (town)	15	$888,000	$2,318	35.5 min	+0.6%	238,982

How we ranked them

This list is about where people are moving. Each growing place is scored against the others in the state on four Census measures, then weighted. Nothing about who lives in a place goes in.

Who makes the list: places that grew from 2020 to 2025 and whose median home value is at least 75% of the state's typical place ($274,013 in New York). Of 122 places, 62 lost population and 9 sit below that line, so they are left off this list. They are all on the cheapest places in New York page. Population growth counts births as well as moves.

Weight	Measure
45%	Population growth, 2020 to 2025
25%	Shorter commutes (mean travel time to work)
20%	Lower home values (median value of owner-occupied homes)
10%	Lower rent (median gross rent)

Places are incorporated cities and towns with at least 20,000 residents in July 2025, plus towns of that size, because many large New York municipalities are towns. Villages sit inside towns, so a village and its town can both appear. Unincorporated communities are left out because the Census population estimates do not cover them. Census reports home values of $2 million or more as $2,000,000+ and rents of $3,500 or more as $3,500+. A place with no figure on a measure gets half points on it. Home values are what owners estimate their homes are worth, averaged over 2020 to 2024, so they run below today's listing prices.

Statewide, New York has a top income tax rate of 10.90%, an effective property tax rate of 1.42% and a combined sales tax of 8.54%, and it does not tax Social Security. See property taxes by state and states with no income tax.

Weigh things differently? The quiz ranks cities on your own priorities.

Questions people ask

What is the best place to live in New York?

On our ranking of the 51 growing New York cities and towns with 20,000 or more people, Kiryas Joel, followed by Ithaca and Grand Island (town). Kiryas Joel has a median home value of $758,800, median rent of $1,604, an average commute of 18.9 min and grew +43.1% from 2020 to 2025 (US Census Bureau).

What is the fastest-growing city in New York?

Of the places we rank, Kiryas Joel, up +43.1% from the 2020 base to July 2025 (US Census Bureau, Vintage 2025).

Where in New York are commutes shortest?

Ithaca, where the average trip to work takes 18.7 min (American Community Survey 2020-2024).

Do you rank places by who lives there?

No. The ranking uses population growth, commute times, home values and rent only. Nothing about who lives in a place goes in.

Why isn't the cheapest town in New York on this list?

This list ranks the places people are moving to. Places that lost population from 2020 to 2025, or whose median home value is below 75% of the state's typical place, are left off. Every place is on our cheapest places to live in New York page.

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