Kingston, NY
Metro Area Profile
182,601 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Kingston, NY metropolitan area.
Unemployment is 3.7% and median household income $86,271, putting employment conditions in the middle range of published metro profiles.
600 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 4% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.
Rent takes 20% of median household income here, below the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 4.1 times that income.
These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.
At a glance
Jobs & opportunity
Unemployment of 3.7% is lower than 75% of the 379 measured US metros.
Employment fell 1.1% over the past year, to 86,405 employed residents.
38% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 86% of measured US metros.
Median household income of $86,271 is higher than at least 90% of measured US metros.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income ±$2,871 | $86,271 | Top 10%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Per capita income ±$1,445 | $47,778 | Top 9%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Poverty rate | 14.6% | Top 42%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Average commute | 28.6 min | Top 13%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 38.2% | Top 14%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Employment | 86,405 | Bottom 39%of 379 | June 2026 |
| Employment change (3 years) | -0.4% | Bottom 41%of 379 | June 2026 |
| Employment change (year over year) | -1.1% | Bottom 38%of 379 | June 2026 |
| Labor force | 89,713 | Bottom 38%of 379 | June 2026 |
| Labor force participation | 58.1% | Bottom 36%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Mean annual wage | $63,440 | Top 34%of 381 | 2025 OEWS |
| Median annual wage | $50,020 | Top 26%of 381 | 2025 OEWS |
| Metro employment | 59,140 | Bottom 25%of 381 | 2025 OEWS |
| Unemployment change (year over year) | 0.3% | Top 30%of 379 | June 2026 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.7% | Bottom 25%of 379 | June 2026 |
| Occupation | People employed | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Home Health and Personal Care Aides | 2,110 | $37,750 |
| Retail Salespersons | 1,860 | $36,530 |
| Cashiers | 1,490 | $34,770 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | 1,440 | $35,460 |
| Stockers and Order Fillers | 1,320 | $37,910 |
| General and Operations Managers | 1,280 | $99,970 |
Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Housing & affordability
How it’s calculated →Prices for everything a household buys run at about the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 99.6, against 100 for the nation. Where places do differ, housing drives most of the gap.
A new two-bedroom lease runs about $1,818, some 28% above the $1,425 tenants already here pay — the market has moved faster than sitting tenancies have.
Median rent of $1,425 takes 20% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.
A median home at $352,500 costs 4.1 times the median household income of $86,271, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.
Prices here run at about the national average. Where places do differ, housing drives most of it — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost of living index | 99.6 | Top 21%of 381 | 2023 |
| Home price to income | 4.09 | Top 25%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Homeownership rate | 69.9% | Top 49%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Housing units ±151 | 86,503 | Top 25%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Market rent, one bedroom | $1,386 | Top 20%of 351 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, three bedroom | $2,245 | Top 18%of 351 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, two bedroom | $1,818 | Top 11%of 351 | FY2026 |
| Median gross rent ±$48 | $1,425 | Top 11%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median home value ±$6,261 | $352,500 | Top 17%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Rent as a share of income | 19.8% | Top 31%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacancy rate | 14.1% | Top 32%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.
Growth & development
How it’s calculated →An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.
Population has grown 1% since 2020, reaching 182,977 in 2024.
At 3.3 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US metros.
Weather & climate
5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 83°F and January a low of 16°F.
Normal annual precipitation is 45.8 inches.
| Metric | Value | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Annual precipitation | 45.8" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average January low | 16°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average July high | 83°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Comfortable months | 5 | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Seasonal temperature swing | 46°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.
Physical risk
The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, hurricane and cold wave, with inland flooding alone responsible for 68% of it.
Low or minimal exposure: strong wind, tornado, lightning, ice storm, avalanche, winter weather, coastal flooding, wildfire, drought.
Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.
What this profile does not cover
Some things people look for are not on this page, and each is absent for a reason rather than by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.
- Reported crime
- Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. Any cities listed on this page carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
- Taxes
- Taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Cost of living now is — the index above is the Bureau of Economic Analysis price parity for this area — but it is a price level for all consumption rather than a budget for a household, its spread is driven mostly by housing, and it excludes taxes. Housing affordability is computed separately from rent, price and income, because that answers a narrower and more actionable question. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
- Anything about a specific address
- Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house. School attendance zones, insurance pricing and the character of a neighborhood all vary within the places measured here.
Access
6 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest New York Stewart Intl at 32 miles.
| Airport | Code | Distance | Longest runway |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York Stewart Intl | SWF | 32 mi | 11,817 ft |
| Albany Intl | ALB | 60 mi | 8,500 ft |
| Westfield-Barnes Rgnl | BAF | 81 mi | 9,000 ft |
Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.
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Data & methodology
| Used for | Source | Source period | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access | Federal Aviation Administration Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service | NASR current cycle | 28-day NASR cycle |
| Physical risk | Federal Emergency Management Agency National Risk Index | National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0) | Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current) |
| Climate | NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly) | 1991-2020 Normals | Every ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period) |
| Housing | U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional price parities and county personal income | 2023 | Annually, each December |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics | 2025 OEWS | Annual (spring release) |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics | June 2026 | Monthly |
| Development | U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey | 12 months ending July 2026 | Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month |
| Demographics | U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program | July 1, 2024 estimate | Annual (vintage released each spring) |
| Demographics, Housing, Income, Jobs | U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File) | 2024 ACS 5-Year | Annual (5-year estimates released each December) |
| Housing | U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research Fair Market Rents | FY2026 | Annually, each October for the coming fiscal year |
Profile recalculated August 30, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology or browse every source.