Chemung County, NY

County Profile

82,147 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Chemung County, NY.

Several figures AreaProfile publishes are measured by county and nowhere finer — death rates by intent among them. On this page those describe the geography they are printed on, which is not true of the city and ZIP pages that inherit them.

61out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 47% of 1,225 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
Opportunity681st of 1,255 counties54
Schools848th of 973 counties20
Growth926th of 1,226 counties36
Housing affordabilityTop 41% of 1,255 counties96
Climate954th of 1,254 counties60
Physical resilienceTop 10% of 1,255 counties88
AccessTop 11% of 1,255 counties97
Economic stability927th of 1,255 counties46
The quick read

Unemployment is 3.9% and median household income $63,716, putting employment conditions in the middle range of published profiles.

Natural-hazard exposure is lower than in most comparable published profiles, placing Chemung County in the top 10% for physical resilience.

A major airport is 7 miles away, giving the area unusually direct access to the national air network.

At a glance

Population
82,147
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$63,716
Bottom 46% nationally
Density
202/sq mi
407.3 sq mi of land
Median age
42.0
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Chemung County
New York
Metro area
Elmira, NY
Nearest major airport
ELM
7 mi · Elmira/Corning Rgnl
Median home value
$141,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.9% is lower than 62% of the 1,255 measured US locations.

Employment fell 0.2% over the past year, to 34,206 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$2,911$63,716Bottom 46%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,537$37,273Top 38%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate16.3%Top 32%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute21.5 minBottom 22%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher27.2%Top 31%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment34,206Bottom 44%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)-2.2%Bottom 19%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-0.2%Top 36%June 2026
Labor force35,605Bottom 44%June 2026
Labor force participation57.5%Bottom 44%2024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)0.3%Top 37%June 2026
Unemployment rate3.9%Bottom 38%June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/065.53.1
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.9% in June 2026. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.
Median household income, successive ACS releases
202120222023202464k58k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $63,716 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.
Largest occupations — Elmira, NY
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Retail Salespersons1,180$34,140
Fast Food and Counter Workers880$32,950
Cashiers860$32,790
Stockers and Order Fillers820$37,520
Home Health and Personal Care Aides750$36,900
Registered Nurses730$82,820

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.

26% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 46% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 13.7 students for every full-time teacher, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
24
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
13.7
across all schools here
Math proficiency
26.2%
Bottom 6% in New York
Reading proficiency
45.8%
Bottom 9% in New York
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
ELMIRA HIGH SCHOOLELMIRA CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT1,27322.7
HORSEHEADS SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLHORSEHEADS CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT1,11913.3
ERNIE DAVIS ACADEMYELMIRA CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT84412.83%37%
HORSEHEADS MIDDLE SCHOOLHORSEHEADS CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT56411.322%52%
HORSEHEADS INTERMEDIATE SCHOOLHORSEHEADS CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT52913.622%42%
GARDNER ROAD ELEMENTARY SCHOOLHORSEHEADS CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT44414.861%68%
COHEN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLELMIRA HEIGHTS CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT4439.844%52%
FINN ACADEMY: AN ELMIRA CHARTER SCHOOL · charterFINN ACADEMY: AN ELMIRA CHARTER SCHOOL41113.3
HENDY AVENUE SCHOOLELMIRA CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT39116.317%31%
PARLEY COBURN SCHOOLELMIRA CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT39113.510%19%
BROADWAY ACADEMYELMIRA CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT37911.1
RIVERSIDE ELEMENTARYELMIRA CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT37517.9

56.2% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with rather than how the schools perform, which is why AreaProfile shows it and does not score it.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data. Schools are placed by ZIP code, so this is which schools are in this place rather than which one a particular address is zoned for — district boundaries do not follow municipal ones, and enrollment zones change. Fully virtual schools are excluded: they enroll students from across the state while reporting one administrative address, and counting them here would describe a school population this place does not have. The assessment covers grades 3 through 8, so a high school shows no proficiency figure — a dash in those columns means the test was not given at that school, not that it performed badly. Proficiency is measured against New York’s own standard, so it compares cleanly within the state and only broadly against other states; AreaProfile therefore ranks it within state. The directory is current, while the proficiency figures are from the last school year with national coverage before the pandemic interrupted testing.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,059 takes 20% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 2.2 times median household income here, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
19.9%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.2×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,059
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$141,100
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income2.21Bottom 17%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate68.4%Bottom 24%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±6839,252Top 21%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$36$1,059Top 26%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$6,793$141,100Bottom 26%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income19.9%Top 22%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate10.2%Bottom 30%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 →
Development Momentum
36/ 100
Ranks 926 of 1,226 published city profiles
Permitting is increasing — 3 consecutive years, measured from 2022 to 2025.

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 fallen 3% since 2020, reaching 81,115 in 2024.

Permit activity has risen for 3 consecutive years.

68% of recently permitted units are in buildings of five or more homes, so new supply is concentrated in apartments and condominiums rather than detached houses.

At 1.4 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US locations.

Units permitted
119
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
1.4
Bottom 24% nationally
Year over year
+27%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
68.1%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
2020202120222023202484k81k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population.
Housing units permitted per year
202220232024202510675
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2022 (+41%).

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 82°F and January a low of 16°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 32.4 inches.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station ELMIRA CORNING RGNL AP, 7.2 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND3.6"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation32.4"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low16°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high82°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing45°F1991-2020 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

88 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, heat wave and hurricane.

Inland floodingModerate
HurricaneModerate
Heat waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: landslide, lightning, tornado, avalanche, earthquake, drought, strong wind, ice storm, cold wave, winter weather, wildfire, hail.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA National Risk Index county record. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offences. AreaProfile does not publish reported crime, and this is not a substitute for it — it says nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Chemung County records 3.4 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 9.0 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, because nationally most firearm deaths are suicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 13.5 per 100,000 residents in Chemung County.

Homicide
3.4
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Firearm deaths, all intents
9.0
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Drug overdose
13.5
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
12.3
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides. The two columns overlap and should not be added.

Age-adjusted rates from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC for Chemung County as a whole — these rates are not published below county level. A county can hold both a dense city centre and a suburb whose experience of it is nothing alike, so this describes the county around Chemung County rather than Chemung County itself. That is why AreaProfile shows these figures and does not put them in the Area Score. Where fewer than ten deaths were recorded the count is suppressed at source, and a rate built on single figures moves sharply between releases. What this measure has that reported crime does not: a death certificate is filed whether or not the local police agency submitted a return that year, so the figures stay comparable between places and over time.

What this profile does not cover

Three things people look for are missing from every AreaProfile page, and each is missing 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
The FBI’s Crime Data Explorer is the only source for reported offences with national coverage and a published method, and it requires an API key AreaProfile does not hold. Arrest counts, news volume and commercial “safety scores” are not substituted in the meantime. What is published above under Safety is a different measurement — deaths rather than offences, from death certificates rather than police returns — and it covers no property crime at all.
Taxes
No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, transparent methodology and update cadence. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Full cost of living
No public source publishes one with national coverage and a documented method. Housing affordability above is computed from published rent, price and income, and excludes transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes — commuting cost in particular tends to offset suburban housing savings.

Access

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 7 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Elmira/Corning RgnlELM7 mi8,001 ft
Syracuse Hancock IntlSYR74 mi9,013 ft
Frederick Douglass/Greater Rochester IntlROC82 mi8,001 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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Area Score
61
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)
safetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
April, 2025 to March, 2026Quarterly, with a rolling twelve-month window alongside complete calendar years
schoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2019-20 school year; 2024-25 school yearDirectory annually; assessment results as EDFacts releases them

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.

Cities in Chemung County, NY