Madison County, NY

County Profile

67,328 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Madison 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.

60out of 100
Area Score
Top 47% of 1,453 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 13 sources
OpportunityTop 41% of 1,463 counties measured59
SchoolsTop 40% of 1,377 counties measured58
Growth1,002nd of 1,453 counties measured40
Housing affordabilityTop 37% of 1,462 counties measured76
Climate1,202nd of 1,463 counties measured59
Physical resilience788th of 1,463 counties measured56
AccessTop 32% of 1,463 counties measured88
Economic stabilityTop 43% of 1,463 counties measured65
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.0% and median household income $75,499, putting employment conditions in the middle range of counties measured.

In the public schools here, 60% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 11.2 students for every teacher.

123 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 8% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.

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

Population
67,328
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$75,499
Top 25% nationally
Density
103/sq mi
654.9 sq mi of land
Median age
42.4
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Madison County
New York
Metro area
Nearest major airport
RME
26 mi · Griffiss Intl
Median home value
$184,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.0%, lower than in 53% of the 1,467 measured US counties.

Employment fell 0.8% over the past year, to 30,809 employed residents.

30% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 75% of measured US counties.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023$63,22561st percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023$65,24268th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$3,2302024 ACS 5-Year$75,499Top 25%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,0702024 ACS 5-Year$40,197Top 25%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per-capita personal income2023$58,285Top 42%of 1,3892023
Poverty rate ±1.0%2024 ACS 5-Year9.9%Top 26%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.6 min2024 ACS 5-Year25.2 minTop 47%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year29.6%Top 25%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year75.0%33rd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202630,809Bottom 47%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+0.4%Top 46%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−0.8%Bottom 45%of 1,467July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202632,09447th percentileof 1,467July 2026
Labor force participation ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year77.4%Top 40%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year0.5%74th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026+0.1%Bottom 33%of 1,467July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20264.0%Top 47%of 1,467July 2026
Worked from home ±1.0%2024 ACS 5-Year10.4%66th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/075.12.7
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.0% in July 2026. It has been holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. 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

202120222023202475k63k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $75,499 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 — Syracuse, NY

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Home Health and Personal Care Aides8,310$37,440
Registered Nurses8,180$86,960
Retail Salespersons8,150$35,250
Fast Food and Counter Workers6,750$33,940
Stockers and Order Fillers6,640$38,950
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand6,390$44,660

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

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.

60% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 57% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 11.2 students for every full-time teacher across 24 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
24
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
11.2
across all schools here
Math proficiency
60.2%
Bottom 48% in New York
Reading proficiency
57.1%
Top 50% in New York
The 12 largest of 24 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Chittenango High SchoolCHITTENANGO CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT59211.498%98%
Cazenovia High SchoolCAZENOVIA CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT56011.786%91%
Chittenango Middle SchoolCHITTENANGO CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT55810.956%45%
Oneida Senior High SchoolONEIDA CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT48711.692%98%
Burton Street Elementary SchoolCAZENOVIA CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT48414.262%62%
Bolivar Road Elementary SchoolCHITTENANGO CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT47313.967%57%
Madison Central SchoolMADISON CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT41310.634%31%
Stockbridge Valley Central SchoolSTOCKBRIDGE VALLEY CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT3779.246%48%
Canastota High SchoolCANASTOTA CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT37313.867%62%
Roberts Street Middle SchoolCANASTOTA CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT3709.730%25%
Otto L Shortell Middle SchoolONEIDA CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT3559.640%23%
W F Prior Elementary SchoolONEIDA CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT31815.942%27%

36.5% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against New York’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 4% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 95.7, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Syracuse, NY Metro Area is up 64% over five years, and up 6.1% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $4,181 a year in real estate taxes, about 2.26% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,392, some 50% above the $928 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,392 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $55,700 a year, about 74% of the median household income here of $75,499.

The typical renter household here spends 28% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $928 a month.

A median home at $184,600 costs 2.1 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $89,174, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
95.7

Prices here run about 4% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Syracuse, NY Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
28.3%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.1×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,392
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$928
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$184,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Madison County’s median household income of $75,499, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Syracuse, NY Metro Area’s figure202395.7Bottom 43%of 8872023
Home price change (1 year)the Syracuse, NY Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+6.1%89th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Syracuse, NY Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+64.1%99th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Syracuse, NY Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+114.6%83rd percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.12024 ACS 5-Year2.1Top 26%of 3,2172024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year78.3%72nd percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±862024 ACS 5-Year30,73075th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,123Bottom 32%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,691Bottom 38%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,392Bottom 29%of 1,423FY2026
Median gross rent ±$252024 ACS 5-Year$928Bottom 40%of 3,2152024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$7,1632024 ACS 5-Year$184,60051st percentileof 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1652024 ACS 5-Year$4,18194th percentileof 3,1722024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$3,5432024 ACS 5-Year$89,174Top 25%of 3,2182024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.13%2024 ACS 5-Year2.26%99th percentileof 3,1262024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year28.3%Bottom 45%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±2842024 ACS 5-Year2,05785th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year6.7%71st percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year7.9%40th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±4022024 ACS 5-Year4,47877th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

40/ 100
Ranks 1,002 of 1,453 published county profiles
The most recent move in permitting was downward, in a series running from 2022 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

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 1% since 2020, to 67,072 in 2024.

Permitting has turned downward after moving the other way the year before: 125 units authorized in 2025, 9% below the prior year.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 123 units permitted over the past twelve months, only 12% are in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show that people moving in from elsewhere in the US and people moving out roughly balanced across Madison County in the most recent year. Households that moved in reported an average income of $63,225, close to the $65,242 of households that moved out.

At 1.8 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US counties.

Units permitted
123
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
1.8
Bottom 34% nationally
Year over year
−8%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
12.2%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202468k67k
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. It has been holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
−0.1%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
24%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$63,225
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$65,242
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Onondaga County, NY 736 people · 28% of arrivals
  2. Oneida County, NY 596 people · 22% of arrivals
  3. Chenango County, NY 135 people · 5.1% of arrivals
  4. Oswego County, NY 70 people · 2.6% of arrivals
  5. Cortland County, NY 51 people · 1.9% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Oneida County, NY 595 people · 22% of departures
  2. Onondaga County, NY 587 people · 22% of departures
  3. Chenango County, NY 127 people · 4.7% of departures
  4. Oswego County, NY 83 people · 3.1% of departures
  5. Otsego County, NY 57 people · 2.1% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

202220232024202513774
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2022 (+69%).

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 81°F and January a low of 14°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 44.0 inches.

0°20°40°60°80°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station UTICA ONEIDA CO AP, 21.5 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.7"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals44.0"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals14°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals81°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals48°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

56 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and lightning, with inland flooding alone responsible for 83% of it. Tornado and lightning are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

Inland floodingElevated
Ice stormModerate
Strong windModerate
Heat waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: winter weather, lightning, landslide, hurricane, earthquake, tornado, cold wave, hail, wildfire, avalanche, drought, tsunami, coastal flooding, volcanic activity.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). These are FEMA’s own figures for this county rather than a value derived from surrounding geographies. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Madison County records 0.0 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, lower than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at about 8.5 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at about 14.8 per 100,000 residents in Madison County.

Homicide
0.0
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
8.5
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Drug overdose
14.8
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Suicide
20.9
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe Madison County as a whole. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is 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. City profiles inside this area 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.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

4 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Griffiss Intl at 26 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year89.3%Top 31%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle26 miTop 35%of 1,463NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle4Top 43%of 1,463NASR current cycle
No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year7.9%Top 31%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Griffiss IntlRME26 mi11,820 ft
Syracuse Hancock IntlSYR26 mi9,013 ft
Elmira/Corning RgnlELM81 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
60
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
Housing, IncomeU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 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 every source with how often each updates.

Cities in Madison County, NY