Ulster County, NY

County Profile

182,601 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Ulster 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.

63out of 100
Area Score
Top 36% of 1,453 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 13 sources
OpportunityTop 27% of 1,463 counties measured67
SchoolsTop 39% of 1,377 counties measured58
GrowthTop 40% of 1,453 counties measured56
Housing affordability1,219th of 1,462 counties measured60
Climate1,352nd of 1,463 counties measured54
Physical resilienceTop 31% of 1,463 counties measured73
AccessTop 39% of 1,463 counties measured86
Economic stability952nd of 1,463 counties measured49
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.0% and median household income $86,271, 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 10.3 students for every teacher.

600 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 4% 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
182,601
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$86,271
Top 12% nationally
Density
162/sq mi
1,124.2 sq mi of land
Median age
44.1
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Ulster County
New York
Metro area
Nearest major airport
SWF
32 mi · New York Stewart Intl
Median home value
$352,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

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

Employment fell 0.1% over the past year, to 86,355 employed residents.

38% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 90% of measured US counties.

Median household income of $86,271 is higher than in 88% of measured US counties.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023$113,74796th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023$79,60587th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$2,8712024 ACS 5-Year$86,271Top 12%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,4452024 ACS 5-Year$47,778Top 9%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per-capita personal income2023$65,930Top 24%of 1,3892023
Poverty rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year14.1%Bottom 42%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.7 min2024 ACS 5-Year28.6 minBottom 31%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year38.2%Top 10%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year68.9%12th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202686,355Top 26%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+0.2%Top 48%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−0.1%Top 40%of 1,467July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202689,90974th percentileof 1,467July 2026
Labor force participation ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year74.2%Bottom 43%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.4%2024 ACS 5-Year1.9%94th 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%2024 ACS 5-Year17.6%93rd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/075.02.6
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.0% in July 2026. It has been rising for the last 3 months, 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

202120222023202486k71k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $86,271 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 — Kingston, NY

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Home Health and Personal Care Aides2,110$37,750
Retail Salespersons1,860$36,530
Cashiers1,490$34,770
Fast Food and Counter Workers1,440$35,460
Stockers and Order Fillers1,320$37,910
General and Operations Managers1,280$99,970

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 10.3 students for every full-time teacher across 41 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
42
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
10.3
across 41 of them
Math proficiency
59.9%
Bottom 45% in New York
Reading proficiency
57.1%
Top 48% in New York
The 12 largest of 42 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Kingston High SchoolKINGSTON CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT1,74911.990%90%
J Watson Bailey Middle SchoolKINGSTON CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT9369.633%34%
Wallkill Senior High SchoolWALLKILL CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT93012.293%97%
M Clifford Miller Middle SchoolKINGSTON CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT8269.226%24%
Saugerties Senior High SchoolSAUGERTIES CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT80012.994%95%
Marlboro Elementary SchoolMARLBORO CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT78010.345%37%
Ellenville Elementary SchoolELLENVILLE CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT73015.931%27%
Ellenville Junior/senior High SchoolELLENVILLE CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT69810.787%92%
Highland Elementary SchoolHIGHLAND CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT66512.549%45%
Marlboro Central High SchoolMARLBORO CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT62911.692%98%
New Paltz Senior High SchoolNEW PALTZ CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT62211.598%98%
Rondout Valley High SchoolRONDOUT VALLEY CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT54710.992%87%

41.1% 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 at about the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 99.6, 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 Kingston, NY Metro Area is up 46% over five years, and up 2.6% 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 $6,238 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.77% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,818, some 28% above the $1,425 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,818 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $72,700 a year, about 84% of the median household income here of $86,271.

The typical renter household here spends 35% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,425 a month.

A median home at $352,500 costs 3.3 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $107,312, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Cost of living
99.6

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.

Published for the Kingston, 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
34.8%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.3×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,818
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,425
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$352,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Ulster County’s median household income of $86,271, 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 Kingston, NY Metro Area’s figure202399.6Bottom 29%of 8872023
Home price change (1 year)the Kingston, NY Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+2.6%27th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Kingston, NY Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+46.2%59th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Kingston, NY Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+122.4%92nd percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.12024 ACS 5-Year3.3Bottom 22%of 3,2172024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year69.9%29th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±1512024 ACS 5-Year86,50389th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,386Bottom 19%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$2,245Bottom 14%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,818Bottom 11%of 1,423FY2026
Median gross rent ±$482024 ACS 5-Year$1,425Bottom 9%of 3,2152024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$6,2612024 ACS 5-Year$352,50087th percentileof 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1152024 ACS 5-Year$6,23898th percentileof 3,1722024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$2,6642024 ACS 5-Year$107,312Top 9%of 3,2182024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.05%2024 ACS 5-Year1.77%95th percentileof 3,1262024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year34.8%Bottom 5%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±6472024 ACS 5-Year6,23395th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year7.2%73rd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year6.9%32nd percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±8062024 ACS 5-Year12,22593rd 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

56/ 100
Top 40% of 1,453 published county profiles
Permitting has been rising for the last 2 years of 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 grown 1% since 2020, reaching 182,977 in 2024.

Federal tax returns show Ulster County gained about 0.2% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $113,747, above the $79,605 of households that moved out.

At 3.3 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US counties.

Units permitted
600
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
3.3
Top 44% nationally
Year over year
+4%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
48.7%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

20202021202220232024183k181k
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
+0.2%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
28%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$113,747
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$79,605
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Orange County, NY 1,154 people · 16% of arrivals
  2. Dutchess County, NY 946 people · 13% of arrivals
  3. Kings County, NY 824 people · 11% of arrivals
  4. New York County, NY 412 people · 5.7% of arrivals
  5. Queens County, NY 258 people · 3.6% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Orange County, NY 909 people · 13% of departures
  2. Dutchess County, NY 749 people · 11% of departures
  3. Kings County, NY 380 people · 5.5% of departures
  4. Greene County, NY 310 people · 4.5% of departures
  5. New York County, NY 239 people · 3.4% 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

2022202320242025603347
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2022 (+42%).

Weather & climate

4 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 74°F and January a low of 12°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 63.1 inches, including 104.7 inches of snow.

0°20°40°60°80°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station SLIDE MTN, 9.1 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND6.4"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals63.1"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals104.7"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals12°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals74°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals41991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals45°F1991-2020 Normals

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

Physical risk

73 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and hurricane, with inland flooding alone responsible for 68% of it. Tornado is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

LandslideModerate
Inland floodingModerate
HurricaneElevated
HailModerate
Cold waveElevated
EarthquakeModerate
Heat waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: strong wind, tornado, lightning, ice storm, avalanche, winter weather, coastal flooding, wildfire, drought, tsunami, 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.

Ulster County has a modeled homicide rate of about 2.2 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, lower than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at about 5.5 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 14.3 per 100,000 residents in Ulster County.

Homicide
2.2
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
5.5
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Drug overdose
14.3
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
13.2
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 Ulster 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

7 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest New York Stewart Intl at 32 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year92.4%Top 12%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle32 miTop 45%of 1,463NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle7Top 5%of 1,463NASR current cycle
No internet access ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year5.8%Top 16%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
New York Stewart IntlSWF32 mi11,817 ft
Albany IntlALB60 mi8,500 ft
Westfield-Barnes RgnlBAF81 mi9,000 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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Area Score
63
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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 Ulster County, NY