Massena, New York
Area Profile
10,238 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Massena, in St. Lawrence County.
How this area ranks
Data updated · 12 sourcesEmployment conditions sit below most comparable cities measured: unemployment is 5.2% and the Opportunity signal places Massena in the bottom 21%. The unemployment rate is published for St. Lawrence County, NY, which contains Massena, rather than for Massena alone.
In the public schools here, 54% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 11.1 students for every teacher. Math proficiency and 1 other measure here are published for St. Lawrence County, NY, which contains Massena, rather than for Massena alone.
0 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 7% of the prior year — steady rather than turning. The change in permitting is published for St. Lawrence County, NY, which contains Massena, rather than for Massena alone.
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 across St. Lawrence County, NY, which contains Massena, is 5.2% — higher than in all but 19% of the 4,226 measured US cities.
Employment across St. Lawrence County, NY, which contains Massena, fell 1.0% over the past year, to 39,552 employed residents.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income of new arrivalsSt. Lawrence County, NY’s figurefiling years 2022–2023 | $65,141 | 36th percentileof 4,101 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Income of those who leftSt. Lawrence County, NY’s figurefiling years 2022–2023 | $59,874 | 24th percentileof 4,101 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Median household income ±$7,4582024 ACS 5-Year | $51,458 | Bottom 25%of 29,223 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Per capita income ±$4,8462024 ACS 5-Year | $37,739 | Top 38%of 31,420 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Poverty rate ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year | 23.5% | Bottom 17%of 31,773 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Average commute ±2.2 min2024 ACS 5-Year | 18.9 min | Top 14%of 31,543 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Bachelor's degree or higher ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year | 25.1% | Top 39%of 31,919 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Drove alone to work ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year | 81.9% | 66th percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| EmploymentSt. Lawrence County, NY’s figureJuly 2026 | 39,552 | Bottom 41%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (3 years)St. Lawrence County, NY’s figureJuly 2026 | +3.2% | Top 12%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (year over year)St. Lawrence County, NY’s figureJuly 2026 | −1.0% | Bottom 45%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Labor forceSt. Lawrence County, NY’s figureJuly 2026 | 41,743 | 41st percentileof 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Labor force participation ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 77.0% | Bottom 46%of 31,513 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Public transit to work ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.7% | 82nd percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Unemployment change (year over year)St. Lawrence County, NY’s figureJuly 2026 | +0.2% | Bottom 31%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Unemployment rateSt. Lawrence County, NY’s figureJuly 2026 | 5.2% | Bottom 19%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 5.2% | 38th percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
Median household income, successive ACS releases
The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for St. Lawrence County, NY, which contains this city.
54% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 49% in reading, across the schools here that reported results. Math proficiency and 1 other measure here are published for St. Lawrence County, NY, which contains Massena, rather than for Massena alone.
There are 11.1 students for every full-time teacher, fewer than in most measured places. The student-teacher ratio is published for St. Lawrence County, NY, which contains Massena, rather than for Massena alone.
The proficiency and staffing figures above are for St. Lawrence County, NY: too few schools in Massena reported a usable figure on their own to weight one honestly.
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.
Housing & affordability
How it’s calculated — housing affordability →The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the non-metropolitan parts of New York is up 52% over five years, and up 6.7% 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 $3,218 a year in real estate taxes, about 3.41% of the median home value.
HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,071, some 48% above the $722 tenants already here pay.
At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,071 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $42,800 a year, about 83% of the median household income here of $51,458.
The typical renter household here spends 33% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $722 a month.
A median home at $94,400 costs 1.2 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $75,987, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.
The figures above are measured against Massena’s median household income of $51,458, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home price change (1 year)the non-metropolitan parts of New York’s figure2026 Q2 | +6.7% | 96th percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of New York’s figure2026 Q2 | +52.3% | 85th percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of New York’s figure2026 Q2 | +101.7% | 65th percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year | 1.2 | Top 8%of 26,815 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Homeownership rate ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year | 55.4% | 14th percentileof 31,717 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Housing units ±3322024 ACS 5-Year | 5,340 | 89th percentileof 32,177 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Market rent, one bedroomFY2026 | $816 | Top 9%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, three bedroomFY2026 | $1,284 | Top 7%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, two bedroomFY2026 | $1,071 | Top 12%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Median gross rent ±$442024 ACS 5-Year | $722 | Top 18%of 23,120 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median home value ±$15,2142024 ACS 5-Year | $94,400 | 16th percentileof 29,111 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median property taxes ±$3342024 ACS 5-Year | $3,218 | 75th percentileof 26,440 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Owner household income ±$16,5592024 ACS 5-Year | $75,987 | Bottom 46%of 27,548 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Property tax rate ±0.65%2024 ACS 5-Year | 3.41% | 99th percentileof 20,543 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 32.5% | Bottom 29%of 22,950 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Seasonal and second homes ±212024 ACS 5-Year | 0 | 1st percentileof 32,330 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.0% | 1st percentileof 31,895 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year | 8.2% | 56th percentileof 31,769 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacant housing units ±1922024 ACS 5-Year | 436 | 88th percentileof 32,330 | 2024 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.
Growth & development
How it’s calculated — growth →Development Momentum
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 2% since 2020, to 9,998 in 2024.
New construction is predominantly single-family: of 0 units permitted over the past twelve months, only 2% are in buildings of five or more homes. The multifamily share is published for St. Lawrence County, NY, which contains Massena, rather than for Massena alone.
Federal tax returns show that people moving in from elsewhere in the US and people moving out roughly balanced across St. Lawrence County, which contains Massena, in the most recent year. Households that moved in reported an average income of $65,141, above the $59,874 of households that moved out.
At 0.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.
Population, annual estimates
People moving in and out
Where newcomers came from
- Franklin County, NY 279 people · 12% of arrivals
- Jefferson County, NY 224 people · 9.9% of arrivals
- Onondaga County, NY 72 people · 3.2% of arrivals
- Lewis County, NY 47 people · 2.1% of arrivals
- Monroe County, NY 41 people · 1.8% of arrivals
Where people who left went
- Jefferson County, NY 221 people · 9.2% of departures
- Franklin County, NY 212 people · 8.9% of departures
- Onondaga County, NY 88 people · 3.7% of departures
- Monroe County, NY 61 people · 2.5% of departures
- Clinton County, NY 57 people · 2.4% 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. This is the figure for St. Lawrence County, NY. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.
Housing units permitted per year
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 6°F.
Normal annual precipitation is 33.9 inches.
Precipitation
| Metric | Value | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals | 33.9" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average January low1991-2020 Normals | 6°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average July high1991-2020 Normals | 81°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals | 5 | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals | 54°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.
Physical risk
The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, cold wave and earthquake, with inland flooding alone responsible for 68% of it. Cold wave is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.
Low or minimal exposure: cold wave, winter weather, lightning, landslide, hurricane, strong wind, wildfire, tornado, avalanche, hail, drought, tsunami, volcanic activity, coastal flooding.
Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. 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.
St. Lawrence County has a modeled homicide rate of about 2.0 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 9.4 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.
Drug overdose deaths run at 13.1 per 100,000 residents in St. Lawrence County.
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 the county around Massena (St. Lawrence County) rather than Massena itself. 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. Either no municipal department reports for this place — many smaller communities are policed by the county — or its department did not report every month of the year. Either way there is no figure to show. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
- Cost of living
- Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
- 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. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
- Anything about a specific address
- Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.
Access
1 major airport lies within 100 miles, the nearest Plattsburgh Intl at 72 miles.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadband access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 87.9% | Bottom 42%of 31,588 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Distance to major airportNASR current cycle | 72 mi | Bottom 5%of 4,226 | NASR current cycle |
| Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle | 1 | Bottom 1%of 4,226 | NASR current cycle |
| No internet access ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 10.5% | Bottom 36%of 31,588 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Airport | Code | Distance | Longest runway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plattsburgh Intl | PBG | 72 mi | 11,759 ft |
| Griffiss Intl | RME | 120 mi | 11,820 ft |
| Syracuse Hancock Intl | SYR | 139 mi | 9,013 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Federal Aviation Administration Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service | NASR current cycle |
| Physical risk | Federal Emergency Management Agency National Risk Index | National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0) |
| Demographics, Income | Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county) | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Climate | NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly) | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics | July 2026 |
| Development | U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey | 12 months ending July 2026 |
| Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, Jobs | U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File) | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Demographics | U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program | July 1, 2024 estimate |
| Safety | U.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 |
| Schools | U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments | 2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year |
| Housing | U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research Fair Market Rents | FY2026 |
| Housing | U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions) | 2026 Q2 |
| Current conditions | NOAA 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.