13601 — Watertown, New York

Area Profile

Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 13601. Its median household income runs 14% above Watertown as a whole, which is why this ZIP carries a profile of its own.

56out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 43% of 3,113 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 15 sources
Opportunity2,110th of 3,116 ZIP areas measured46
SchoolsTop 50% of 3,047 ZIP areas measured51
Growth2,173rd of 3,124 ZIP areas measured40
Housing affordabilityTop 28% of 3,112 ZIP areas measured75
Climate3,077th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured52
Physical resilienceTop 23% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured78
Access2,861st of 3,127 ZIP areas measured65
Economic stability2,461st of 3,127 ZIP areas measured35
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.3% and median household income $58,791, putting employment conditions in the middle range of ZIP areas measured. The unemployment rate is published for Watertown, NY, which contains 13601, rather than for 13601 alone.

In the public schools here, 54% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 12.9 students for every teacher.

Rent takes 29% of renter income here, below the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 2.0 times what its owners earn.

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
36,839
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$58,791
Bottom 28% nationally
Density
262/sq mi
140.7 sq mi of land
Median age
35.7
2024 ACS 5-Year
City
Watertown
New York
Nearest major airport
RME
57 mi · Griffiss Intl
Median home value
$172,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Watertown, NY, which contains 13601, is 4.3%, lower than in 54% of the 3,127 measured US ZIP areas.

Employment across Watertown, NY, which contains 13601, fell 0.3% over the past year, to 10,754 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsJefferson County, NY’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$50,45010th percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftJefferson County, NY’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$53,13915th percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$3,8932024 ACS 5-Year$58,791Bottom 28%of 31,0492024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,1802024 ACS 5-Year$34,835Bottom 44%of 32,8222024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year16.4%Bottom 26%of 32,8462024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.1 min2024 ACS 5-Year19.0 minTop 11%of 32,8872024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year26.2%Top 42%of 33,1932024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year80.9%70th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentWatertown, NY’s figureJuly 202610,754Bottom 3%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Watertown, NY’s figureJuly 2026−1.9%Bottom 26%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Watertown, NY’s figureJuly 2026−0.3%Top 42%of 3,127July 2026
Labor forceWatertown, NY’s figureJuly 202611,2343rd percentileof 3,127July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year77.6%Bottom 47%of 32,8832024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageWatertown-Fort Drum, NY Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$59,110Bottom 19%of 2,7602025 OEWS
Median annual wageWatertown-Fort Drum, NY Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$47,600Bottom 28%of 2,7602025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.4%2024 ACS 5-Year0.6%75th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Watertown, NY’s figureJuly 20260.0%Bottom 44%of 3,127July 2026
Unemployment rateWatertown, NY’s figureJuly 20264.3%Top 46%of 3,127July 2026
Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year5.2%26th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202459k54k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $58,791 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 — Watertown-Fort Drum, NY

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Retail Salespersons1,490$34,280
Fast Food and Counter Workers1,150$32,580
Cashiers1,100$33,040
Home Health and Personal Care Aides1,090$37,440
Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary990$34,190
Registered Nurses900$96,070

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.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish labor-force data for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Watertown, NY, the city containing this ZIP code.

54% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 55% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 12.9 students for every full-time teacher across 8 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
9
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
12.9
across 8 of them
Math proficiency
54.0%
Bottom 41% in New York
Reading proficiency
54.5%
Bottom 42% in New York
All 9 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Watertown Senior High SchoolWATERTOWN CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT1,18113.785%92%
Harold T Wiley SchoolWATERTOWN CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT61412.542%35%
Case Middle SchoolWATERTOWN CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT58611.532%31%
North Elementary SchoolWATERTOWN CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT43512.852%47%
Knickerbocker SchoolWATERTOWN CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT34012.647%52%
Sherman SchoolWATERTOWN CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT32314.747%52%
Ohio Street SchoolWATERTOWN CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT30813.432%27%
Jefferson-Lewis-Hamilton-Herkimer-Oneida BocesJEFFERSON-LEWIS-HAMILTON-HERKIMER-ONEIDA BOCES2673.1——
Starbuck Elementary SchoolWATERTOWN CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT15310.927%22%

67.2% 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 9% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 90.9, 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 Watertown-Fort Drum, NY Metro Area is up 39% over five years, and up 8.9% 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 $2,816 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.63% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,405, some 39% above the $1,011 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,405 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $56,200 a year, about 96% of the median household income here of $58,791.

The typical renter household here spends 29% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,011 a month.

A median home at $172,600 costs 2.0 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $85,614, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
90.9

Prices here run about 9% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Watertown-Fort Drum, 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
28.9%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.0×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,405
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,011
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$172,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against 13601’s median household income of $58,791, 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 Watertown-Fort Drum, NY Metro Area’s figure202390.9Top 14%of 2,7372023
Home price change (1 year)the Watertown-Fort Drum, NY Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+8.9%99th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Watertown-Fort Drum, NY Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+39.1%35th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Watertown-Fort Drum, NY Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+67.5%11th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year2.0Top 23%of 29,2752024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year48.6%8th percentileof 32,7502024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±6042024 ACS 5-Year18,73996th percentileof 33,4602024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,071Top 35%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,907Top 46%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,405Top 44%of 3,031FY2026
Median gross rent ±$492024 ACS 5-Year$1,011Top 50%of 26,3962024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$9,2682024 ACS 5-Year$172,60036th percentileof 30,8122024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1922024 ACS 5-Year$2,81667th percentileof 28,9352024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$5,6362024 ACS 5-Year$85,614Top 46%of 29,8022024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.14%2024 ACS 5-Year1.63%87th percentileof 24,0992024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year28.9%Bottom 46%of 26,2472024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1002024 ACS 5-Year9975th percentileof 33,7722024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.5%42nd percentileof 32,9612024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year10.6%69th percentileof 32,7882024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±4312024 ACS 5-Year2,07697th percentileof 33,7722024 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 2,173 of 3,124 published ZIP profiles

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.

87% of the 30 units permitted over the past twelve months are in buildings of five or more homes, so new supply is concentrated in apartments and condominiums rather than detached houses. The multifamily share is published for Watertown, NY, which contains 13601, rather than for 13601 alone.

At 1.2 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US ZIP areas. The permit rate is published for Watertown, NY, which contains 13601, rather than for 13601 alone.

Units permitted
30
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
1.2
Bottom 26% nationally
Year over year
+38%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
86.7%
units in 5+ unit buildings

People moving in and out

Net migration
−1.5%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
79%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$50,450
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$53,139
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Lewis County, NY 248 people · 3.1% of arrivals
  2. St. Lawrence County, NY 221 people · 2.8% of arrivals
  3. El Paso County, CO 217 people · 2.7% of arrivals
  4. Onondaga County, NY 190 people · 2.4% of arrivals
  5. Honolulu County, HI 178 people · 2.2% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Lewis County, NY 258 people · 2.8% of departures
  2. Onondaga County, NY 237 people · 2.6% of departures
  3. Honolulu County, HI 235 people · 2.5% of departures
  4. El Paso County, CO 231 people · 2.5% of departures
  5. St. Lawrence County, NY 224 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 Jefferson County, NY. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

The Building Permits Survey is not published for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Watertown, NY, the city containing this ZIP code.

Weather & climate

4 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 79°F and January a low of 10°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 37.1 inches.

0°20°40°60°80°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station WATERTOWN INTL AP, 5.8 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.2"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year442024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals37.1"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals10°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals79°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals41991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year02024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year322024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals49°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
32
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
44
90th percentile index
Days above 100
0
unhealthy for sensitive groups

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

78 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, cold wave and strong wind, with inland flooding alone responsible for 76% of it. Inland flooding and cold wave are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 77% of measured US ZIP areas.

Ice stormModerate
Strong windModerate
EarthquakeModerate
Heat waveModerate

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

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. ZIP values are the land-area-weighted mean of the counties the ZIP Code Tabulation Area intersects. Expected annual loss is not allocated below county level. 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.

Homicide
1.7
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
8.2
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Drug overdose
16.6
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
13.1
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 the county around 13601 (Jefferson County) rather than 13601 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. A ZIP area is not a jurisdiction, so no department reports for one. Watertown carries the figure where its 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
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

2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Griffiss Intl at 57 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year89.3%Bottom 49%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle57 miBottom 10%of 3,127NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle2Bottom 9%of 3,127NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year6.2%Top 40%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Griffiss IntlRME57 mi11,820 ft
Syracuse Hancock IntlSYR60 mi9,013 ft
Frederick Douglass/Greater Rochester IntlROC106 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
56
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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
HousingU.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
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
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
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
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.

13601 vs Watertown

How this ZIP area compares with Watertown as a whole. Both figures come from the same ACS release, so the comparison is like for like — a gap here is a real difference between the two places, not two surveys disagreeing.

13601
Watertown
Median household income: 13601 is the more favorable of the two.
Median household income
$58,791
vs
$51,753
Per capita income: 13601 is the more favorable of the two.
Per capita income
$34,835
vs
$33,731
Population density
262/sq mi
vs
2,699/sq mi
Median home value
$172,600
vs
$158,600
Median gross rent: Watertown is the more favorable of the two.
Median gross rent
$1,011
vs
$967
Homeownership rate
48.6%
vs
40.9%
Bachelor's degree or higher: Watertown is the more favorable of the two.
Bachelor's degree or higher
26.2%
vs
26.6%
Poverty rate: 13601 is the more favorable of the two.
Poverty rate
16.4%
vs
20.2%
Median age
35.7
vs
35.7

Some demographic statistics use Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, which approximate but do not exactly match USPS ZIP delivery geography. See the methodology for how AreaProfile maps between them.