These Are The 10 Most Boring Places In New York


We used data and science to identify which places in New York are total snoozefests.

Nick James, RoadSnacks
January 27, 2016 - 40,136 views
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This article is an opinion based on facts and is meant as infotainment. Don’t freak out.

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There’s no denying it: there are plenty of places in New York that are downright beautiful and full of excitement.

Unfortunately, not all towns and cities in NY are so lucky.

Just like in all U.S. States, there are definitely some boring places within New York’s borders. You know the places: the ones where everyone has an AARP card and the most exciting thing they do all day is post a picture of their grandchild on Facebook.

Like Briarcliff Manor, for instance. In our latest analysis, we found that this city was the most boring city in all of New York. But don’t feel bad if you’re a resident of Briarcliff Manor. There are plenty of other boring, lackluster places in New York as well.

Here they are. Try not to jump out of your seat with excitement:

  1. Briarcliff Manor
  2. Rye Brook
  3. Irvington
  4. Croton-On-Hudson
  5. Chestnut Ridge
  6. East Hills
  7. Airmont
  8. Hastings-On-Hudson
  9. Kings Point
  10. North Hills

Before you get all upset if your city’s name is on the list, rest assured that we didn’t use personal opinion when it comes to what classifies a city or town as “boring” or “exciting”. We crunched actual numbers to figure out which towns are statistically more boring.

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How we determined the boring cities in the Empire State

To figure out how boring a place is, we rely on a complex algorithm that factors in things we generally think make people exciting, and then we figure out which cities have the least number of those exciting people. We used the U.S. Census data to gather the information. Here are some of the things people tend to think of as making a city’s population boring:

  • % of Population Over 35 (higher is more boring)
  • % of Married Household (higher is more boring)
  • Average Age (higher is more boring)
  • % of Households With Kids (higher is more boring)
  • % of Households with People Over 65 (higher is more boring)
  • Population density (lower is more boring)

Then, our algorithm generates several lists of the cities that have plenty of residents with high rankings in all of these categories. After a crunching of the numbers, a list of all of the cities magically appears listing them from most boring to most exciting.

For this list, we used every New York city that qualified for our rankings based on having a population of at least 5,000 residents. This keeps us from prejudicing our rankings by including very small pockets of retired people.

Grab your rocker and hold on.

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1. Briarcliff Manor

Boring New York

Source: wikipedia

Population: 7,943
Average Age: 44.5
Married Households: 58.3%
Households With Kids: 38.7%

2. Rye Brook

Boring New York

Source: Public Domain

Population: 9,391
Average Age: 46.5
Married Households: 61.5%
Households With Kids: 37.9%

3. Irvington

Boring New York

Source: wikipedia

Population: 6,488
Average Age: 46.1
Married Households: 62.8%
Households With Kids: 37.0%

4. Croton-On-Hudson

Boring New York

Source: Public Domain

Population: 8,113
Average Age: 43.4
Married Households: 61.6%
Households With Kids: 42.1%

5. Chestnut Ridge

Boring New York

Source: Public Domain

Population: 7,987
Average Age: 43.5
Married Households: 54.7%
Households With Kids: 33.4%

6. East Hills

Boring New York

Source: Public Domain

Population: 6,984
Average Age: 42.7
Married Households: 72.8%
Households With Kids: 48.2%

7. Airmont

Boring New York

Source: wikipedia

Population: 8,692
Average Age: 42.7
Married Households: 57.7%
Households With Kids: 38.1%

8. Hastings-On-Hudson

Boring New York

Source: Public Domain

Population: 7,880
Average Age: 45.5
Married Households: 57.4%
Households With Kids: 36.7%

9. Kings Point

Boring New York

Source: Public Domain

Population: 5,016
Average Age: 39.0
Married Households: 62.7%
Households With Kids: 42.0%

10. North Hills

Boring New York

Source: Public Domain

Population: 5,093
Average Age: 59.2
Married Households: 65.4%
Households With Kids: 15.3%

Now That You’re Asleep

On a list like this, there are usually no winners, but since New York isn’t necessarily the most boring state in the United States, the cities on this list can at least take solace that there are, in fact, more boring cities in the country.

Just not these places.

Detailed List Of Boring Cities In New York

City Rank Population Average Age Married Households Households With Kids
Briarcliff Manor 1 7,943 44.5 58.3% 38.7%
Rye Brook 2 9,391 46.5 61.5% 37.9%
Irvington 3 6,488 46.1 62.8% 37.0%
Croton-on-Hudson 4 8,113 43.4 61.6% 42.1%
Chestnut Ridge 5 7,987 43.5 54.7% 33.4%
East Hills 6 6,984 42.7 72.8% 48.2%
Airmont 7 8,692 42.7 57.7% 38.1%
Hastings-on-Hudson 8 7,880 45.5 57.4% 36.7%
Kings Point 9 5,016 39.0 62.7% 42.0%
North Hills 10 5,093 59.2 65.4% 15.3%
Northport 11 7,405 44.8 57.9% 33.7%
Scarsdale 12 17,337 41.7 73.2% 53.5%
Bayville 13 6,701 46.0 55.2% 34.4%
Rye 14 15,805 41.3 64.9% 44.1%
Woodbury 15 10,657 40.1 60.2% 44.9%
Lawrence 16 6,504 37.5 62.4% 36.2%
East Aurora 17 6,237 45.5 56.0% 33.9%
Garden City 18 22,443 42.7 60.5% 36.3%
Pelham Manor 19 5,519 40.7 60.0% 46.1%
Hilton 20 5,939 42.2 54.0% 36.7%
Massapequa Park 21 17,065 42.5 60.6% 38.1%
Baldwinsville 22 7,384 42.1 51.3% 33.0%
Colonie 23 7,845 43.6 50.5% 29.9%
Warwick 24 6,773 45.4 49.7% 25.9%
Washingtonville 25 5,874 43.8 53.2% 30.3%
New Hyde Park 26 9,730 41.8 55.5% 36.9%
Williston Park 27 7,285 43.6 56.1% 33.5%
Rockville Centre 28 24,048 44.0 55.5% 31.4%
Amityville 29 9,525 47.0 49.6% 28.9%
Horseheads 30 6,529 44.6 53.0% 22.8%
Lynbrook 31 19,461 43.5 52.9% 33.9%
Wesley Hills 32 5,706 32.7 61.6% 46.8%
Waterloo 33 5,161 43.4 39.1% 35.2%
Malverne 34 8,529 43.6 53.8% 27.9%
Floral Park 35 15,988 40.6 58.0% 36.1%
Bronxville 36 6,352 40.6 60.3% 42.1%
Harrison 37 27,636 36.0 51.3% 39.4%
Great Neck Plaza 38 6,769 46.8 52.5% 23.7%
Port Jefferson 39 7,767 43.3 53.0% 26.9%
Goshen 40 5,434 40.5 45.8% 30.5%
Lindenhurst 41 27,278 41.5 50.9% 35.8%
Bath 42 5,763 45.6 41.9% 23.6%
Great Neck 43 10,028 39.5 56.0% 34.2%
Dobbs Ferry 44 10,948 41.5 50.6% 35.1%
Oneida 45 11,333 41.2 46.9% 27.7%
Fairport 46 5,345 45.5 60.8% 25.4%
Monroe 47 8,455 35.9 59.5% 42.8%
New Hempstead 48 5,200 30.0 52.4% 55.2%
Westbury 49 15,132 39.0 50.2% 34.5%
Mineola 50 18,822 41.8 50.6% 30.4%
Pleasantville 51 7,055 41.9 53.9% 30.7%
Chittenango 52 5,057 38.1 55.9% 36.4%
Lake Grove 53 11,176 38.7 56.5% 39.4%
Hamburg 54 9,458 41.1 51.7% 28.4%
Larchmont 55 5,898 40.8 69.2% 40.9%
Suffern 56 10,803 42.4 48.6% 28.0%
Glen Cove 57 27,047 39.2 47.8% 32.9%
Malone 58 5,894 41.3 40.1% 30.6%
Rome 59 33,375 41.0 40.5% 26.7%
Mamaroneck 60 19,035 40.6 53.8% 34.7%
Valley Stream 61 37,544 38.2 52.3% 39.5%
Manorhaven 62 6,584 38.6 50.9% 39.2%
Tarr 63 11,342 41.9 50.5% 29.9%
Johnstown 64 8,619 39.5 41.6% 31.3%
Farmingdale 65 8,205 44.7 48.4% 24.7%
Penn Yan 66 5,203 41.3 40.4% 34.7%
Albion 67 5,595 38.6 38.4% 39.1%
Sleepy Hollow 68 9,914 36.5 54.3% 42.7%
East Rockaway 69 9,841 43.4 53.4% 29.0%
Newark 70 9,059 39.4 45.6% 29.2%
Massena 71 10,953 42.2 45.7% 27.1%
Depew 72 15,283 38.7 48.9% 28.1%
North Syracuse 73 6,733 42.9 41.3% 23.7%
Saratoga Springs 74 26,858 39.8 44.6% 20.7%
Williamsville 75 5,263 46.3 41.6% 20.3%
North Tonawanda 76 31,373 42.1 46.7% 25.2%
Cedarhurst 77 6,598 36.6 53.3% 38.5%
Pelham 78 6,920 38.4 55.7% 47.0%
Canandaigua 79 10,537 42.7 37.2% 25.5%
Babylon 80 12,175 41.6 53.9% 29.5%
Tonawanda 81 15,074 42.3 45.8% 26.5%
Port Jervis 82 8,774 39.2 41.2% 30.2%
Salamanca 83 5,746 38.1 39.2% 32.0%
Lackawanna 84 18,069 41.6 36.5% 22.7%
Lancaster 85 10,325 40.3 46.5% 28.1%
White Plains 86 57,153 38.7 47.8% 29.7%
Medina 87 6,024 36.2 43.8% 31.5%
Herkimer 88 7,741 42.3 37.0% 23.7%
Freeport 89 42,976 38.3 39.4% 36.7%
New Rochelle 90 77,820 38.4 46.3% 33.8%
Peekskill 91 23,702 39.7 43.8% 29.7%
Beacon 92 14,724 39.4 40.0% 32.1%
Mount Kisco 93 10,936 36.9 47.6% 36.1%
Ilion 94 8,018 36.7 47.6% 31.7%
Ogdensburg 95 11,097 38.7 36.8% 31.3%
Mastic Beach 96 15,547 34.9 48.4% 44.5%
Cohoes 97 16,180 43.2 40.7% 24.3%
Dunkirk 98 12,458 38.9 40.1% 30.4%
Kenmore 99 15,362 39.5 46.7% 27.1%
Webster 100 5,501 37.0 40.3% 32.2%
Yonkers 101 197,493 37.6 43.5% 33.3%
Olean 102 14,316 39.5 41.1% 26.7%
Auburn 103 27,571 39.5 35.8% 28.0%
Batavia 104 15,406 39.7 42.1% 26.3%
Lockport 105 21,042 40.2 39.7% 26.6%
Kingston 106 23,823 39.7 39.3% 26.8%
Fulton 107 11,854 34.5 42.3% 35.6%
Monticello 108 6,781 33.3 30.3% 24.9%
Saranac Lake 109 6,050 41.1 43.8% 23.2%
Hudson 110 6,686 38.7 28.2% 31.3%
Mechanicville 111 5,209 40.0 38.4% 27.5%
Gloversville 112 15,514 37.3 41.7% 30.6%
Walden 113 6,931 34.7 43.8% 41.5%
Scotia 114 7,723 37.9 49.5% 30.3%
Amsterdam 115 18,425 38.6 38.0% 29.5%
West Haverstraw 116 10,243 34.5 46.4% 48.5%
Norwich 117 7,135 38.3 39.3% 29.5%
Hudson Falls 118 7,268 35.9 46.0% 28.8%
Ossining 119 25,158 37.1 45.4% 39.9%
Kiryas Joel 120 20,734 11.9 76.8% 85.0%
New Square 121 7,127 13.6 72.4% 90.0%
Hornell 122 8,535 36.0 45.1% 31.8%
Wappingers Falls 123 5,301 37.5 43.2% 33.0%
Johnson City 124 15,063 37.5 40.1% 26.3%
Haverstraw 125 11,952 32.5 39.3% 47.9%
Solvay 126 6,542 39.7 40.0% 27.4%
Jamestown 127 30,944 36.8 39.4% 31.3%
Long Beach 128 33,407 43.2 38.8% 22.7%
Utica 129 61,979 34.7 35.0% 31.8%
Niagara Falls 130 49,920 39.4 35.2% 25.9%
Tuckahoe 131 6,519 38.4 44.1% 31.8%
Port Chester 132 29,107 35.9 42.9% 36.1%
Corning 133 11,128 38.2 40.8% 27.7%
Mount Vernon 134 67,653 37.7 35.8% 33.6%
Oswego 135 18,148 36.4 39.9% 25.8%
Glens Falls 136 14,652 39.5 39.4% 25.2%
Watertown 137 27,453 30.5 44.7% 31.3%
Middletown 138 27,953 32.3 39.4% 37.8%
Endicott 139 13,291 37.7 36.1% 27.4%
Spring Valley 140 31,742 28.2 43.3% 50.5%
Poughkeepsie 141 31,172 36.1 33.5% 30.4%
Elmira 142 29,176 34.4 33.5% 32.5%
Hempstead 143 54,350 32.5 32.3% 43.9%
Ballston Spa 144 5,465 40.6 35.7% 22.0%
Nyack 145 6,980 38.5 36.5% 21.7%
Rensselaer 146 9,451 37.5 35.2% 20.6%
New York 147 8,268,999 35.6 39.0% 31.2%
Patchogue 148 11,902 35.2 37.0% 32.4%
East Rochester 149 6,588 37.8 36.6% 28.0%
Newburgh 150 28,731 29.0 33.7% 44.2%
Binghamton 151 46,975 36.9 30.9% 23.4%
Geneva 152 13,247 28.9 32.6% 25.3%
Fredonia 153 11,077 25.2 34.2% 18.9%
Canton 154 6,551 21.7 24.0% 18.1%
Watervliet 155 10,249 34.6 32.7% 27.8%
Schenectady 156 65,990 34.6 34.4% 26.6%
Buffalo 157 260,568 33.5 28.4% 29.0%
Rochester 158 210,624 31.1 25.8% 29.7%
Potsdam 159 9,568 20.8 12.9% 17.7%
Geneseo 160 7,984 20.8 20.0% 22.4%
Plattsburgh 161 19,907 30.1 28.0% 23.3%
Syracuse 162 144,742 29.4 26.6% 28.8%
Troy 163 50,019 30.4 27.7% 27.1%
Cortland 164 19,187 26.4 26.2% 26.7%
New Paltz 165 6,898 21.6 11.6% 11.5%
Brockport 166 8,369 22.0 26.9% 24.1%
Oneonta 167 13,922 21.9 21.7% 22.0%
Albany 168 98,142 30.7 25.0% 21.0%
Ithaca 169 30,225 22.1 15.3% 14.5%
 Boring 

16 thoughts on “These Are The 10 Most Boring Places In New York”

  1. So you’d rather live in Ithaca (#169) than the towns in Westchester that were at the top of the list? The “science” of this survey is in deep need of a gut check. None of the Westchester and Long Island towns themselves have enough to be exciting, but they all have something exciting (restaurants, culture, etc.) and all are minutes from one another and 30 minutes from Manhattan, both by rail and car. I’d rather be shot than live in Ithaca, which is essentially the North Pole without anything pretty to look at, and its 30 minutes from . . . nothing. Not too sure about the methodology here, but interesting enough for a very short-lived blog post, I guess. . . .

    Reply

  2. Briarcliff Manor is #1 and I would leave it at that. But if you prefer not to be part of a community, where everyone is on a first name basis, with a mix of old and young, where if you had an issue, the town would do its best to help you, in a place where all the parents are hands-on and very involved with their children – both generous of their time and with their money to give back, and your children go to nationwide top schools, then Briarcliff Manor is not for you…

    Reply

  3. I live in Croton and I completely agree that we should be on this list (I was surprised we weren’t #1), but that is a god awful picture! There are much nicer looking places (while still being boring) here, like the three way stop light in town or near the library or…pretty much most other streets.

    Reply

  4. I’d like to give Hastings on Hudson it’s due. Your algorithms are lacking in that they don’t take into account, mediocre, self centered, entitled, p.c. correct zombies, who’s entire existence revolves around their coddled children. The only thing thriving in Hastings’ ghostly downtown are it’s nail salons, perhaps the reason we slipped out of the top 5. The Mayor of Hastings Peter Swiderski, who’s visage and voice is a uninspiring as it gets, has put the entire village on a suicide watch. That’s no joke. It so mind numbling boring, they are fencing their iconic view from the Warburton bridge, to guard against suicides.
    Can Briarcliff say that? I think not. Hastings was robbed!

    Reply

    1. Having lived in Yonkers, Dobbs Ferry, Tarrytown, Sleepy Hollow and now, Briarcliff Manor (in yo FACE, Hastings man!) I guess it was a good thing I skipped over Hastings, LOL.

      Reply

  5. The authors have obviously not spent time in Hastings on Hudson. As for boring, they clear Briarcliff in street shoes.

    Reply

  6. You also have to remember that those “least boring” places on the list are where significant number of colleges are located. Of course your going to find a higher percentage of young, single folks in these areas. They should have also excluded those areas that had bias towards population densities of young people who were college bound.

    Reply

  9. So the most interesting places to live are in SUNY college dorms? I imagine this criteria was created by a college student… or some millenial who doesn’t want to ever see anyone over 35 or under 18, and whose idea of interest is probably getting bombed every weekend.

    Reply

  10. The fact that this article is scientifically flawed in the most fundamental of manners (by using characteristics that have nothing to do with how boring a place is) is evident in the fact that Kiryas Joel, a Hasidic Jewish enclave in Monroe is less boring than White Plains. Smh

    Reply

  13. Love this. Grew up in Briarcliff Manor, moved to Irvington after college and marriage. Had major “culture shock” after being transferred to REALLY boring town in the central part of ,Virginia. Literally in the midst of no where, we are an hour away from any other town of any size. Four hours from DC, 6 hours from VA Beach, no interstate close by……but like Briarcliff, a great place to raise a family and have neighbors who care. Schools are good and all of my children have graduated from major Universities. Boring isn’t all that bad.

    Reply

  14. Can we get data for the other towns in NY? I would love to see the breakdown for all the places we’re considering moving to.
    Thanks!

    Reply

  15. I was looking at the list of worse places to live in NY! How Utica didn’t make #1 is beyond me! It is the armpit of the universe! ( I could use some other words to describe Utica, but they are probably not printable on this site! Utica has NB absolutely nothing to offer to anyone in any way!!!

    Reply

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