The 10 Worst Small Towns In New York For 2022


Using science and data, we can tell you which teeny specks in NY are the pits.

Sam Sparkes, RoadSnacks
April 7, 2022 - 122,626 views
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Editor’s Note: This article is an opinion based on facts and is meant as infotainment. Don’t freak out we updated this article for 2022. This is our ninth time ranking the worst small places to live in New York.

Most Americans have never been to New York. However, as the people who live there know, New York is an awesome state.

But is it all roses? Definitely not. Just like any other state, New York has its trouble spots. This article aims to determine, using science, the absolute worst small towns to live in the Empire State. Don't shoot the messenger, this is all using data.

After analyzing more than 466 of New York's smallest cities, we came up with this list as the 10 worst small towns in New York where you'd never want to live:

These are the worst small towns in New York for 2022:

  1. Whitehall
  2. Wolcott
  3. Great Bend
  4. Yorkshire
  5. Avoca
  6. Loch Sheldrake
  7. Liberty
  8. Whitney Point
  9. Fort Plain
  10. Gouverneur

So what is the worst small town to call home in New York for 2022? According to the most recent census data, Whitehall is the worst small town to live in New York.

Of course, many of these cities would rank highly if they were in other states, since New York has its stuff figured out.

Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers, or scroll to the bottom to see how your town ranked.

And if you already know about the small towns, check out the best places to live in New York or the worst places to live in New York.

If you're looking for something more national, check out the worst cities in America or the worst states in America.

The 10 Worst Small Towns In New York For 2022

1. Whitehall

Whitehall, NY

Source: Wikipedia User Doug Kerr from Upstate Ne | CC BY-SA 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 2,263
Rank Last Year: 3 (Up 2)
Median Home Value: $87,200 (40th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 8.8% (55th worst)
More on Whitehall:  Data | Photos

2. Wolcott

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 1,534
Rank Last Year: 2 (No Change)
Median Home Value: $71,500 (10th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 7.4% (9worst)
More on Wolcott:  Data

3. Great Bend

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 1,329
Rank Last Year: 98 (Up 95)
Median Home Value: $115,400 (106th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 18.7% (6th worst)
More on Great Bend:  Data

4. Yorkshire

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 1,005
Rank Last Year: 16 (Up 12)
Median Home Value: $19,000 (worst)
Unemployment Rate: 10.9% (26th worst)
More on Yorkshire:  Data

5. Avoca

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 1,006
Rank Last Year: -
Median Home Value: $81,800 (26th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 8.5% (63rd worst)
More on Avoca:  Data

6. Loch Sheldrake

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 1,588
Rank Last Year: 1 (Down 5)
Median Home Value: $105,500 (78th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 8.4% (66th worst)
More on Loch Sheldrake:  Data

7. Liberty

Liberty, NY

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 4,162
Rank Last Year: 4 (Down 3)
Median Home Value: $102,100 (69th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 8.2% (72nd worst)
More on Liberty:  Data | Photos

8. Whitney Point

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 1,065
Rank Last Year: -
Median Home Value: $112,300 (96th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 32.9% (worst)
More on Whitney Point:  Data

9. Fort Plain

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 1,837
Rank Last Year: 15 (Up 6)
Median Home Value: $57,600 (2nd worst)
Unemployment Rate: 6.8% (102nd worst)
More on Fort Plain:  Data

10. Gouverneur

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 3,697
Rank Last Year: 11 (Up 1)
Median Home Value: $87,600 (42nd worst)
Unemployment Rate: 10.1% (33rd worst)
More on Gouverneur:  Data

How do you decide if a place is lousy or not?

In order to rank the worst small towns to live in New York, we had to determine what criteria people like or dislike about a place. It isn't a stretch to assume that people like low crime, solid education, things to do and a stable economy.

So we scraped the internet for those criteria, and it spit out the answer. Like magic.

How we determined the worst small towns to live in New York for 2022

We threw a lot of criteria at this one in order to get the best, most complete results possible. Using FBI crime data and the Census's 2016-2020 American Community Survey, this is the criteria we used:

  • Population Density (The lower the worse)
  • Highest Unemployment Rates
  • Low housing costs (meaning there's no demand)
  • Adjusted Median Income (Median income adjusted for the cost of living)
  • Education (Number of high school dropouts)
  • High Crime

We looked at cities with populations between 1,000 and 5,000 people, of which, there were a lot - 466 to be exact.

Additional note: We get the crime numbers from the FBI, which gets its crime numbers from the cities themselves. Dropout numbers are based on the adult population, not just the current graduation rates of teenagers.

This list is a scientific analysis based on real data and is completely unbiased.

There You Have It - The Worst Small Towns In New York

If you're analyzing teeny places in the Empire State with the worst economic situations, where there's high crime and there's not a lot to do, this is an accurate list.

If you're curious enough, here are the best small towns to live in New York, according to science:

  1. Poquott (Pop. 1,092)
  2. Roslyn Estates (Pop. 1,385)
  3. East Williston (Pop. 2,552)

For more New York reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Worst Small Towns In New York

Rank Town Population Unemployment Rate Home Value
1 Whitehall 2,263 8.8% $87,200
2 Wolcott 1,534 7.4% $71,500
3 Great Bend 1,329 18.7% $115,400
4 Yorkshire 1,005 10.9% $19,000
5 Avoca 1,006 8.5% $81,800
6 Loch Sheldrake 1,588 8.4% $105,500
7 Liberty 4,162 8.2% $102,100
8 Whitney Point 1,065 32.9% $112,300
9 Fort Plain 1,837 6.8% $57,600
10 Gouverneur 3,697 10.1% $87,600
11 Delevan 1,274 9.6% $85,700
12 Little Valley 1,145 4.6% $70,800
13 Hancock 1,078 8.2% $112,700
14 Little Falls 4,673 10.5% $68,100
15 Cohocton 1,066 10.0% $67,300
16 Marion 1,251 7.3% $110,400
17 Montour Falls 1,772 4.9% $90,100
18 Philadelphia 1,196 6.8% $130,800
19 Walton 3,020 6.5% $87,700
20 Addison 1,879 8.5% $75,200
21 Stottville 1,409 4.3% $163,200
22 Clyde 1,832 10.2% $69,700
23 Brocton 1,409 6.3% $84,300
24 South Fallsburg 1,312 1.8% $200,800
25 Lake Erie Beach 3,374 5.3% $104,500
26 Nunda 1,196 12.1% $88,300
27 Mineville 1,227 10.3% $76,900
28 Sodus 1,742 11.0% $76,400
29 Ellenville 4,024 0.7% $127,100
30 Catskill 3,832 12.1% $177,100
31 Afton 1,127 17.8% $84,700
32 Deposit 1,539 4.6% $87,600
33 Boonville 1,960 6.2% $116,100
34 Newfane 3,240 4.9% $95,800
35 Oxford 1,422 7.4% $95,800
36 Sherburne 1,319 3.7% $106,200
37 Dundee 2,077 2.6% $81,200
38 Sidney 3,668 5.0% $82,100
39 Angola On The Lake 1,682 8.1% $134,400
40 North Collins 1,183 10.0% $100,600
41 Watkins Glen 2,046 9.2% $130,100
42 Plattsburgh West 1,230 4.7% $74,700
43 Mount Morris 3,064 4.4% $77,100
44 Westfield 2,766 2.7% $76,200
45 Camden 2,560 7.5% $113,000
46 Carthage 3,364 4.1% $116,700
47 Stamford 1,334 4.6% $135,400
48 Pine Bush 1,682 23.7% $208,200
49 Holland 1,249 8.1% $137,700
50 St. Bonaventure 2,015 5.6% $107,300
51 Canajoharie 1,571 4.4% $85,700
52 Shokan 1,355 11.7% $208,200
53 Lake Katrine 2,536 6.0% $170,900
54 St. Johnsville 1,866 8.3% $71,500
55 Cobleskill 4,616 6.1% $137,700
56 Granville 2,250 2.7% $102,600
57 Munsons Corners 2,906 10.0% $134,000
58 Rouses Point 2,403 5.3% $136,200
59 Hillburn 1,031 6.5% $332,300
60 Dolgeville 2,494 4.4% $81,300
61 Richfield Springs 1,136 3.1% $106,800
62 Weston Mills 1,297 8.5% $95,300
63 Wayland 1,748 4.5% $83,700
64 Falconer 2,241 6.5% $74,100
65 Cuba 1,452 7.4% $72,100
66 Waverly 4,140 7.0% $102,500
67 Dansville 4,653 8.6% $88,500
68 Franklinville 1,865 6.1% $76,400
69 Elmira Heights 4,206 5.0% $83,300
70 Williamson 2,642 4.1% $107,900
71 Nedrow 2,286 7.3% $89,300
72 Tupper Lake 3,692 4.6% $82,400
73 Lorenz Park 1,992 6.6% $156,200
74 Sand Ridge 1,175 6.7% $140,400
75 Northampton 1,627 9.6% $358,600
76 Fort Edward 3,275 6.0% $113,400
77 Gowanda 2,876 6.0% $76,700
78 West End 2,199 4.9% $129,100
79 Middleburgh 1,652 2.8% $142,700
80 Arcade 2,074 7.2% $129,100
81 Northville 1,141 3.8% $129,600
82 Lincoln Park 2,167 8.3% $169,400
83 Ticonderoga 3,466 4.3% $124,300
84 Kerhonkson 2,200 9.2% $204,400
85 Champlain 1,326 2.0% $102,900
86 Riverside 2,610 0.0% $1,000
87 Jordan 1,447 8.8% $109,600
88 Mohawk 2,575 9.0% $82,300
89 Owego 3,850 5.0% $89,900
90 Phoenix 2,643 5.2% $105,900
91 Mcgraw 1,137 6.5% $89,500
92 Wellsville 4,397 2.5% $71,200
93 Glasco 2,141 3.0% $255,400
94 Port Byron 1,042 0.6% $92,200
95 Dannemora 4,060 9.0% $107,900
96 Dover Plains 1,051 7.1% $174,500
97 Adams 1,855 4.4% $152,500
98 Minetto 1,485 9.4% $139,900
99 Blasdell 2,659 11.2% $115,900
100 Delhi 3,146 4.6% $162,100
Download The Entire New York Ranking Data

How Is The Area In ?

 Worst