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 328 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:
- St. Regis Falls
- Lyon Mountain
- Sand Ridge
- Redwood
- Madrid
- Winthrop
- Red Creek
- Smithville Flats
- East Randolph
- Hammond
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.
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 crunched the numbers
We threw a lot of criteria at this one in order to get the best, most complete results possible. Using FBI crime data, the Census’s 2010-2014 American Community Survey, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 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 100 and 1,000 people, of which, there were a lot – 328 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.
1. St. Regis Falls
Population: 398 Median Income: $36,667
Median Home Value: $44,600
2. Lyon Mountain
Population: 323 Median Income: $28,839
Median Home Value: $48,000
3. Sand Ridge
Population: 642 Median Income: $37,614
Median Home Value: $74,800
4. Redwood
Population: 702 Median Income: $33,333
Median Home Value: $80,500
5. Madrid
Population: 684 Median Income: $37,917
Median Home Value: $83,400
6. Winthrop
Population: 324 Median Income: $50,495
Median Home Value: $53,000
7. Red Creek
Population: 661 Median Income: $33,359
Median Home Value: $71,500
8. Smithville Flats
Population: 460 Median Income: $36,188
Median Home Value: $86,300
9. East Randolph
Population: 561 Median Income: $24,531
Median Home Value: $77,500
10. Hammond
Population: 335 Median Income: $31,750
Median Home Value: $63,300
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.
- Best: Grand View-on-Hudson
- 2nd Best: Hewlett Neck
- 3rd Best: Woodsburgh
For more reading, check out:
Living in the suburbs of Panama (#5), not in the town proper, I’d say the stretch comes in measuring a town by a few numbers. You would be hard pressed to find a more caring community filled with hard working people. Least densely populated? Maybe the over 1000 of acres of state lands has something to do with that, along with the farms, and larger land plots owned by residents. I’d be tempted to check out the other towns on this list if I ever have to move on from here.
Boy, you missed the boat on many of these. And there are several smaller towns that never made this list. You probably all live in high rise apartments in the city. Snobs.
Panama is in fact, a village, not a town. Charted in 1861. We are located in the Town of Harmony. Panama is also zoned…meaning that no farms can be located in the village unless they existed before zoning, as they were grandfathered in. (The exception being 4-H animal projects) If the farms are sold out of the family that currently owns them, they will not be able to be farmed without a variance. There are large farms in the surrounding area, many have been in families for generations. “Not much inside entertainment to be had.” Our school has one of the top music programs in the area. The auditorium is filled to standing capacity for concerts, musicals and plays. The area churches come together to present a spring musical. Basketball, volleyball, swim meets are attended by everyone, young and old. Our boys basketball team was recently ranked 3rd in the state, our girls basketball team, 2nd in the state. Not bad for a school of 750 students, preK-12. We have a dodge ball tournament that is second to none each year. The kids love it! And if you can’t find much ‘inside entertainment’, that’s a good thing, seeing that we are surrounded by thousands of acres of state lands, which contain hiking trails and in the winter cross country ski trails, as well as having an extensive network of seasonal roads. Miles of groomed and maintained snowmobile trails are found around the village also. We are about 13 miles from Peek and Peak Ski Resort. And let’s not forget Panama Rocks. A geological wonder. An ancient ocean floor which can be hiked and climbed. It is the pride of Panama. Our volunteer fire department is top rate. Their call response time is one of the (fastest) top in the county. In fact, it is being included in a study as to how this is possible…easy….when the siren goes off, many volunteers drop what they are doing and head to the call. Many have an agreement with their employer to do so. Being a volunteer, you don’t get time off from your job after you’ve been out all night fighting a fire. I’ve seen many men and women walking bleary-eyed into work after being out all night trying to save someone’s property. When responding to a call, there is a very high possibility that you know that person, are good friend of that person or even related to that person. Numerous fund raisers and dinners have been given by the people in and around this village for those that have had house fires, injuries or illnesses that have kept them from work. You can always count on the people to just ‘show up’ and help out if you need it, and haven’t even asked for it! Just passing the hat at a basketball game for someone who recently lost their house to a fire collected more than $500..I am proud to say that I am a third generation Panamanian. If I was ever to move, I would check out the other towns that made your infamous list. They sound just like the paradise that I live in and have raised my children in. If you would like to read about the history of our village, please purchase the book, Remembering Panama, Glimpses of the Past by Pamela A. Brown and Heather J. Schneider. You’ll know why we stay here.
Best comment I’ve read so far!
Sounds just like all our small towns especially when it comes to the volunteers . Let them have the city .
I’m calling bullshit on this article.
“Than you’d better get in shape. ” **Then** How am I supposed to trust a journalist that can’t even write?
I live in Brushton. Low crime rate, fresh air, and quiet…and no, I don’t go to any of the churches around here.
Although I have never lived in Altmar, I have visited there on several occasions and except for the world-class salmon and steel head fishing, the presence of the best snow mobile trail system in the eastern U.S. and an annual snowfall that requires that the trails be groomed every other day, I would pretty much agree with your rating.
I’ve lived in the Utica area for 70 years and never heard of Nelliston. I go north and south of Utica a lot, and never saw any Nelliston south of Utica. When I looked it up it’s actually 35 miles to the East of Utica. As a scientist I’d say that isn’t a very accurate depiction.
Further, the assumption that low population density is a bad thing, is clearly unscientific and illogical. Would you rather have a thousand people living within a block of your home, or ten?
So people packed together in high density with crazy high home prices, would give a higher score? I think that is a value judgement that some may like, others of us would totally reject. I understand the crime and the unemployment measures.
But come on, in these towns you can buy a decent home for well under 100k, and in some really pretty areas of NY. Physical beauty should also have been taken into account. Just some thoughts.
How ignorant is all u, if u was og u know Hempstead is the most dangerous, og, gang filled town in all of NY. We gots the crips, blood, bdk, gdk, bd, gd, ms13, 18 st, vatos locos, and alot of other gangs u ain’t heard of. I rep no set, but Ik the seriousness of gangs & I’m warning all of u that ain’t from the ‘Stead & fk Uniondale. U all wannabes, u ain’t never gonna be Hempstead.
How is hooville(Hoosick falls) not on this list? With our poison water, crooked ass judges, failing infrastructure, and lack of employment.
I actually love small town living and upstate NY has a lot of beauty I would take any of these towns over Elmira NY any day.. these places seem beautiful and affordable