Buffalo, NY cityscape

a landable guide

Best cities to live in New York State

There is far more to New York than the five boroughs. Upstate and beyond, the state's smaller cities pair walkable cores and green space with rents a fraction of the city.

By Karol Gajda

photo: Anil Baki Durmus / unsplash

Say New York and everyone pictures the same square mileage of Manhattan, but the state is enormous and most of it looks nothing like the city. Upstate holds walkable historic downtowns, the Finger Lakes and the Adirondacks, college towns and old industrial cities remaking themselves, all of it at rents a fraction of what the metro commands. It is a different New York, and for a lot of people a more livable one.

This list ranks the state's cities on cost, parks, walkability, and things to do, and it is deliberately about the New York beyond New York City. The city itself sits far down any affordability-weighted ranking, so the places that rise here are the reachable metros upstate and in the valley. If you want the state without the five-borough price, this is the map.

the ranking

how we ranked

Filtered to New York State, then ranked 30% affordability, 20% activity, 20% weather, 15% parks, 15% walkability.

common questions

Does this list include New York City?
The focus is the rest of the state. New York City's cost places it far down any affordability-weighted ranking, so the cities that rise here are the more reachable metros upstate and in the Hudson Valley, which is what people mean when they search for the state beyond the city.
Are upstate New York cities affordable?
Many are well below the national average on rent, pairing walkable historic cores and abundant green space with a fraction of New York City's cost. The ranking leads on affordability, so those values rise to the top.

also worth your time

a landable guide

Best cities in the Mid-Atlantic

a landable guide

Best cities to leave New York for

a landable guide

Best cities in New England

find your own top 10

run your numbers