Herkimer County, New York

County in NY, US

By Neilsberg Research

Last updated May 1, 2026

Key Indicators

A quick look at key numbers

Population

59,757

Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates

Median Age

44.8

years ∙ half population younger than 44.8, half older

Diversity Index

17.5%

chance two random people differ in race and ethnicity

Nativity

2.9%

foreign-born population

97.1%Native

2.9% Foreign-born

Geographic Context

Location, size, and surroundings

About

Herkimer County is a county in New York, United States.

Location

County in NY, US

Co-ordinates

DEC43.571009° N, 74.841097° W

DMS43° 34′ 15.63″ N, 74° 50′ 27.95″ W

Population Density & area

42.35/sq mi (16.36/km²)

Total Area

1,457 sq mi (3,773 km²)

Land Area

1,411 sq mi (3,653 km²) · 96.8%

Water Area

46 sq mi (120 km²) · 3.2%

Demographics & Living

Who lives here, how households are formed, and community composition

Population Composition

Key characteristics of the population

Sex Distribution

50.1% male

Male 50.1%

Female 49.9%

males per 100 females

Herkimer County 100.4

New York 95.5

United States 98

Nativity

2.9%

foreign-born population

97.1%Native

2.9% Foreign-born

% Foreign-born

Herkimer County 2.9%

New York 22.8%

United States 14.1%

Age Distribution

How the population is spread across age groups

Median Age

44.8

years ∙ half population younger than 44.8, half older

Herkimer County

44.8

New York

39.8

United States

38.9

Dependency ratio

74.4

dependents per 100 working-age adults

Herkimer County 74.4

New York 62.3

United States 64.4

AGE DISTRIBUTION

Distribution of age group

Median age

	Herkimer County	New York	United States
Age Group
Children (Under 18)	20.4%	20.5%	22%
Working age (18-64)	57.3%	61.6%	60.8%
Senior (65+)	22.3%	17.9%	17.2%
Dependency ratio
Total dependency ratio	74.4	62.3	64.4
Child dependency ratio	35.6	33.2	36.1
Old-age dependency ratio	38.9	29.1	28.3

Racial & Ethnic Composition

Racial and ethnic makeup and how it compares

Race & Ethnicity

White

90.7%

Black

1.2%

Asian

0.6%

Hispanic

2.8%

Other

4.7%

Note: White, Black, and Asian refer to individuals belonging to a single race and not of Hispanic origin. Hispanics may be of any race.

Diversity Index

17.5%

chance two random people differ in race and ethnicity

Herkimer County 17.5%

New York 65.4%

United States 61.4%

Note: The Diversity Index (DI), based on the Blau Index, measures the probability that two randomly selected individuals differ in race and ethnicity. Values range from 0 (no diversity) to 1 (high diversity) and are shown as percentages.

RACIAL & ETHNIC COMPOSITION

Race & Ethnicity

Percentage of Herkimer County population

	Herkimer County	New York	United States
Hispanic or Latino	2.8%	19.8%	19.3%
Mexican	0.4%	2.6%	11.3%
Puerto Rican	1.3%	5.1%	1.8%
Cuban	0%	0.4%	0.8%
Other Hispanic / Latino	1.1%	11.8%	5.5%
Not Hispanic or Latino	97.2%	80.2%	80.7%
One race	93.1%	76.4%	76.4%
White	90.7%	52.8%	57.4%
Black or African American	1.2%	13.4%	11.9%
American Indian and Alaska Native	0.1%	0.2%	0.5%
Asian	0.6%	9%	5.9%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander	0.1%	0%	0.2%
Some Other Race	0.4%	1%	0.6%
Two or more races (Multiracial)	4.1%	3.8%	4.3%

Household & Families Composition

Household size, type, and family structure

Household structure

62% family

Family 62%

Non family 38%

% family households

Herkimer County 62%

New York 61.4%

United States 64.2%

Average household size

2.27

persons per household

Herkimer County

2.27

New York

2.49

United States

2.53

Household & Family COMPOSITION

Households

Percentage of Herkimer County population

	Herkimer County	New York	United States
Total households	25,741	7,722,646	129,227,496
Average houshold size	2.27	2.49	2.53
Family households	15,963	4,738,075	82,990,528
Average family size	2.84	3.16	3.14
Married couple family	12,321	3,279,487	60,637,388
Other families	3,642	1,458,588	22,353,140
Male householder	985	398,169	6,572,819
Female householder	2,657	1,060,419	15,780,321
Non-family households	9,778	2,984,571	46,236,968
One-person households	8,057	2,398,170	37,140,836
Male householder	3,683	1,045,868	16,871,444
Senior (65+) living alone	1,478	332,696	5,225,110
Female householder	4,374	1,352,302	20,269,392
Senior (65+) living alone	2,787	673,031	10,089,070
Other living arrangements	1,721	586,401	9,096,132

Housing Profile

Housing stock, ownership, rentals, and cost burdens

Total housing units

32,459

housing units

Herkimer County 32,459

New York 8,585,241

United States 143,775,355

Occupancy status

79.3% occupied

Occupied 79.3%

Vacant 20.7%

vacancy rate

Herkimer County 20.7%

New York 10%

United States 10.1%

Housing Characteristics

How the housing supply is structured and used

Types of Housing unit

73.3%

Single family houses

73.3%

Apartments in multi-unit structures

17.9%

Mobile homes

8.7%

Boat, RV, van, etc

Median Year Built

1954

Half of houses were built before 1954, and half after.

Historic ∙ 1939 or earlier

39.2%

Postwar & mid-century ∙ 1940 - 1969

24.7%

Late 20th century ∙ 1970 - 1999

25.7%

Modern ∙ 2000 or later

10.4%

Note: Median year built reflects occupied units only; distribution includes all units.

Housing Characteristics

Units, rooms & bedrooms

Physical characteristics of housing units

	Herkimer County	New York	United States
Rooms per unit
Median rooms	6	5	5.5
1–3 rooms	10.5%	24.3%	15.1%
4–6 rooms	50.8%	48.4%	51.6%
7+ rooms	38.7%	27.2%	33.4%
Bedrooms
No bedroom / studio	1.6%	5.4%	2.9%
1 bedroom	9.3%	19%	10.9%
2 bedrooms	27%	26.6%	25%
3 bedrooms	40.9%	31.1%	38.7%
4+ bedrooms	21.2%	17.9%	22.4%
At a glance
Median year built	1954	1959	1981
Total housing units	32,459	8,585,241	143,775,355

Occupancy Profile

Who is inside and how they use it

Homeownership

76.6% owners

Renter-occupied 23.4%

Owner-occupied 76.6%

homeownership rate

Herkimer County 76.6%

New York 54.3%

United States 65.2%

Average household size

2.34

Owner-occupied

2.03

Renter-occupied

owner-occupied average size

Herkimer County 2.34

New York 2.66

United States 2.64

Housing Characteristics

Occupied unit characteristics

Tenure, crowding, and utilities

	Herkimer County	New York	United States
Total occupied units	25,741	7,722,646	129,227,496
Year moved in
2020 or later	16.1%	20.5%	24.8%
2010 to 2019	35%	36.5%	39.6%
2000 to 2009	18.6%	17.8%	16.4%
1999 or earlier	30.4%	25.2%	19.1%
Occupants per room
1.00 or fewer	98.9%	94.7%	96.6%
1.01 to 1.50	0.6%	3.1%	2.2%
1.51 or more	0.6%	2.2%	1.2%
Vehicles availability
No vehicles	9.6%	29.2%	8.4%
1 vehicle	35.3%	33.6%	33.1%
2 vehicles	39.7%	25.4%	36.6%
3 or more vehicles	15.4%	11.8%	21.9%
House heating fuel used
Gas	54.1%	64%	51.4%
Electricity	14.1%	15.4%	41.3%
Solar	0%	0.1%	0.3%
Fuel oil, kerosene etc	22.1%	16.1%	3.9%
All other fuels	9.5%	2.8%	2%
No fuel used	0.4%	1.6%	1.2%
Selected characteristics
Lacking complete plumbing	0.2%	0.4%	0.4%
Lacking complete kitchen	0.9%	0.8%	0.8%
No telephone service available	1%	0.9%	0.9%

Housing Value

What owner-occupied units are worth

Median home value

$147,700

owner-occupied units

Median value(USD)

Herkimer County

$147,700

New York

$423,800

United States

$332,700

Housing Cost Burden

24.3%

of homeowners with a mortgage are cost-burdened

% Cost-Burdened Households

Owners with a mortgage

24.3%

Owners without a mortgage

14.9%

Renters

41.4%

Note: Households spending 30% or more of their income on housing costs are considered cost-burdened.

Financial characteristics

Property value and housing costs

Tenure, crowding, and utilities

	Herkimer County	New York	United States
Property value
Median Value	$147,700	$423,800	$332,700
Under $100,000	30.7%	9.5%	11.4%
$100,000 - $200,000	37.5%	15%	15.8%
$200,000 - $300,000	16.1%	13.2%	17.8%
$300,000 - $500,000	11.8%	19.7%	26.9%
$500,000 - $1,000,000	2.9%	30.1%	20.9%
$1,000,000 and more	1%	12.6%	7.1%
Owner-occupied households
With a mortgage	49.1%	57.8%	60.6%
Without a mortgage	50.9%	42.2%	39.4%
Median monthly owner costs
With a mortgage	$1,336	$2,555	$1,963
Without a mortgage	$590	$958	$638
Gross rent
Median rent	$823	$1,621	$1,413

Education Profile

How educated is the community and how education pays off

Adults with a college degree

22.7%

of adults 25+ with a bachelor's degree or higher

Herkimer County 22.7%

New York 40.2%

United States 35.7%

Adults without a high school diploma

8.5%

of adults (25+) without a high school diploma

Herkimer County 8.5%

New York 12%

United States 10.4%

School Enrollment

Who is enrolled in school and at what level

School enrollment

11,796

population (age 3+) enrolled in school

Nursery / Preschool

5.9%

K–12

76.2%

College / Undergraduate

14.7%

Graduate / Professional

3.3%

College-going rate (18-24 yr olds)

28.2%

of 18-24-year-olds in college or graduate school

Herkimer County

28.2%

New York

48.5%

United States

40.9%

Enrollment & school type

Enrollment levels, college-going rate, and public vs private school split

Population 3+ currently enrolled in a school

	Herkimer County	New York	United States
Total enrolled (age 3+)	11,796	4,642,703	80,089,790
Nursery / preschool	5.9%	6.1%	5.7%
K–12	76.2%	64.1%	67.6%
Kindergarten	4.3%	4.9%	5%
Elementary: Grades 1–4	21.9%	18.7%	19.8%
Elementary: Grades 5–8	25.5%	20.1%	21%
High School: Grades 9–12	24.4%	20.4%	21.7%
College or graduate school	18%	29.8%	26.7%
College, undergraduate	14.7%	22.5%	21%
Graduate, professional school	3.3%	7.3%	5.8%
College-going rate · 18-24 yr olds	28.2%	48.5%	40.9%
School type
Public school	87.4%	74.7%	82%
Private school	12.6%	25.3%	18%

Education Attainment by Level & Gender

What is the highest level of education completed among adults

Education attainment

42,910

population 25 years and over

Total adults (25+)

Less than 9th grade

2.9%

9th-12th, no diploma

5.6%

HS graduate

33.9%

Some college no degree

18.5%

Associates degree

16.5%

Bachelors degree

13.2%

Graduate or professional degree

9.5%

Attainment by gender

Male vs Female

Adults (25+) · Share within each education level

% male · % female

Less than 9th grade

52% · 48%

9th-12th, no diploma

54.4% · 45.6%

HS graduate

52.3% · 47.7%

Some college no degree

51% · 49%

Associates degree

43.3% · 56.7%

Bachelors degree

52% · 48%

Graduate or professional degree

37.3% · 62.7%

Educational Attainment Overview

Distribution and key education attainment rates for adults (25+)

Highest credential completed · adults 25+

	Herkimer County	New York	United States
Population (25+)	42,910	14,017,184	230,807,303
Less than 9th grade	2.9%	6%	4.7%
9th–12th, no diploma	5.6%	6%	5.7%
High school diploma or GED	33.9%	24.3%	26%
Some college, no degree	18.5%	14.6%	19.1%
Associate's degree	16.5%	8.8%	8.8%
Bachelor's degree or higher	22.7%	40.2%	35.7%
Bachelor's degree	13.2%	22.4%	21.6%
Graduate or professional	9.5%	17.9%	14.1%
High School or higher	91.5%	88%	89.6%

Earnings by education level

percentage as applicable

Median Earnings

$48,379

Median earnings for adults 25+, by level

Less than HS graduate

$45,450

HS graduate

$40,138

Some college or associates

$47,738

Bachelors degree

$60,422

Graduate or professional degree

$71,881

Poverty Rate

4.5%

for ages 25+, with bachelors degree or higher

Less than HS graduate

31.6%

HS graduate

15.3%

Some college or associates

9.9%

Bachelors degree or higher

4.5%

Outcomes by Education Level

Earnings and poverty rates across education levels (25+)

Adults 25+

	Herkimer County	New York	United States
Median earnings
Population 25+, with earnings	$48,379	$57,966	$52,696
Less than high school graduate	$45,450	$31,511	$32,485
High school graduate (includes equivalency)	$40,138	$40,549	$40,153
Some college or associate's degree	$47,738	$49,306	$47,260
Bachelor's degree	$60,422	$76,052	$70,044
Graduate or professional degree	$71,881	$95,435	$90,720
Poverty rates
Less than high school graduate	31.6%	28.1%	24.2%
High school graduate (includes equivalency)	15.3%	16.8%	14.4%
Some college or associate's degree	9.9%	11.4%	9.8%
Bachelor's degree or higher	4.5%	5.3%	4.5%

Insights for Herkimer County, by topic

Income By year By race By age By gender

Population By year By race By age By gender

About Neilsberg Research

Neilsberg Research team are data scientists with expertise in processing, analysis and visualization of big data helping small businesses make right decisions.

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