Cortland, New York demographics

Cortland, NY demographics: median age 27.4; 27.2% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Cortland city, New York · Incorporated city · GEOID 3618388. The survey estimates a population of 17,450 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Cortland is 27.4 years, with a 90% margin of error of 1.6 years. There are 7,019 households (±292). Age and household distributions show how these totals are composed; they do not establish which neighborhood suits a particular person.

Every count and share is an estimate. “±” is a 90% margin of error (MOE); pp means percentage points. Derived shares use the category count divided by the named universe. Aggregated category MOEs and percentage MOEs are approximate. A margin larger than half its estimate is flagged as low precision. Blank source uncertainty is shown as unavailable, never zero.

Age distribution and sex

City, state and U.S. estimates · ACS 2020–2024
Measure / survey universe	City estimate ± MOE	State estimate ± MOE	U.S. estimate ± MOE
Median age Total population · years	27.4 ±1.6	39.8 ±0.1	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 17,450
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	New York	U.S.
Under 18	2,589 ±329	14.8% ±1.9 pp	20.5%	22.0%
18–34	7,772 ±705	44.5% ±4.0 pp	23.1%	22.8%
35–64	4,895 ±441	28.1% ±2.5 pp	38.5%	38.0%
65 and older	2,194 ±257	12.6% ±1.5 pp	17.9%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 17,450
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	New York	U.S.
Male	8,395 ±320	48.1% ±1.8 pp	48.8%	49.5%
Female	9,055 ±322	51.9% ±1.8 pp	51.2%	50.5%

The age groups are mutually exclusive and cover the entire population. The sex categories follow this ACS table’s published classification; they are not a survey of gender identity.

Race and Hispanic origin

Race · B02001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 17,450
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	New York	U.S.
White alone	15,206 ±334	87.1% ±1.9 pp	55.2%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	542 ±129	3.1% ±0.7 pp	14.4%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	8 ±12 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.6%	0.9%
Asian alone	304 ±126	1.7% ±0.7 pp	9.1%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	0 ±21 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.0%	0.2%
Some other race alone	174 ±83	1.0% ±0.5 pp	10.4%	7.1%
Two or more races	1,216 ±340	7.0% ±1.9 pp	10.3%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 17,450
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	New York	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	16,482 ±205	94.5% ±1.2 pp	80.2%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	968 ±205	5.5% ±1.2 pp	19.8%	19.3%

Hispanic origin and race are separate questions. People of Hispanic or Latino origin may be of any race and appear in both tables. Do not add the Hispanic share to race shares. Race alone and two-or-more-race groups are the mutually exclusive categories of the race table.

Household types, children and living alone

Household types · B11001 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 7,019
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	New York	U.S.
Married-couple family	2,093 ±295	29.8% ±4.0 pp	42.5%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	305 ±143	4.3% ±2.0 pp	5.2%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	794 ±183	11.3% ±2.6 pp	13.7%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	2,665 ±355	38.0% ±4.8 pp	31.1%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	1,162 ±292	16.6% ±4.1 pp	7.6%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 7,019
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	New York	U.S.
Households with people under 18	1,758 ±261	25.0% ±3.6 pp	27.3%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	5,261 ±420	75.0% ±5.1 pp	72.7%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 7,019
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	New York	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	2,665 ±355	38.0% ±4.8 pp	31.1%	28.7%
Two-person households	1,929 ±326	27.5% ±4.5 pp	31.5%	33.8%
Three-person households	969 ±216	13.8% ±3.0 pp	15.5%	15.3%
Four-person households	986 ±304	14.0% ±4.3 pp	12.4%	12.6%
Five-person households	216 ±90	3.1% ±1.3 pp	5.6%	5.9%
Six-person households	237 ±182 · low precision	3.4% ±2.6 pp · low precision	2.2%	2.2%
Seven or more people	17 ±31 · low precision	0.2% ±0.4 pp · low precision	1.7%	1.4%

A family household contains related people under the Census definition. A nonfamily household can contain one person or unrelated people sharing a home. Households with children can also appear in the household-type and size tables, so those tables must not be added together. Household estimates exclude people living in group quarters from the household universe.

Nativity and languages spoken at home

Nativity · B05002 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 17,450
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	New York	U.S.
Native	16,870 ±183	96.7% ±1.0 pp	77.2%	85.9%
Foreign born	580 ±185	3.3% ±1.1 pp	22.8%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 16,819
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	New York	U.S.
English only	15,774 ±325	93.8% ±1.8 pp	69.1%	77.7%
Spanish	211 ±110 · low precision	1.3% ±0.7 pp · low precision	14.8%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	56 ±71 · low precision	0.3% ±0.4 pp · low precision	1.5%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	44 ±39 · low precision	0.3% ±0.2 pp · low precision	1.5%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	227 ±174 · low precision	1.3% ±1.0 pp · low precision	2.0%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	60 ±53 · low precision	0.4% ±0.3 pp · low precision	4.0%	2.0%
Korean	0 ±21 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.5%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	53 ±38 · low precision	0.3% ±0.2 pp · low precision	3.2%	1.1%
Vietnamese	6 ±12 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	47 ±53 · low precision	0.3% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	106 ±65 · low precision	0.6% ±0.4 pp · low precision	0.9%	1.1%
Arabic	127 ±112 · low precision	0.8% ±0.7 pp · low precision	0.7%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	108 ±98 · low precision	0.6% ±0.6 pp · low precision	1.3%	0.8%

Foreign born means not a U.S. citizen at birth; it includes naturalized citizens. Language categories describe speech at home among people age five and older. A language other than English at home does not establish that someone cannot speak English. This city page uses the published C16001 summary categories because the more detailed B16001 table does not provide these city records in this release.

Educational attainment

Highest completed education · B15003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 25 and older: 9,565
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	New York	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	892 ±235	9.3% ±2.4 pp	12.0%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	3,155 ±403	33.0% ±4.0 pp	24.3%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	2,011 ±371	21.0% ±3.8 pp	14.6%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	910 ±210	9.5% ±2.2 pp	8.8%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	1,267 ±226	13.2% ±2.3 pp	22.4%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	1,330 ±223	13.9% ±2.3 pp	17.9%	14.1%

The denominator excludes residents under 25. Each person is counted in the highest attainment category they completed. This table does not measure the quality of local schools or the education level of every current student.

Residence one year earlier

Geographic mobility · B07003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 1 and older: 17,375
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	New York	U.S.
Same house	13,073 ±522	75.2% ±3.0 pp	90.1%	87.7%
Moved within same county	1,716 ±348	9.9% ±2.0 pp	5.1%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	2,101 ±368	12.1% ±2.1 pp	2.6%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	429 ±204	2.5% ±1.2 pp	1.5%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	56 ±78 · low precision	0.3% ±0.4 pp · low precision	0.7%	0.6%

These are respondents’ residence patterns one year before their survey response, pooled across the five-year window. They are not a net migration count for 2025. A person can move to a different house within the same city or county; moves within the same county should not automatically be interpreted as new arrivals to the city.

Health insurance, internet access and veterans

4.7% of Cortland residents (±1.4 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 5.1% in New York and 8.4% nationally. 86.9% of households subscribe to broadband of any type, including cellular data plans. A subscription is not the same as available service: the FCC National Broadband Map shows providers at a specific address.

City, state and U.S. shares · ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Cortland	New York	U.S.	Compared with New York
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	4.7% ±1.4 pp	5.1%	8.4%	Not statistically different
Households with a broadband subscription Households	86.9% ±1.9 pp	90.8%	91.0%	Lower
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	4.0% ±1.0 pp	3.7%	6.2%	Not statistically different

Reading and reusing the estimates

The Census table links above lead to the original detailed tables. Counts, source universes and uncertainty are retained in the source observation download for Cortland . Compare these figures with the same survey window; do not compare one city’s five-year estimate with another city’s annual estimate as though they measured the same period. For methods, see uncertainty and denominator calculations.

Read Cortland housing and cost context or return to the city profile.