Elmira, New York demographics

Elmira, NY demographics: median age 36.5; 18.1% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Elmira city, New York · Incorporated city · GEOID 3624229. The survey estimates a population of 26,257 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Elmira is 36.5 years, with a 90% margin of error of 0.9 years. There are 10,532 households (±364). 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	36.5 ±0.9	39.8 ±0.1	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 26,257
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	New York	U.S.
Under 18	5,922 ±488	22.6% ±1.9 pp	20.5%	22.0%
18–34	6,508 ±497	24.8% ±1.9 pp	23.1%	22.8%
35–64	9,713 ±676	37.0% ±2.6 pp	38.5%	38.0%
65 and older	4,114 ±458	15.7% ±1.7 pp	17.9%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 26,257
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	New York	U.S.
Male	12,772 ±391	48.6% ±1.5 pp	48.8%	49.5%
Female	13,485 ±388	51.4% ±1.5 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: 26,257
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	New York	U.S.
White alone	18,770 ±449	71.5% ±1.7 pp	55.2%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	3,994 ±363	15.2% ±1.4 pp	14.4%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	215 ±132 · low precision	0.8% ±0.5 pp · low precision	0.6%	0.9%
Asian alone	354 ±127	1.3% ±0.5 pp	9.1%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	0 ±25 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.0%	0.2%
Some other race alone	569 ±196	2.2% ±0.7 pp	10.4%	7.1%
Two or more races	2,355 ±479	9.0% ±1.8 pp	10.3%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 26,257
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	New York	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	24,304 ±248	92.6% ±0.9 pp	80.2%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	1,953 ±242	7.4% ±0.9 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: 10,532
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	New York	U.S.
Married-couple family	3,180 ±290	30.2% ±2.5 pp	42.5%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	447 ±156	4.2% ±1.5 pp	5.2%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	1,985 ±312	18.8% ±2.9 pp	13.7%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	4,072 ±397	38.7% ±3.5 pp	31.1%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	848 ±183	8.1% ±1.7 pp	7.6%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 10,532
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	New York	U.S.
Households with people under 18	2,982 ±307	28.3% ±2.7 pp	27.3%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	7,550 ±494	71.7% ±4.0 pp	72.7%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 10,532
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	New York	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	4,072 ±397	38.7% ±3.5 pp	31.1%	28.7%
Two-person households	3,152 ±397	29.9% ±3.6 pp	31.5%	33.8%
Three-person households	1,287 ±294	12.2% ±2.8 pp	15.5%	15.3%
Four-person households	1,230 ±233	11.7% ±2.2 pp	12.4%	12.6%
Five-person households	524 ±172	5.0% ±1.6 pp	5.6%	5.9%
Six-person households	93 ±72 · low precision	0.9% ±0.7 pp · low precision	2.2%	2.2%
Seven or more people	174 ±75	1.7% ±0.7 pp	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: 26,257
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	New York	U.S.
Native	25,274 ±221	96.3% ±0.8 pp	77.2%	85.9%
Foreign born	983 ±212	3.7% ±0.8 pp	22.8%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 24,861
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	New York	U.S.
English only	23,361 ±352	94.0% ±1.1 pp	69.1%	77.7%
Spanish	761 ±226	3.1% ±0.9 pp	14.8%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	100 ±79 · low precision	0.4% ±0.3 pp · low precision	1.5%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	45 ±72 · low precision	0.2% ±0.3 pp · low precision	1.5%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	143 ±74 · low precision	0.6% ±0.3 pp · low precision	2.0%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	105 ±60 · low precision	0.4% ±0.2 pp · low precision	4.0%	2.0%
Korean	23 ±21 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.5%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	128 ±96 · low precision	0.5% ±0.4 pp · low precision	3.2%	1.1%
Vietnamese	24 ±38 · low precision	0.1% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	50 ±53 · low precision	0.2% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	23 ±36 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.9%	1.1%
Arabic	43 ±51 · low precision	0.2% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.7%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	55 ±42 · low precision	0.2% ±0.2 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: 17,529
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	New York	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	3,173 ±452	18.1% ±2.5 pp	12.0%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	6,509 ±631	37.1% ±3.5 pp	24.3%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	2,741 ±403	15.6% ±2.3 pp	14.6%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	1,940 ±342	11.1% ±1.9 pp	8.8%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	1,769 ±270	10.1% ±1.5 pp	22.4%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	1,397 ±282	8.0% ±1.6 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: 26,115
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	New York	U.S.
Same house	22,341 ±711	85.5% ±2.7 pp	90.1%	87.7%
Moved within same county	2,126 ±556	8.1% ±2.1 pp	5.1%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	957 ±227	3.7% ±0.9 pp	2.6%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	417 ±166	1.6% ±0.6 pp	1.5%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	274 ±136	1.0% ±0.5 pp	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

4.8% of Elmira residents (±1.2 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 5.1% in New York and 8.4% nationally. 86.6% 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	Elmira	New York	U.S.	Compared with New York
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	4.8% ±1.2 pp	5.1%	8.4%	Not statistically different
Households with a broadband subscription Households	86.6% ±2.3 pp	90.8%	91.0%	Lower
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	6.1% ±1.4 pp	3.7%	6.2%	Higher

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 Elmira . 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 Elmira housing and cost context or return to the city profile.