Ithaca, New York demographics

Ithaca, NY demographics: median age 23.3; 67.7% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Ithaca city, New York · Incorporated city · GEOID 3638077. The survey estimates a population of 32,814 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Ithaca is 23.3 years, with a 90% margin of error of 0.8 years. There are 14,167 households (±641). 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	23.3 ±0.8	39.8 ±0.1	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 32,814
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	New York	U.S.
Under 18	2,329 ±362	7.1% ±1.1 pp	20.5%	22.0%
18–34	19,542 ±1,412	59.6% ±4.3 pp	23.1%	22.8%
35–64	7,625 ±721	23.2% ±2.2 pp	38.5%	38.0%
65 and older	3,318 ±425	10.1% ±1.3 pp	17.9%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 32,814
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	New York	U.S.
Male	16,526 ±654	50.4% ±2.0 pp	48.8%	49.5%
Female	16,288 ±651	49.6% ±2.0 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: 32,814
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	New York	U.S.
White alone	21,185 ±700	64.6% ±2.1 pp	55.2%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	2,115 ±403	6.4% ±1.2 pp	14.4%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	95 ±61 · low precision	0.3% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.6%	0.9%
Asian alone	5,444 ±510	16.6% ±1.6 pp	9.1%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	20 ±28 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.0%	0.2%
Some other race alone	1,640 ±337	5.0% ±1.0 pp	10.4%	7.1%
Two or more races	2,315 ±440	7.1% ±1.3 pp	10.3%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 32,814
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	New York	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	29,926 ±364	91.2% ±1.1 pp	80.2%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	2,888 ±358	8.8% ±1.1 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: 14,167
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	New York	U.S.
Married-couple family	3,254 ±446	23.0% ±3.0 pp	42.5%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	135 ±75 · low precision	1.0% ±0.5 pp · low precision	5.2%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	754 ±261	5.3% ±1.8 pp	13.7%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	6,309 ±696	44.5% ±4.5 pp	31.1%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	3,715 ±609	26.2% ±4.1 pp	7.6%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 14,167
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	New York	U.S.
Households with people under 18	1,633 ±311	11.5% ±2.1 pp	27.3%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	12,534 ±765	88.5% ±3.6 pp	72.7%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 14,167
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	New York	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	6,309 ±696	44.5% ±4.5 pp	31.1%	28.7%
Two-person households	4,001 ±574	28.2% ±3.8 pp	31.5%	33.8%
Three-person households	1,811 ±496	12.8% ±3.4 pp	15.5%	15.3%
Four-person households	1,254 ±366	8.9% ±2.6 pp	12.4%	12.6%
Five-person households	282 ±144 · low precision	2.0% ±1.0 pp · low precision	5.6%	5.9%
Six-person households	255 ±315 · low precision	1.8% ±2.2 pp · low precision	2.2%	2.2%
Seven or more people	255 ±201 · low precision	1.8% ±1.4 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: 32,814
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	New York	U.S.
Native	26,236 ±709	80.0% ±2.2 pp	77.2%	85.9%
Foreign born	6,578 ±704	20.0% ±2.1 pp	22.8%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 32,367
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	New York	U.S.
English only	23,799 ±824	73.5% ±2.5 pp	69.1%	77.7%
Spanish	1,966 ±404	6.1% ±1.2 pp	14.8%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	510 ±239	1.6% ±0.7 pp	1.5%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	326 ±146	1.0% ±0.5 pp	1.5%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	859 ±427	2.7% ±1.3 pp	2.0%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	1,461 ±410	4.5% ±1.3 pp	4.0%	2.0%
Korean	333 ±186 · low precision	1.0% ±0.6 pp · low precision	0.5%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	1,713 ±313	5.3% ±1.0 pp	3.2%	1.1%
Vietnamese	34 ±41 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	42 ±44 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	858 ±341	2.7% ±1.1 pp	0.9%	1.1%
Arabic	71 ±57 · low precision	0.2% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.7%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	395 ±176	1.2% ±0.5 pp	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: 15,037
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	New York	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	825 ±287	5.5% ±1.9 pp	12.0%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	1,421 ±291	9.5% ±1.9 pp	24.3%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	1,674 ±421	11.1% ±2.7 pp	14.6%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	943 ±300	6.3% ±2.0 pp	8.8%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	3,604 ±396	24.0% ±2.4 pp	22.4%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	6,570 ±678	43.7% ±4.0 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: 32,709
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	New York	U.S.
Same house	17,713 ±923	54.2% ±2.8 pp	90.1%	87.7%
Moved within same county	3,931 ±624	12.0% ±1.9 pp	5.1%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	3,766 ±567	11.5% ±1.7 pp	2.6%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	6,130 ±902	18.7% ±2.8 pp	1.5%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	1,169 ±356	3.6% ±1.1 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

5.1% of Ithaca residents (±1.1 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 5.1% in New York and 8.4% nationally. 88.0% 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	Ithaca	New York	U.S.	Compared with New York
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	5.1% ±1.1 pp	5.1%	8.4%	Not statistically different
Households with a broadband subscription Households	88.0% ±2.1 pp	90.8%	91.0%	Lower
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	1.8% ±0.6 pp	3.7%	6.2%	Lower

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