Village of HerkimerNY
A town of 7,195, settled in 1788.
Is Herkimer a good place to live?
Herkimer grades D overall, 698th among New York's 745 graded towns, mostly because of safety and incomes. Its police reported 99 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 100% of U.S. towns. The median household income is $49K, and 26% of residents live below the poverty line. One bright spot: it is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 91% of U.S. towns. 26% of residents live below the poverty line in Herkimer, where New York’s towns sit at 9.5% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. No town among the 265 in New York we compare has a higher violent crime rate than Herkimer. Herkimer is home to Herkimer County Community College.
What makes Herkimer stand out
Where Herkimer beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Violent crime per 1,000 residents
Herkimer County Community College calls Herkimer home
How Herkimer grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Herkimer is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Herkimer: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Herkimer, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Aug 3, 2026.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Herkimer.
Herkimer is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it reports violent crime at 4 times the New York rate and carries more natural-hazard risk than most of New York (mostly inland flooding).
Herkimer stands out in New York and nationally: property crime there is higher
Violent crime runs at 13.7 per 1,000 residents, 4 times the New York rate; the Safety Grade counts each violent crime four times, so this weighs most on its D−. Property crime runs at 51.6 per 1,000 residents, 3 times the New York rate, most of it theft.
The property crime rate in Herkimer is 51.6 per 1,000 residents. Herkimer reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 100% report less.
Violent crime per 1,000 residents
Property crime per 1,000 residents
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Herkimer has four seasons and pleasant summers
Herkimer has cold winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83° and January nights drop to 13°.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Inland flooding leads a high hazard risk in Herkimer
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 88% of New York towns, with expected losses of about $103 per resident a year; that rating is what its C for hazard risk is built on.
Herkimer’s FEMA risk score is 67 of 100. Since 1979, 13 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Herkimer.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
A job hub: Herkimer has 1.3 jobs for every working resident and draws in 2,966 commuters
The average commute for its 2,660 working residents takes 20.1 minutes, against 32.6 across New York.
Most working residents leave Herkimer for work: only 17% work in town. Jobs based in Herkimer fell to 3,410 in 2023, 481 fewer than in 2013. The top destinations are Herkimer (20%), Utica (13%) and German Flatts (7%).
| Herkimer | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $49,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 17% | 10% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
| Herkimer | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 8% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Myers Park | — | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Residents of Herkimer are less healthy than 57% of U.S. towns
Against the 5,220 U.S. towns with household incomes like Herkimer’s, it is healthier than 84%, so its C+ isn’t only a matter of income.
Herkimer beats the New York average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 11. 30% of adults get no exercise outside work in Herkimer.
| Herkimer | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 25% | 25% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 16% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 16% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 14% | 14% |
| What stands out | Herkimer | NY |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 8.6% | 6% |
| More smokers | 15.1% | 11.3% |
| More adults with obesity | 37% | 28.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Homes in Herkimer sell for about $176K
At 1.9 years of the Utica metro’s $70K median household income, the typical home costs less against local pay than in 92% of New York towns; that ratio is one input to its B− for cost of living.
53% of Herkimer households own their home.
| Herkimer | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 53% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $821 a month | $1,103 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum and 12 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Herkimer. Close and well known come first.
Big draw23 mi MuseumNational Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum315K visitors a yearin town LandmarkFort Dayton
26 mi National MonumentFort Stanwix National Monument78K visitors a year
13 mi Stadium & arenaUtica Memorial Auditorium38 mi CaveHowe Caverns
13 mi MuseumMunson-Williams-Proctor Arts InstitutePhoto credits
National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum: Beyond My Ken, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Fort Stanwix National Monument: NPS photo, Public domain · Utica Memorial Auditorium: Doug Kerr, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute: Kenneth C. Zirkel, CC BY-SA 4.0
Everything we know about Herkimer
Colleges nearby
5 within 15 miles of the center of Herkimer
About 8 of every 100 Herkimer residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New York.
Famous people from Herkimer
8 notable people were born in Herkimer.
About Herkimer
Town in New York, United States
Herkimer is a town in Herkimer County, New York, United States, southeast of Utica. It is named after Nicholas Herkimer. The population was 9,566 at the 2020 census, down from 10,175 in 2010. The town contains a village also called Herkimer. Herkimer County Community College is located in Herkimer village.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Established
- 1788
- Area
- 32 sq mi
- Elevation
- 146 ft
- Area code
- 315
Herkimer’s neighbors
4 towns share a border with Herkimer.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Herkimer | #698 | D | B− | D− | C | C+ |
| East Herkimer | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Herkimer | #508 | C+ | B | — | C+ | C+ |
| German Flatts | #346 | B | A− | — | C | B |
| Mohawk | — | — | A− | — | C | B− |
Mohawk has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Herkimer, German Flatts and Mohawk report no FBI crime data of their own. East Herkimer isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Herkimer with a neighbor →
Questions about Herkimer
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Herkimer, NY a good place to live?
Herkimer grades D overall, better than 9% of U.S. towns and #698 of 745 in New York. It grades C+ for health, D− for safety and C for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D−.
Is Herkimer, NY expensive?
The typical home is worth about $133,000, 75% below the New York typical home.
What is Herkimer, NY known for?
8 notable people were born here, including Chick Vennera and Lou Ambers.