Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Little Falls ranks 502nd of 745 in New York, with a C+ overall. Nationally, it does better than 36% of U.S. towns. Its lowest grade is for incomes: the median household income is $54K, and 24% of residents live below the poverty line. Where it does best is safety: it reports less crime per resident than 78% of U.S. towns. Cost of living is another plus: a typical home costs about $173K, 2.5 years of the Utica metro’s $70K median household income. Little Falls's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 90% of U.S. towns. On health, just 23 of New York’s 1,213 towns do worse. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 99% of U.S. towns, with 8 places on the National Register.
Figures: FBI crime data, 2025 · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · health, CDC PLACES.
Where Little Falls beats most towns.
Herkimer County Trust Company Building
Census counts: 5,387 in 1870, a peak of 13,029 in 1920, 4,605 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1831 and 3 maps from 1900 on.
8 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Little Falls is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Little Falls, 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.
Ordered by what stands out in Little Falls.
Little Falls trades lower home prices for longer drives to work, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and is safe by national standards but not by New York’s.
Homes are within reach (about $173K for the typical one, B+ for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 21 miles. The median property tax bill is $2,697, against $6,582 across New York, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
In Little Falls, nearly two thirds of households own their home. Over the 12 months to September 2026, the typical home gained 5.9% in value. Little Falls’ midpoint rent stands at $804 a month, below both New York’s towns ($1,103 a month) and U.S. towns ($1,185 a month). On the market here: a median 175 days to sell.
| Little Falls | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $804 a month | $1,103 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 66% | 75% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by the Little Falls City School District. Enrollment at the town’s public school: 441 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benton Hall AcademyLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 441 | C |
| Mohawk Valley Christian Academy PrivateLargest high schoolGrades PK–9 | Grades PK–9 | 22 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
Against the 6,965 U.S. towns with household incomes like Little Falls’s, it is less healthy than 69%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
Among adults in Little Falls, 39% have high blood pressure. The share of adults in Little Falls who say their health is fair or poor is 23%, above both the New York town median (17%) and the median of U.S. towns (19%). Against the New York average, Little Falls comes out ahead on 1 CDC measures out of 32, and behind on 19. Two figures for adults here: 33% get no exercise outside work, 18% smoke cigarettes.
| Little Falls | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 25% | 25% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 13% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 33% | 35% |
| What stands out | Little Falls | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults lacking emotional support | 22.7% | 26.4% |
| More adults with COPD | 10.9% | 6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
At 9 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 63% of New York’s graded towns.
The property offense rate for Little Falls comes to 4 per 1,000 residents. The violent offense rate for Little Falls comes to 2 per 1,000 residents.
| Little Falls | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4 per 1,000 residents | 7.6 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2 per 1,000 residents | 0.8 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
1.3 miles of trail in 5 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Moreland Park, at 22 acres. Parks and preserves in Little Falls: 5, covering 44 acres.
| Little Falls | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.4% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Eastern Park | 0.7 mi | 5 |
| 2. Western Park | 0.4 mi | 2 |
| 3. Moreland Park | — | 22 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
July afternoons reach 81° and January nights drop to 12°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Little Falls has about as many jobs (1,793) as working residents, but only 353 people both live and work here. The average commute takes 22.2 minutes, against 32.6 across New York.
Jobs in Little Falls grew by 163 from 2013 to 2023, reaching 1,793. Little Falls’ mean commuting time stands at 22 minutes. The top destinations are Herkimer (9%), Utica (9%) and New Hartford (5%).
| Little Falls | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 24% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 18% | 10% | 8% |
| Median household income | $54,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Households in Little Falls have drawn federal disaster aid in 11 declared disasters, most recently in 2019. Expected damage from storms and floods is lower here than in just over half of U.S. communities. Since 1979, Little Falls has seen 18 flood insurance claims paid out. FEMA puts 84% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Little Falls. Close and well known come first.
Big draw24 mi MuseumNational Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum315K visitors a year7 mi LandmarkFort Dayton
32 mi National MonumentFort Stanwix National Monument78K visitors a year33 mi CaveHowe Caverns
20 mi Stadium & arenaUtica Memorial Auditorium
20 mi MuseumMunson-Williams-Proctor Arts InstituteNational 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
1 within 15 miles of the center of Little Falls
About 4 of every 100 Little Falls residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
8 places in Little Falls on the National Register of Historic Places.
14 notable people were born in Little Falls.
City in Herkimer County, New York
Little Falls is a city in Herkimer County, New York, United States. The population was 4,605 at the time of the 2020 census, which is the second-smallest city population in the state, ahead of only the city of Sherrill. The city is built on both sides of the Mohawk River, at a point at which rapids had impeded travel upriver. Transportation through the valley was improved by construction of the Erie Canal, completed in 1825 and connecting the Great Lakes with the Hudson River. The city is located at the northeastern corner of the town of Little Falls and is east of Utica. Little Falls has a picturesque location on the slope of a narrow and rocky defile, through which the Mohawk River falls …
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Little Falls.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Little Falls | #502 | C+ | B+ | A− | C | C− |
| Little Falls | — | — | A− | — | C | C |
| Manheim | #441 | C+ | A− | — | C− | C |
| Danube | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Little Falls has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Little Falls and Manheim report no FBI crime data of their own. Danube isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Little Falls with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Little Falls grades C+ overall, better than 36% of U.S. towns and #502 of 745 in New York. It grades C− for health, A− for safety and C for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.
14 notable people were born here, including George E. Wiley and William J. Scherle.
