County profile

Orleans County

New York · ACS 2020–2024

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Latest estimates

At a glance

U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates.

Total population
39,608
Median household income
$65,969
People below poverty
12.7%
Median home value
$140,800

Income

The median income of households in Orleans County, New York was $65,969. An estimated 4.1% of households had income below $10,000 a year and 3.7% had income of $200,000 or more.

Household Income in Orleans County, New York in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than $10,000 4.1
$10,000 to $14,999 4
$15,000 to $24,999 7.7
$25,000 to $34,999 9.5
$35,000 to $49,999 13.2
$50,000 to $74,999 16.9
$75,000 to $99,999 14.8
$100,000 to $149,999 16.2
$150,000 to $199,999 9.9
$200,000 or more 3.7

Median Earnings for Full-Time Year-Round Workers by Sex in Orleans County, New York in 2020-2024

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Dollars
Male 57001
Female 47929

An estimated 72.8% of households received earnings. An estimated 38.6% of households received Social Security and an estimated 32.7 % of households received retirement income other than Social Security. The average income from Social Security was $23,220. These income sources are not mutually exclusive; that is, some households received income from more than one source.

Proportion of Households with Various Income Sources in Orleans County, New York in 2020-2024

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Percent
Earnings 72.8
Social Security 38.6
Retirement income 32.7
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) 5.9
Cash public assistance income 4.6

Poverty and Participation in Government Programs

In 2020-2024, 12.7 % of people were in poverty. An estimated 16.3% of children under 18 were below the poverty level, compared with 8.4% of people 65 years old and over. An estimated 13.1% of people 18 to 64 years were below the poverty level.

Poverty Rates in Orleans County, New York in 2020-2024

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Percent
People in poverty 12.7
Children under 18 years below poverty 16.3
People 65 years old and over below poverty 8.4
People 18 to 64 years below poverty 13.1

In 2020-2024, 15.4 % of households received SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). An estimated 39.6% of households that received SNAP had children under 18, and 37.9% of households that received SNAP had one or more people 60 years and over. An estimated 23.7% of all households receiving SNAP were families with a female householder and no spouse present.


Among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in Orleans County, New York in 2020-2024, 93.6% had health insurance coverage and 6.4% did not have health insurance coverage. Private coverage was 65.6% and public coverage was 44.7%, respectively. The percentage of children under the age of 19 with no health insurance coverage was 8.2%.


In 2020-2024, Orleans County, New York had a total population of 39,608 - 19,489 (49.2%) females and 20,119 (50.8%) males. The median age was 43.5 years. An estimated 18.8% of the population was under 18 years, 30.5% was 19 to 44 years, 28.9% was 45 to 64 years, and 19.9 % was 65 years and older.

Population by Age and Sex for Orleans County, New York in 2020-2024

Male Female
Under 5 978 886
5 to 9 1122 885
10 to 14 1111 1125
15 to 19 1172 933
20 to 24 1097 981
25 to 29 1317 1032
30 to 34 1520 1352
35 to 39 1459 1183
40 to 44 1070 1071
45 to 49 1076 1210
50 to 54 1268 1467
55 to 59 1614 1686
60 to 64 1643 1483
65 to 69 1180 1416
70 to 74 1210 1132
75 to 79 691 865
80 to 84 316 407
85 and over 275 375

Hispanic Origin and Race

For people reporting one race alone, 85.9% were White; 4.9% were Black or African American; 10.8% were American Indian and Alaska Native; 0.8% were Asian; 2.3% were Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and 0% were Some Other Race. An estimated 5.3% reported Two or More Races. An estimated 5.5% of the people in Orleans County, New York were Hispanic or Latino. An estimated 84.6% of the people in Orleans County, New York were White alone, non-Hispanic. People of Hispanic origin may be of any race.


Households and Families

In 2020-2024, there were 16,220 households in Orleans County, New York. The average household size was 2.29 people.

Married-couple households made up 46.3% of the households in Orleans County, New York while cohabiting couple households made up 10.5% of households. Female householders with no spouse or partner present were 25.2% of all households, while 17.9% of households had male householders with no spouse or partner present. Some households had one person, as 13.9% of households were male householders living alone, and 15.9% were female householders living alone, for a total of 29.8% of all households.

In Orleans County, New York, 25.7% of all households had one or more people under the age of 18; 34.7% of all households had one or more people 65 years and over.

Types of Households in Orleans County, New York in 2020-2024

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Percent
Married-couple households 46.3
Cohabiting Couples 10.5
Male Householder
No spouse/partner present
17.9
Female Householder
No spouse/partner present
25.2

Marital Status

Among persons 15 and older, 49.9% of males and 46.3% of females were currently married.

Population 15 years and over Percent
Males
Percent
Females
Never married 34.9 30.5
Now married, except separated 49.9 46.3
Separated 1.7 3.2
Widowed 2.6 7.9
Divorced 10.8 12.1

Grandparents and Grandchildren

In Orleans County, New York, 726 grandparents lived with their grandchildren under 18 years old. Of those grandparents, 29.6% were responsible for the basic needs of their grandchildren.


Nativity and Foreign-Born

In 2020-2024, an estimated 96.5% of the people living in Orleans County, New York were U.S. natives. 84.6% of the Orleans County, New York population were living in the state where they were born.

Approximately 3.5% of Orleans County, New York residents in 2020-2024 were foreign-born. 52% of foreign-born were naturalized U.S. citizens and an estimated 56.8 % entered the country before the year 2010.

Foreign-born residents of Orleans County, New York come from different parts of the world. The bar graph below displays the percentage of foreign-born from each world region of birth in 2020-2024 for Orleans County, New York.

Region of Birth for the Foreign-Born Population in Orleans County, New York in 2020-2024

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Percent
Latin America 44.7
Asia 18.9
Europe 26.8
Africa 5.2
Northern America 4.2
Oceania 0.1

Language

Among people at least five years old living in Orleans County, New York in 2020-2024, 7.3 % spoke a language other than English at home. Spanish was spoken by 4% of people at least five years old; 2.9% reported that they did not speak English "very well."

Percentage of the Population 5 years and over who Speak a Language other than English in Orleans County, New York in 2020-2024

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Percent
Spanish 4
Other Indo-European languages 2.4
Asian and Pacific Islander languages 0.8
Other languages 0.1

Geographic Mobility

In 2020-2024, 92.2 % of the people at least one year old living in Orleans County, New York were living in the same house one year earlier.

Geographic Mobility of Residents of Orleans County, New York in 2020-2024

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Percent
Same house 92.2
Different house, same county 3.2
Different county, same state 3.8
Different state 0.4
Abroad 0.4

Education

In 2020-2024, 86 % of people 25 years and over had at least graduated from high school and 17.9% had a bachelor's degree or higher. An estimated 14% did not complete high school.

The total school enrollment in Orleans County, New York was 6,837 in 2020-2024. Nursery school enrollment was 493 and kindergarten through 12th grade enrollment was 5,318. College or graduate school enrollment was 1,026.

Educational Attainment of People in Orleans County, New York in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than high school diploma 14
High school diploma or equivalency 39.9
Some college, no degree 17.7
Associate's degree 10.5
Bachelor's degree 10.3
Graduate or professional degree 7.6

Disability

In Orleans County, New York, among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in 2020-2024, 16 % reported a disability. The likelihood of having a disability varied by age - from 5.9% of people under 18 years old, to 14.4% of people 18 to 64 years old, and to 30.5% of those 65 and over.


Employment Status and Type of Employer

In Orleans County, New York, 54.1 % of the population 16 and over were employed; 42.9% were not currently in the labor force.

An estimated 74.8% of the people employed were private wage and salary workers; 19.4% were federal, state, or local government workers; and 5.8 % were self-employed in their own (not incorporated) business.

Class of worker Number Percent
Private wage and salary workers 13,334 74.8
Federal, state, or local government workers 3,451 19.4
Self-employed workers in own not incorporated business 1,033 5.8

Industries

In 2020-2024, the civilian employed population 16 years and older in Orleans County, New York worked in the following industries:

Percent by Industry in Orleans County, New York in 2020-2024

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Percent
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining 4
Construction 6.6
Manufacturing 15.9
Wholesale trade 1.4
Retail trade 11.7
Transportation and warehousing, and utilities 5
Information 1
Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing 4.4
Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services 6.7
Educational services, and health care and social assistance 25.7
Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation, and food services 6.2
Other Services, except public administration 5.5
Public administration 6

Occupations

Occupations for the Civilian Employed Population 16 Years and over in Orleans County, New York in 2020-2024

Civilian employed population 16 years and over Number Percent
Management, business, sciences, and arts occupations 5,252 29.4
Service occupations 3,277 18.4
Sales and office occupations 3,604 20.2
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations 2,490 14
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations 3,211 18

Commuting to Work

An estimated 74.8% of Orleans County, New York workers drove to work alone in 2020-2024, and 8.8% carpooled. Among those who commuted to work, it took them on average 26.1 minutes to get to work.

Percent of Workers 16 and over Commuting by Mode in Orleans County, New York in 2020-2024

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Percent
Car, truck, van -- drove alone 74.8
Car, truck, van -- carpooled 8.8
Public transportation (excluding taxicab) 0.6
Walked 2.9
Other means 2.4
Worked from home 10.5

In 2020-2024, Orleans County, New York had a total of 18,326 housing units. Of these housing units, 75.1% were single-family houses either not attached to any other structure or attached to one or more structures (commonly referred to as "townhouses" or "row houses"). 16.3% of the housing units were located in multi-unit structures, or those buildings that contained two or more apartments. 8.7% were mobile homes, while any remaining housing units were classified as "other," which included boats, recreational vehicles, vans, etc.

Types of Housing Units in Orleans County, New York in 2020-2024

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Percent
Single-family houses 75.1
Apartments in multi-unit structures 16.3
Mobile homes 8.7
Boat, RV, van, etc 0

2.7% of the housing inventory was comprised of houses built since 2010, while 43.3% of the houses were first built in 1939 or earlier. The median number of rooms in all housing units in Orleans County, New York was 6.1 rooms, and of these housing units 65.7% had three or more bedrooms.


In 2020-2024, Orleans County, New York had 16,220 housing units that were occupied or had people living in them, while the remaining 2,106 were vacant. Of the occupied housing units, the percentage of these houses occupied by owners (also known as the homeownership rate) was 77.2% while renters occupied 22.8%. The average household size of owner-occupied houses was 2.37 and in renter-occupied houses it was 2.02.

2.7% of householders of these occupied houses had moved into their house since 2021, while 17.6% moved into their house in 1989 or earlier. Households without a vehicle available for personal use comprised 7.9% and another 21.2% had three or more vehicles available for use.

The following chart provides the primary fuel used to heat houses in Orleans County, New York:

House Heating Fuel Used in Orleans County, New York in 2020-2024

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Percent
Gas 65.6
Electricity 15
Fuel oil, kerosene, etc 12.2
All other fuels 7.1
No fuel used 0.2

In 2020-2024, the median property value for owner-occupied houses in Orleans County, New York was $140,800.

Of the owner-occupied households, 56.6 % had a mortgage. 43.4% owned their houses "free and clear," that is without a primary mortgage or loan on the house. The median monthly housing costs for owners with a mortgage was $1,469 and for owners without a mortgage it was $677.

For renter-occupied houses, the median gross rent for Orleans County, New York was $874. Gross rent includes the monthly contract rent and any monthly payments made for electricity, gas, water and sewer, and any other fuels to heat the house.