Cortland is a medium-sized city located in the state of New York. With a population of 17,314 people and seven associated neighborhoods, Cortland is the 107th largest community in New York. Cortland has a large stock of pre-World War II architecture, making it one of the older and more historic cities in the country.Unlike some cities where white-collar or blue-collar occupations dominate the local economy, Cortland is neither predominantly one nor the other. Instead, it has a mixed workforce of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Cortland is a city of service providers, professionals, and sales and office workers. There are especially a lot of people living in Cortland who work in food service (15.22%), sales jobs (10.46%), and office and administrative support (9.08%). Cortland is a place where college students are a big part of the character and culture of the town. Small towns have often struggled with declining populations over the past few decades, but the presence of such a large college student population has helped Cortland to fight this trend. Not only does the college population add spending and jobs to local economy, but it also contributes a very tangible, youthful energy to the town. Residents of the city have the good fortune of having one of the shortest daily commutes compared to the rest of the country. On average, they spend only 18.33 minutes getting to work every day.The overall education level of Cortland is somewhat higher than in the average US city of 21.84%: 27.06% of adults 25 and older in the city have at least a bachelor's degree. The per capita income in Cortland in 2022 was $26,198, which is low income relative to New York, and lower middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $104,792 for a family of four. However, Cortland contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. Cortland is a somewhat ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Cortland home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Cortland residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Cortland include Irish, English, German, Italian, and Polish. The most common language spoken in Cortland is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Arabic.
