Chautauqua County, New York Demographics
Population trends, housing costs, income, commuting, and health, all on one page.
Chautauqua County, NY Population Density Map and Area Scores
Area Score
Health, income and education, each graded from F to A+. Explore interactive maps for deeper analysis.
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B
Health Around averageLess healthy than 87% of counties in New York
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D
Income Well below averageLess wealthy than 92% of counties in New York
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D
Education Well below averageLess educated than 70% of counties in New York
Source: Map AI Methodology
Population: density and quick facts
| Metric | Chautauqua County | New York Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 125,543 | 19,748,855 | 337,468,954 |
| Population density (per sq mi) | 83.7 | 362.0 | 86.4 |
| Population growth (%/yr) | -0.60% | 0.05% | 0.59% |
| Median age | 41.0 | 38.7 | 37.3 |
| Households | 53,387 | 7,694,043 | 130,235,071 |
Population in Chautauqua County declined by 6.4% from 2009 to 2024, reaching 125,543 in 2024.
Population Growth 2009–2024
Race & Ethnicity
Age & Sex
The largest generation in Chautauqua County is Gen X, aged 45–60, at 21.1% of residents. That is 0.4 points above New York as a whole.
- Gen Z 13–28 25,198 20.1% -0.4 pts
- Millennials 29–44 23,144 18.4% -3.8 pts
- Gen X 45–60 26,537 21.1% +0.4 pts
- Boomers 61–79 26,384 21.0% +3.7 pts
Residents by birth cohort, from the 2025 age distribution. The right-hand figure is how far each cohort's share sits above or below New York, in percentage points. Children younger than Gen Z and the generations before the Boomers are counted in the population but not shown here, so these shares do not add up to 100%.
Male and female share
Women are 50.4% of the people living in Chautauqua County and men 49.6%.
- Women 50.4% New York 51.3%
- Men 49.6% New York 48.7%
How many residents match a customer profile?
Residents matching this profile
100% of everyone living in Chautauqua County
Pick an age range and a women/men split and the figure above answers with how many residents that profile reaches.
Economy
Chautauqua County has a the economy index of D, which means it is barely prosperous.
| Metric | Chautauqua County | New York Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $58,401 | $86,556 | $80,455 |
| Income growth (%/yr) | 3.80% | 4.51% | 4.80% |
| Unemployment rate | 5.9% | 6.4% | 5.2% |
The median household income in Chautauqua County is about 33% lower than in New York.
Housing
| Metric | Chautauqua County | New York Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $122,905 | $471,885 | $248,835 |
| Median rent | $812 | $1,621 | $1,407 |
| Homeownership rate | 68.9% | 54.3% | 65.2% |
The median home price in Chautauqua County is about 12.6 years' worth of rent — buying at the median price costs roughly as much as paying the median rent of $812 per month for that long.
Commute Time & Mobility
Commuters in Chautauqua County spend about 31 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 128 hours, about 5.3 full days, spent commuting.
| Metric | Chautauqua County | New York Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-way commute (min) | 15.4 | 28.7 | 22.4 |
| Round-trip commute (min) | 30.7 | 57.4 | 44.8 |
| Yearly time spent (hours) | 128 | 239 | 187 |
| Estimated yearly cost | $3,966 | $7,414 | $5,790 |
| Work from home | 7.9% | 15.0% | 15.0% |
| Highway traffic (vehicles/day) | 3,684 | 9,257 | 8,813 |
| Local road traffic (vehicles/day) | 598 | 1,586 | 1,355 |
Fastest commutes among counties in
New York:
Hamilton County (13.6 min), Chautauqua County (15.4 min), Franklin County (16.4 min).
Slowest:
Bronx County (43.2 min), Queens County (41.8 min), Kings County (41.6 min).
The average commute time in Chautauqua County is 15 minutes, shorter than the 29 minutes in New York.
Estimated yearly cost applies a single national wage rule of thumb (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics average hourly earnings), not a measurement of wages in this area. Traffic volume figures come from proprietary Ticon and TrafficZoom data.
Education & Households
Chautauqua County has a education index of D, which means it is barely educated.
| Metric | Chautauqua County | New York Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 22.3% | 36.5% | 31.6% |
| Average household size | 2.26 | 2.49 | 2.53 |
Highest education index among counties in
New York:
New York County (0.5), Tompkins County (0.4), Westchester County (0.4).
Lowest:
Bronx County (0.2), Orleans County (0.2), Hamilton County (0.2).
Health
Chautauqua County has a health index of B, which means it is quite healthy.
| Metric | Chautauqua County | New York Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy (years) | 78.9 | 80.3 | 78.3 |
| Self-rated poor health | 15.0% | 13.2% | 16.3% |
| Smokers | 18.7% | 17.4% | 19.0% |
Highest health index among counties in
New York:
Tompkins County (0.8), Nassau County (0.8), New York County (0.8).
Lowest:
Bronx County (0.8), Montgomery County (0.8), Cattaraugus County (0.8).
Chautauqua County, NY Compared With Nearby Counties
Chautauqua County, NY is the 3rd largest of the 5 counties compared here, 125,543 residents against a local median of 172,592. There is no headline here. Every measure below sits within 15% of the median across the nearest counties, which makes Chautauqua County, NY an unremarkable member of its own neighbourhood rather than an outlier in it.
The largest of those small differences is commute, 13% below the local median at 15.4 min against 17.6 min. Chautauqua County, NY has the lowest commute of the 5 areas compared here.
| Area | Population | Median household income | Median home price | Commute |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chautauqua County, NY | 125,543 | $58,401 #5/5 | $122,905 #3/5 | 15.4 min #1/5 |
| Warren County, PA | 37,909 | $60,660 | $48,379 | 17.5 min |
| Erie County, PA | 269,043 | $63,801 | $135,236 | 17.6 min |
| Cattaraugus County, NY | 76,141 | $59,550 | $101,562 | 17.5 min |
| Erie County, NY | 948,176 | $72,896 | $170,710 | 20.1 min |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Chautauqua County, New York.
What is the population of Chautauqua County, New York?
About 125,543 people live in Chautauqua County, New York, in 53,387 households of 2.3 people on average. The median age is 41.0, so residents are older than the U.S. median of 37.3 by about 4 years.
How densely populated is Chautauqua County, New York?
Averaged over its land area, Chautauqua County, New York has 84 people per square mile, a density typical of rural areas. That is close to the U.S. average of 86.
Is Chautauqua County, New York an affordable place to live?
The median home costs 2.1 times the median household income ($122,905 against $58,401), compared with 3.1 times nationally. That is within the traditional rule of thumb of about 3 times income. Median rent of $812 a month takes about 17% of the median household's income, below the 30% level at which HUD considers renters cost-burdened.
How common is a college degree in Chautauqua County, New York?
22.3% of adults in Chautauqua County, New York hold a bachelor's degree or higher (about 1 in 4), well below the U.S. share of 31.6%.
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