Gorges and waterfalls define Ithaca, at the southern tip of Cayuga Lake in the Finger Lakes, along with two universities. Cornell and Ithaca College give the town about 34,000 residents a young, curious feel, with a walkable downtown Commons and a big farmers market. Visitors spend their days hiking to Ithaca Falls, Buttermilk Falls and Taughannock Falls, tasting wine along the Cayuga Lake trail, and wandering the Cornell campus and botanic gardens. Come in late September for the Apple Harvest Festival.
The tradeoffs are real. Housing is expensive for upstate New York because students compete for rentals and supply is tight. Winters bring heavy snow, the hills are steep, and the gorge trails can be slippery and dangerous, so swimming in them is restricted for good reason. Collegetown gets loud on weekend nights, and ticks are common in grassy areas.
Cities with a similar character, anywhere on the site.
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- Known as
- Ithaca is Gorges; Finger Lakes college town; Home of Cornell and Ithaca College; America's most enlightened town
- Founded
- 1790 settled; 1821 incorporated as village; 1888 incorporated as city
- Languages
- English; Spanish and many other languages among university communities
- Airports
- Ithaca Tompkins International ITH (about 4 miles / 10 min; limited regional service); Syracuse Hancock SYR (about 55 miles / 1 hr 10 min); Elmira-Corning ELM (about 40 miles); Binghamton BGM (about 55 miles); Rochester ROC (about 90 miles)
- Tipping
- Restaurants and bars 18-20% for table service; bartenders $1-2 per drink; taxis and rideshare 15-20%; hotel housekeeping $3-5 per night; winery tasting staff $3-5 or 15-20% of a tab; tour guides 15-20%
About this data
City population is Census QuickFacts Vintage 2025 (33,632). Metro figure is Tompkins County (Ithaca NY MSA) population 104,047 (July 1, 2025). Area (city total 15.72 km2 including water) and elevation from Wikipedia. Crime, hotel rates, rent, home price and cost index are approximate and unverified. Visitor site and calendar loaded Sept 2026
