105,602 people (2024 Census estimate, +5.8% since 2020)
475 square miles of land · 222 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
51 active community water systems list Tompkins County in the area they serve, reporting 97,550 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| CORNELL UNIVERSITY surface water · private · NY5417686 | 31,581 served |
| ITHACA CITY surface water · local government · NY5404416 | 29,457 served |
| ITHACA TOWN WD buys surface water · local government · NY5404419 | 13,000 served |
| CAYUGA HEIGHTS VILLAGE buys surface water · local government · NY5404411 | 3,170 served |
| LANSING (V) buys surface water · local government · NY5416982 | 3,100 served |
| LANSING (T) CONSOLIDATED WD buys surface water · local government · NY5416959 | 3,000 served |
| GROTON VILLAGE groundwater (surface-influenced) · local government · NY5404415 | 2,470 served |
| TRUMANSBURG VILLAGE groundwater · local government · NY5404417 | 2,300 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 54 people were held in Tompkins County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2026). In 2021 it was about 40.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
6 school districts have their office in Tompkins County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $171.7 million — $142.6 million to run schools, about $28,014 per student, plus $22.5 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $110.5 million local (mostly property tax), $41.2 million state, $8.7 million federal. Long-term debt: $61.2 million.
Spent $48.7 million — $41.5 million to run schools, about $30,836 per student, plus $3.8 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $20.6 million local (mostly property tax), $24.4 million state, $3.6 million federal. Long-term debt: $27.3 million.
Spent $36.5 million — $32.4 million to run schools, about $27,546 per student, plus $1.5 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $23.4 million local (mostly property tax), $11.9 million state, $2.4 million federal. Long-term debt: $20.9 million.
Spent $34.5 million — $28.2 million to run schools, about $28,167 per student, plus $1.2 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $13.5 million local (mostly property tax), $16.5 million state, $1.8 million federal. Long-term debt: $24.9 million.
Spent $27.6 million — $21 million to run schools, about $26,193 per student, plus $5.9 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $7.3 million local (mostly property tax), $16.4 million state, $2.9 million federal. Long-term debt: $11.3 million.
Spent $22.5 million — $19.9 million to run schools, about $27,577 per student, plus $515,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $7.8 million local (mostly property tax), $16 million state, $2.3 million federal. Long-term debt: $33.5 million.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Relatively Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Tompkins County about $34.8 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Very High; social vulnerability: Relatively Low.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
192 bridges in Tompkins County: 70 in good condition, 94 fair, and 28 poor (14.6%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| RTE 13 over PONY HOLLOW CREEK · built 1960 | 7,214 vehicles a day |
| RTE 96B over TRB BUTTERMILK CK · built 1929 | 4,493 vehicles a day |
| NORTH CAYUGA STREE over FALL CREEK · built 1934 | 2,294 vehicles a day |
| FREESE ROAD over FALL CREEK · built 1920 | 2,059 vehicles a day |
| TURKEY HILL ROAD over CASCADILLA CREEK · built 1982 | 1,895 vehicles a day |
| N TIOGA STREET over CASCADILLA CREEK · built 1930 | 848 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $290.6 million of work in Tompkins County in fiscal 2025, about $2,748 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
Registration deadlines, early voting and polling places for New York are on the federal site vote.gov, which links to the state's official election office.
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Tompkins County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Tompkins County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of New York: the state government and every county in New York.
Nearby counties: Tioga County (21 mi) · Cortland County (22 mi) · Schuyler County (24 mi) · Chemung County (25 mi) · Seneca County (29 mi) · Yates County (35 mi).