Utica, NY — Momentum Score, Home Values & Best-For

All states·New York·Utica

Oneida County · Utica-Rome · population 63,660

First-time buyersInvestorsShrinking

Image: Wikipedia · Utica, New York

Overview Cost of living Moving guide

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Hot

Momentum score · 0–100

Where Utica stands

At or near all-time high. home values up 9.1% in the last year. averaging 8.3% annual growth over 5 years. population shrinking 0.6% per year. rents up 8.4% in the last year.

Median home $205,924

1-year +9.1%

5-yr CAGR +8.3%

vs 5-yr peak +0.0%

Population -0.6%/yr

Home value trajectory · last 10 years

Zillow ZHVI · monthly

Lifestyle scores

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Walkability

52/100

Somewhat walkable

Estimated from population density. Higher = denser, more amenities within walking distance.

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Public transit

22/100

Transit limited

Curated list of major US transit systems + population-based estimate. Higher = real subway/rail/bus options.

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Remote work fit

72/100

Strong remote-work fit

Composite of city size, housing cost, state tax structure, and region's remote-work track record.

Scores are heuristic estimates from population density, state, and known transit/walkable cities. Not based on a paid Walk Score / Transit Score API — see methodology for the formula.

Rent trajectory · last 5 years

Zillow ZORI · monthly

Home value vs rent · indexed to 100

Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)

Rent vs buy

Price-to-rent ratio: 12.7

Buy

At a 12.7 price-to-rent ratio, buying generally beats renting in Utica on a long-enough horizon. The headline math is that one year of mortgage payments approximates 12.7 years of rent — well below the 15+ threshold where ownership starts to dominate.

How the momentum score breaks down

methodology →

Home YoY

89 · w22%

Home 5-yr CAGR

80 · w22%

Distance from peak

90 · w18%

Population growth

36 · w16%

Rent YoY

85 · w12%

Home 10-yr CAGR

85 · w10%

Long thesis

Utica has averaged 8.3% annual appreciation over five years and the trend is still live (+9.1% in the last 12 months). When a momentum trade keeps working, the simplest explanation is usually correct: more people want in.

Short thesis

Utica's population is shrinking 0.6% per year. Housing demand has to come from somewhere — if people are leaving, the buyer pool is shrinking faster than the inventory. That eventually shows up in price.

About Utica

Utica is a city in Oneida County, New York, with an estimated population of 63,660. It anchors the Utica-Rome metro area. The population has contracted 0.6% per year on average since 2020. The median home value in Utica is $205,924 as of 2026-04, up 9.1% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged +8.3% annual growth, with prices at or near the 5-year peak. Rents in Utica average $1,357 per month, up 8.4% year-over-year. The composite momentum score is 78 of 100 (Hot). Buyers should expect competition and limited negotiation room in this market.

▲ Bull case

●Multi-year compounder: home values up an average 8.3% per year over the last 5 years — sustained, not a one-year pop.

●Trend still working: prices up 9.1% in the last 12 months — buyers are still chasing inventory.

●Affordable AND rising: median home $205,924 with positive recent direction — rare combination most of the country can’t offer.

●Held the highs: currently +0.0% from the 5-year peak — this market refused to give back gains.

●Hot rental market: rents up 8.4% YoY — landlords have pricing power, supports new investment math.

▼ Bear case

●Flat or shrinking population: -0.6% per year. Housing demand has to come from somewhere — verify the source.

●Rental squeeze: rents up 8.4% YoY — tenants face tough renewals. Affordability deteriorating fast.

About Utica (Wikipedia)

Utica is a city in the state of New York, and the county seat of Oneida County. The tenth-most populous city in New York, its population was 65,283 in the 2020 census. It is located on the Mohawk River in the Mohawk Valley at the foot of the Adirondack Mountains, approximately 95 mi (153 km) west-northwest of Albany, 55 mi (89 km) east of Syracuse and 240 mi (386 km) northwest of New York City. Utica and the nearby city of Rome anchor the Utica–Rome metropolitan area comprising all of Oneida and Herkimer counties.

Source: Wikipedia · this summary is contributed and licensed under CC-BY-SA.

City facts

MayorMichael Galime (R)

Area16.98 sq mi

Elevation456 ft

Land Grant (Village)1734

Density3904.02/sq mi

Extracted from the Wikipedia infobox. Values may be slightly out of date relative to the latest sources.

Playbook

Buyer

Expect competition, escalation clauses, and pressure to waive inspections. Make your strongest offer up front — Hot markets reward decisiveness, not negotiation. If you can't write a clean offer, you may not be the best fit for this market right now.

Seller

Price slightly above recent comps and let multiple offers work. Days-on-market should be short. Don't accept the first offer in the first 48 hours unless it's significantly above ask.

Investor

Cap rates are still workable thanks to a reasonable price-to-rent ratio. Buy-and-hold math works if the trend continues; underwrite a moderate slowdown to be safe.

Local safety & alerts

No active National Weather Service alerts for Oneida County right now.

NWS active alerts (NY)New York Emergency Management How to prepare (NWS)

Public-safety links are official .gov sources, not curated by us. Oneida County routes NWS alerts; check the state EM portal for non-weather emergencies.