Living in Potsdam, NY
Potsdam is a big small town of 8,427 people in St. Lawrence County, New York. It's about 66 miles from Watertown, NY and 167 miles from Rochester, NY, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 80°F and winter highs 26°F, with about 78 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $146k and rent runs about $898 a month.
8,427people
$146kTypical home
$898/moRent
80° / 26°Summer / winter
78"Snow
176Sunny days
156Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Big small town of 8,427
- A standalone small town, not a suburb
- About 1,714 people per sq mi
- 167 mi to Rochester, NY
- 66 mi to Watertown, NY
- 18 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $146k (≈$923/mo)
- Median rent $898/mo
- Median household income $35k
- Property tax about 3.4% of value
- 5.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 80°F
- Winter highs around 26°F
- Somewhat humid summers (dew point 59°F)
- 176 sunny days a year (46 totally clear)
- 189 cloudy days a year
- 63 of 90 winter days are gray
- 156 days a year with rain or snow
- 78" of snow a year
- 27 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 50 nights a year below 10°F
- Usually calm
Safety
- Very low violent crime (119 per 100k)
- Very low property crime (481 per 100k)
People
- Median age 22
- 19% of households have kids
- 11% are 65 or older
- 50% have a college degree
- Mixed community
- 55% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 18 min
- 27% walk or take transit to work
- 20 mi to MSS airport
- 121 mi to SYR (major hub)
- 76 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 44% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1959
- 86% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Gently rolling terrain
- Elevation 410 ft
- 26 mi to the ocean
- 41 mi to a big lake
- 32 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 37 mi to the nearest ski area
- 17 mi to the nearest campground
- 10 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 53 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 19 bars within 25 mi
- 11 coffee shops within 25 mi
- 2 music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 6 museums within 25 mi
- No breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 35 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the top 26% of New York districts (reading)
- Grocery store in town
- 4 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 47 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 5 mi to the nearest vet
- 58 mi to the nearest dog park
- 5 congregations per 10k people
- College in town
Politics
- St. Lawrence County: R+18 in 2024
- New York: D+13 in 2024
Natural hazards
- Very low hurricane risk
- Very low tornado risk
- Very low wildfire risk
- Low earthquake risk
- Very low flood risk
- Very low drought risk
- High winter storm risk
- Very low heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk