Ithaca, NY Homes For Rent

Homes for Rent in Ithaca, NY: What You Need to Know

Ithaca, located in the Finger Lakes region in central New York State, is known for its picturesque landscape. It’s home to Cornell University, one of the world’s top-ranked institutions of higher education.

Things to Do in Ithaca

A trip to Ithaca isn’t complete without visiting one of the more than 150 waterfalls in the area. The Taughannock Falls is the tallest single-drop waterfall east of the Rocky Mountains. The 215-foot-tall waterfall is three stories taller than Niagara Falls. The Sciencenter, a nonprofit children’s science museum, attracts about 100,000 visitors annually. The museum provides experiential learning to help develop critical thinking. The “Sun, Earth, Universe” exhibition offers interactive activities on various topics about space, such as building and testing a spacecraft and using tools like infrared light to detect the invisible.

Local Culture

Ithaca is known for its progressive politics and culture. The city has cooperative health insurance called Ithaca Health Fund, which provides access to health care based on need, not on ability to pay. The Alternatives Credit Union is quite self-explanatory, catering to the underserved people, while the Tompkins County Workers' Center advocates for the right to organize, health care, housing, and childcare for workers. The city used a local currency called Ithaca HOURS as an alternative to the federal currency during the 1991 recession. Each Ithaca HOUR was equivalent to $10.

Is Ithaca an Expensive Place? 

Ithaca (population: 30,837) is relatively expensive compared to other college towns, but it’s affordable compared to other Northeastern cities, especially New York City. Its cost of living rate is 2.7% higher than the national average. At least, food and housing costs are 25.2% and 27.7% lower than the national average respectively. The median gross rent is $1,203.

What is Ithaca Known for?

Ithaca is known for its top-notch schools. Cornell University (21,904 students), an Ivy League school, is based in the city. It’s one of the 20 best universities in the world, according to QS World University Rankings. In primary and secondary education, Ithaca’s 12 public schools (5,328 students) boast of an average math proficiency score of 65% compared with the New York public school average of 54% and a reading proficiency score of 61% versus the 54% statewide average.

Is it Snowy in Ithaca? 

Ithaca gets 63 inches of snow annually, a lot more than the national average of 28 inches. The city receives about 37 inches of rain per year, close to the U.S. average of 38 inches. On Dec. 16-17, 2020, a nor'easter battered parts of central New York State and northeast Pennsylvania. Ithaca got about three feet of snow.