Central New York
Cortland, New York
Cortland is a city in Cortland County, in New York's Central New York region, home to about 17,500 people as of the 2020 census.
Like the rest of upstate New York, an assessed value here usually isn't the market value; the state's equalization rate reconciles the two. The local rate is below, and the STAR program can lower the school-tax part of the bill.
- Type
- City
- County
- Cortland
- Region
- Central New York
- Population (2020)
- 17,556
Local Almanac
Notes in and around Cortland
Short, sourced notes tied to this place, its county, or nearby communities.
This place · History & Culture
Cortland Runs Through Valleys, Rails, and Wickwire
Cortland's identity connects its seven-valley setting, railroad-era industry, and the long Wickwire manufacturing story.
Read this note ->This place · Cars & Driving
Cortland DMV test days need the Thursday-Friday appointment rule
Cortland County DMV walk-ins are broad, but tests, Thursday opening time, and late-day processing cutoffs need separate planning.
Read this note ->This place · History & Culture
Cortland's College Town Layer Grew From a Normal School
Cortland's history includes the normal-school roots of SUNY Cortland, a major employer that gives the Crown City a college-town layer.
Read this note ->This place · Rules & Licenses
Cortland County Clerk Is Records Hub, Not the FOIL Officer
Cortland County's Clerk page separates county records duties from FOIL and lists services such as real property, passports, DBA filings, and notaries.
Read this note ->This place · Rules & Licenses
Cortland Public Records Search Works Better With Less Input
Cortland County's public records page recommends a less-is-more search style and offers free viewing, saving, and printing from the search portal.
Read this note ->Nearby · Home & Property
Cortlandville Permits Start With the Building Code Office
Cortlandville owners should check the Building Code Department before residential, commercial, solar, accessory, or highway-adjacent work moves forward.
Read this note ->Nearby · Home & Property
Cortland County Beacon Is a Parcel Starting Point
Cortland County's Beacon and Real Property pages help Homer and Cortlandville owners check parcel, assessment, sale, and property details before asking bigger questions.
Read this note ->Nearby · History & Culture
Homer's Green Keeps the Town Readable
Homer's identity gathers along the Tioughnioga River, a 1791 settlement story, Main Street, and a village green ringed by historic buildings.
Read this note ->Nearby · The Outdoors
Cortlandville's Lime Hollow Makes the Town a Preserve Landscape
Lime Hollow gives Cortlandville a concrete landscape identity through glacial, wetland, and preserve work near the city edge.
Read this note ->Property tax snapshot
Roughly $35–$35 per $1,000
Combined full-value rate — county + town/city + school district, per $1,000 of market value (FY2025). On a $300,000 home that's about $10,624–$10,624 a year before the STAR break.
A planning estimate, not a bill. Your exact rate depends on your school district and any village. Confirm with the assessor.
Statewide links
Statewide starting points.
Good to know
- • Your assessed value usually isn't your market value — ask for the equalization rate.
- • Register for STAR; new applicants generally receive a credit instead of an automatic exemption on the bill.
- • Outside the cities, check the well, the septic, and the FEMA flood map before you buy.
Nearby
Nearby places
Tax rates: NYS Dept of Taxation & Finance (ORPTS), Real Property Tax Rates and Levy Data by Municipality, data.ny.gov dataset iq85-sdzs. (FY2025). Population: U.S. Census 2020. Reviewed June 2026. Source data ->
Page feedback
Send a page note
Send a note about this page. The page address will be included automatically.
Page feedback
Send a note
This is for fixing the site: wrong details, unclear wording, broken links, outdated information, or useful local context.