Ithaca, NY vs Palo Alto, CA

Side-by-side comparison of housing, income, commute, safety, and quality of life.

Score Snapshot

No universal winner

Scores summarize the published model. Use the objective metric differences below and your own priorities to choose.

Palo Alto

67.4

#1429 nationally

Palo Alto leads in median household income ($214,118 vs $45,468). Ithaca leads in average commute (18.4 min vs 23.9 min). Ithaca leads in walk score (72 vs 61).

Metric-by-Metric Breakdown

Metric	Ithaca, NY	Palo Alto, CA
Population	32,724	65,882
Typical Home Value (ZHVI)	$0	$3,599,324
Median Household Income	$45,468	$214,118
Average Commute	18.4 min	23.9 min
Walk Score	72	61
Crime Level	5.4	5.8
School Rating	N/A	N/A
Cost of Living Index	117	N/A
Political lean County 2024 presidential margin — context only, not scored	D+50.6	D+40.0