New Paltz is a somewhat small village located in the state of New York. With a population of 8,323 people and three associated neighborhoods, New Paltz is the 240th largest community in New York.New Paltz is a decidedly white-collar village, with fully 92.07% of the workforce employed in white-collar jobs, well above the national average. Overall, New Paltz is a village of sales and office workers, service providers, and professionals. There are especially a lot of people living in New Paltz who work in sales jobs (16.33%), food service (12.19%), and office and administrative support (11.38%). Of important note, New Paltz is also a village of artists. New Paltz has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape New Paltz’s character. One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 11.71% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes. New Paltz is a small town with a large college student population. Because of this, there is a real youthful, hip vibe to the place, and much of the life in the town is centered on the college. This has helped New Paltz to buck the trend of other small towns that have suffered declining populations over the past 20 to 30 years. Spending by students, and faculty and staff jobs, are a big part of the local economy. Do you have a 4-year college degree or graduate degree? If so, you may feel right at home in New Paltz. 72.13% of adults here have a 4-year degree or graduate degree, whereas the national average for all cities and towns is just 21.84%. The per capita income in New Paltz in 2022 was $22,763, which is low income relative to New York and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $91,052 for a family of four. However, New Paltz contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. New Paltz also has one of the higher rates of people living in poverty in the nation, with 37.83% of its population below the federal poverty line.New Paltz is a very ethnically-diverse village. The people who call New Paltz home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of New Paltz residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. New Paltz also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 14.60% of the village’s residents. Important ancestries of people in New Paltz include Irish, Italian, German, English, and Russian. The most common language spoken in New Paltz is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Polish.
