Westchester data stories
A guided story about why a high-income county can still feel expensive—and why the answer depends on who you are.
Start with the headline.
Westchester’s median household income is high relative to state and national benchmarks. That is real—and incomplete.
Put housing next to it.
The county’s median value of owner-occupied housing units is $691,100 in the same ACS 2024 1-year profile. A high income can coexist with high asset prices.
Zoom in.
In the current local dataset, median household income ranges from roughly $81,868 in Yonkers to more than $250,000 in Scarsdale. “Westchester” is not one household.
Add time.
The countywide mean commute is 35.8 minutes. A housing decision can move cost from rent or mortgage into transportation and time.
Ask the human question.
Affordability is not “Is the county rich?” It is “What resources does this household have, what costs does it face, and how much flexibility remains after the essentials?”