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. Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 11.71% of people work from home. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce it is high relative to the nation. 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 place where college students are a big part of the character and culture of the town. Small towns have often struggled with declining populations over the past few decades, but the presence of such a large college student population has helped New Paltz to fight this trend. Not only does the college population add spending and jobs to local economy, but it also contributes a very tangible, youthful energy to the town. If knowledge is power, New Paltz is a pretty powerful place. 72.13% of the adults in New Paltz have earned a 4-year college degree, masters degree, MD, law degree, or even PhD. Compare that to the national average of 21.84% for all cities and towns. 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.
