Like all communities, Herkimer and Oneida counties have strengths to celebrate and challenges to face. Home values are stable and affordable, commutes are short, and costs for government are relatively low. Oneida County can boast of a strong tourism economy and a focus on high-tech higher education, and rates of serious crime are far below national levels.

Among the region’s challenges are sluggish job growth, declining incomes relative to inflation, and lower education levels among adults than the state or nation. Child poverty rates are above the state and nation. And the population is growing older, raising questions about the ability of residents to support needed services in the community in the future.