Lewis County<\/a> all border
\nHerkimer directly.<\/p>\nDemographics<\/h2>\n
Herkimer County had a population of 60,139 at the 2020 census, and the latest Census Bureau
\nestimate puts the county at 59,219 residents in 2025, a continuing decline from a 1970 peak near
\n67,600. Ilion and Herkimer are the two largest communities, together holding roughly a quarter of
\nthe county’s population. Median household income runs about $68,515, well below New York’s statewide figure of
\n$82,095 (2023 ACS). Population density works out to 42.6 people per square
\nmile of land, low even for upstate New York, reflecting the empty Adirondack two-thirds of the
\ncounty.<\/p>\n
Economy & Local Life<\/h2>\n
Health care and social assistance is the county’s largest employment sector, with about
\n5,038 workers, followed by retail trade at 3,231 and educational services at 2,877. Ilion was home
\nto the original Remington Arms factory, founded by gunsmith Eliphalet Remington in 1816 and
\noperating continuously until it closed in March 2024, ending more than two centuries of
\ngunmaking in the village. Herkimer County Community College and the Mohawk Valley Health
\nSystem’s Little Falls Hospital are the county’s major institutional employers.
\nQuartz crystals known as Herkimer diamonds, found in dolostone outcrops around Middleville and
\nFairfield, draw rock-hunting tourists to several dig sites each summer. Old Forge, at the western
\ngateway to the Adirondack Park, runs a tourism economy of its own built on boating, hiking and
\nwinter sports. The county’s biggest annual event is the Herkimer County Fair, held each
\nAugust at the fairgrounds in the town of Frankfort.<\/p>\n
History<\/h2>\n
New York’s legislature formed Herkimer County in 1791 out of the portion of Montgomery
\nCounty lying north of the Mohawk River, one of three counties — with Otsego and Tioga
\n— split from Montgomery that year. It is named for General Nicholas Herkimer, a Tryon
\nCounty militia commander who died from wounds received at the 1777 Battle of Oriskany during the
\nRevolutionary War. The county was originally far larger than today; Onondaga, Chenango, Oneida
\nand St. Lawrence counties were all carved from Herkimer’s original territory between 1794
\nand 1802.<\/p>\n
Rural farming gave way to dairying and a cheese industry by the mid-19th century, once the
\nErie Canal let Mohawk Valley wheat farmers know they could not compete with grain grown farther
\nwest. Eliphalet Remington began making rifle barrels by hand in Ilion in 1816, and the business
\nhe founded grew into the Remington Arms Company, whose factory anchored the village’s
\neconomy until it closed in 2024. In 1906, the trial of Chester Gillette for the drowning of Grace
\nBrown at Big Moose Lake was held at the Herkimer County Courthouse; the case became the basis for
\nTheodore Dreiser’s novel An American Tragedy<\/em> and the 1951 film A Place in the
\nSun<\/em>. In 2013, a shooting in the county left five people dead, one of the deadliest incidents
\nof gun violence in the region’s recent history.<\/p>\nGetting There<\/h2>\n
Interstate 90, the New York State Thruway, crosses the county’s southern edge near
\nHerkimer and Ilion. New York State Route 5 runs alongside it through the Mohawk Valley, and
\nState Route 28 runs north-south through the length of the county, from Herkimer up through Old
\nForge into the Adirondack Park.<\/p>\n
\n- Utica — about 15 miles west<\/li>\n
- Rome — about 25 miles northwest<\/li>\n
- Albany — about 65 miles east<\/li>\n
- Syracuse — about 50 miles west<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Syracuse Hancock International Airport, about 50 miles west of Herkimer, is the nearest major
\ncommercial airport; Griffiss International Airport in Rome handles general aviation closer to
\nhome. Amtrak’s Empire Service, Lake Shore Limited and Maple Leaf trains stop at Utica
\nUnion Station, about 15 miles west of the county seat. The Adirondack Railroad also runs seasonal
\ntourist trains from Utica to Thendara and Old Forge.<\/p>\n
Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\n
Where is Herkimer County located?<\/strong>
\nIt sits in central New York’s Mohawk Valley and Adirondack Park, about 15 miles southeast
\nof Utica, bordered by St. Lawrence, Hamilton, Fulton, Montgomery, Otsego, Oneida and Lewis
\ncounties.<\/p>\nWhat is the population of Herkimer County?<\/strong>
\n60,139 at the 2020 census, with a 2025 estimate near 59,219.<\/p>\nHow big is Herkimer County?<\/strong>
\n1,458 square miles (3,776 km2), of which 1,411 square miles are land and 46 square miles are
\nwater.<\/p>\nWhat is the county seat of Herkimer County?<\/strong>
\nThe village of Herkimer, one of only two places in New York where a village, its town and the
\ncounty share the same name.<\/p>\nHow many towns and villages are in Herkimer County?<\/strong>
\nThe county has 19 towns and 10 incorporated villages — Ilion, Herkimer, Mohawk, Frankfort,
\nDolgeville, West Winfield, Newport, Poland, Middleville and Cold Brook — plus the city of
\nLittle Falls and 7 census-designated places.<\/p>\nWhat ZIP codes does Herkimer County use?<\/strong>
\n13350 for Herkimer, 13357 for Ilion, 13407 for Mohawk, 13365 for Little Falls, 13340 for
\nFrankfort, and separate codes for Dolgeville, West Winfield, Old Forge, Newport, Poland,
\nMiddleville, Salisbury Center, Cold Brook, Jordanville, Thendara, Eagle Bay and Van Hornesville.<\/p>\nWhat is Herkimer County known for?<\/strong>
\nHerkimer diamond quartz crystals, the Adirondack Park gateway town of Old Forge, and Ilion’s
\nRemington Arms factory, which made firearms there for more than two centuries before closing in
\n2024.<\/p>\nMore counties in this state: Towns and villages in New York<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Herkimer County is a county in New York, United States, about 15 miles southeast of Utica. It had a population of 60,139 at the 2020 census, an estimated 59,219 by 2025, and covers 1,458 square miles (3,776 km2) centred near 43\u00b025\u2032N 74\u00b058\u2032W. Herkimer is the county seat; its postal code is 13350. The county holds […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"Towns & Villages in Herkimer County, New York","_seopress_titles_desc":"All 18 towns and villages in Herkimer County, New York - type, township, population and ZIP for each, plus Old Forge and Remington Arms history.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[6],"class_list":["post-6386","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-new-york","tag-towns-and-cities","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6386","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6386"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6386\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9528,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6386\/revisions\/9528"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}