List of people from Ithaca, New York

Being host to Cornell University, Ithaca College and a distinct arts scene, Ithaca, New York has been home to many famous people. The county in which Ithaca resides, Tompkins County, New York, is ranked 8th in all 3,144 U.S. counties for the highest density of culturally notable baby boomers.

• A.R. Ammons, resident, poet, Cornell professor
• Josh Bard, native, professional baseball player, San Diego Padres, catcher
• Hans Bethe, resident, physicist, Nobel Prize winner, Cornell professor, head of theoretical division of the Manhattan Project
• David Boreanaz, student, actor, Ithaca College (1989–1993), BONES
• Urie Bronfenbrenner, Cornell professor, Cornell board of trustees, founder of Head Start
• Dustin Brown, native, professional hockey player, right wing, Stanley Cup champion, captain of Los Angeles Kings
• John H. Camp, former US Congressman
• Stephen L. Carter, native, Yale professor, legal scholar and author
• Alex Compton, professional basketball player
• Anna Coogan, resident, singer-songwriter
• Ann Coulter, resident, graduate of Cornell University, conservative author and commentator
• Alonzo B. Cornell, native, Governor of New York, 1880–1882, son of Ezra Cornell
• Ezra Cornell, resident, founder of Cornell University
• Amasa Dana, former US Congressman
• Buck Dharma, resident, co-founder and lead guitarist of Blue Öyster Cult
• Robert Earle, resident, broadcaster, GE College Bowl moderator (1962–1970)
• Johnny Dowd, resident, musician
• Adam C. Engst, native, resident, publisher of TidBITS and Take Control ebook series
• Tonya Engst, native, resident, editor-in-chief of TidBITS and Take Control ebook series
• Richard Feynman, resident, physicist, Cornell professor, Nobel Prize winner
• Carl Frederick, resident, science-fiction author
• Alice Fulton, resident, poet, Cornell professor, MacArthur Fellow
• Juan Pablo Galavis, native, former professional soccer player, star of The Bachelor
• John H. Gear, native, Senator and Governor of Iowa
• Greg Graffin, resident, lead singer of punk band Bad Religion
• Alex Haley, native, author of Roots: The Saga of an American Family and the Autobiography of Malcolm X
• Brian Hall, author
• Richard W. Hubbell, Wisconsin politician
• Karel Husa, resident, composer
• Jon Jones, resident, mixed martial artist, UFC light heavyweight champion
• David Lee, resident, physicist, Cornell professor, Nobel Prize winner
• David Lehman, resident, poet
• J. Robert Lennon, resident, author of Mailman and Happyland
• James L. Linderman, former Wisconsin State Assemblyman
• Norman Malcolm, resident, philosopher, worked at Cornell
• Mary McDonnell, native, actress in Dances with Wolves, Independence Day, Battlestar Galactica
• Matthew F. McHugh, resident, Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives, New York's 27th congressional district, 1975–1983, New York's 28th congressional district, 1983–1993
• Robert Moog, ex-resident (deceased 2005), engineer, pioneer of electronic music, inventor of the Moog synthesizer, creator of Moog Music originally named R.A. Moog Co. and Big Briar
• Tim Moresco, native, professional football player, defensive back, New York Jets
• Vladimir Nabokov, resident, Cornell professor, author of Lolita and other works
• Benjamin Netanyahu, resident during portion of childhood (father is a Cornell professor), Prime Minister of Israel 1996-1999, 2009–present
• Nicholas Nicastro, resident, novelist, filmmaker, graduate of Cornell University ('85)
• Lonnie Park, native, musician, Grammy nominee
• Roy H. Park, resident, media executive, founder of Park Communications and the Park Foundation
• Harry Partch, resident, composer
• Bre Pettis, native, entrepreneur, cofounder and CEO of MakerBot Industries
• Stephen (Steve) Poleskie, resident, artist and writer, Cornell professor emeritus, work in Metropolitan Museum and Museum of Modern Art
• Christopher Reeve, student, actor, Superman, Superman II et al.
• Robert C. Richardson, resident, physicist, Cornell professor, Nobel Prize winner
• Hank Roberts, resident, cellist and composer
• Frank Rosenblatt, resident, psychologist and computer scientist, Cornell professor, and founder of Chateau Rosenblatt
• Carl Sagan, resident, astronomer, Cornell professor, popularizer of science, and author and host of Cosmos
• Nick Sagan, native, novelist and screenwriter, Cornell professor
• Tim Sale, native, comic book illustrator
• Rod Serling, resident of Interlaken, NY 18 miles away in Seneca County, Ithaca College Professor, screenwriter, creator and host of The Twilight Zone
• Father Robert S. Smith, resident, Catholic priest, author, and educator
• Louisa Rachel Solomon, native before settling in Brooklyn, singer in The Shondes
• Steve Squyres, resident, astronomer, Cornell professor, principal investigator of the Mars Exploration Rover Mission
• Steven Strogatz, resident, mathematician, Cornell professor, author
• Steven Stucky, resident, classical composer, Cornell professor, Pulitzer Prize winner
• Mike "Tag" Tagliavento, native, resident, lifelong member of the FBM BMX team, co-creator of seminal BMX videos such as "1201," co-owner of S-Luck Clothing
• William H. Thomas, resident, geriatrician, novelist, Ashoka Fellow, Heinz Award winner, author of "What are Old People For?"
• Henry S. Walbridge, former US Congressman
• David Foster Wallace, native, novelist
• Brian Wansink, resident, Cornell professor and author of Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think
• Alfred Wells, former US Congressman
• E.B. White, resident, novelist, author of Charlotte's Web and co-author of The Elements of Style
• Robert R. Wilson, resident, physicist, head of the Cyclotron group of the Manhattan Project
• Ludwig Wittgenstein, resident, philosopher, invited to live in Ithaca by his friend and pupil Norman Malcolm
• Paul Wolfowitz, native, academic, Deputy Secretary of Defense (2001–2005), president of the World Bank (2005-)
• Christopher Woodrow, resident, movie producer