Allowance for Loan Losses and Credit Quality of Loans (Details) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($) Segment
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Loan portfolio segments \| Segment	3
Commercial Loans [Member] \| Commercial Real Estate [Member] \| Maximum [Member]
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Real estate loan amount, percentage of appraised value or purchase price of the property	80.00%
Commercial Loans [Member] \| Agricultural Real Estate [Member] \| Maximum [Member]
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Real estate loan amount, percentage of appraised value or purchase price of the property	75.00%
Commercial Loans [Member] \| Business Banking [Member]
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Business banking loans, maximum amount available \| $	$ 500
Consumer Loans [Member] \| Indirect [Member]
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Percentage of automobile financing to indirect relationships with dealers	70.00%
Consumer Loans [Member] \| Indirect [Member] \| Minimum [Member]
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Principal repayment term of loan	3 years
Consumer Loans [Member] \| Indirect [Member] \| Maximum [Member]
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Principal repayment term of loan	6 years
Consumer Loans [Member] \| Home Equity [Member] \| Maximum [Member]
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Home equity loan amount, percentage of equity in home	85.00%
Consumer Loans [Member] \| Direct [Member] \| Minimum [Member]
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Principal repayment term of loan	1 year
Consumer Loans [Member] \| Direct [Member] \| Maximum [Member]
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Principal repayment term of loan	10 years
Residential Real Estate Mortgages [Member] \| Maximum [Member]
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Real estate loan amount, percentage of appraised value or purchase price of the property	85.00%

Represents the repayment term of the debt instrument.

No definition available.

Name:	nbtb_DebtInstrumentRepaymentTerm
Namespace Prefix:	nbtb_
Data Type:	xbrli:durationItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

This element represents the percentage of the equity in home, for the originated amounts of home equity loans.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	nbtb_HomeEquityLoanOriginationAmountPercentageOfEquityInHome
Namespace Prefix:	nbtb_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

This element represents the percentage of the appraised value or purchase price of a property, for the originated amounts of real estate loans.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	nbtb_LoanOriginationAmountPercentageOfAppraisedValueOfPropertyOrPurchasePrice
Namespace Prefix:	nbtb_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

This element represents the number of portfolio segments within the loan portfolio.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	nbtb_LoanPortfolioSegments
Namespace Prefix:	nbtb_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Represents the percentage of automobile financing to indirect relationships the Company maintains with dealers.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	nbtb_PercentageOfAutomobileFinancingToIndirectRelationshipsWithDealers
Namespace Prefix:	nbtb_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

This element represents the maximum loan amount available for small business customers.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	nbtb_SmallBusinessLoansMaximumAmountAvailable
Namespace Prefix:	nbtb_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_AccountsNotesAndLoansReceivableLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_FinancingReceivablePortfolioSegmentAxis=us-gaap_CommercialPortfolioSegmentMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_FinancingReceivableRecordedInvestmentByClassOfFinancingReceivableAxis=us-gaap_CommercialRealEstateMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_RangeAxis=us-gaap_MaximumMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_FinancingReceivableRecordedInvestmentByClassOfFinancingReceivableAxis=nbtb_AgriculturalRealEstateFinancingReceivableMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_FinancingReceivableRecordedInvestmentByClassOfFinancingReceivableAxis=nbtb_BusinessBankingFinancingReceivableMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_FinancingReceivablePortfolioSegmentAxis=us-gaap_ConsumerPortfolioSegmentMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_FinancingReceivableRecordedInvestmentByClassOfFinancingReceivableAxis=nbtb_IndirectFinancingReceivableMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_RangeAxis=us-gaap_MinimumMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_FinancingReceivableRecordedInvestmentByClassOfFinancingReceivableAxis=nbtb_HomeEquityFinancingReceivablesMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_FinancingReceivableRecordedInvestmentByClassOfFinancingReceivableAxis=nbtb_DirectFinancingReceivableMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_FinancingReceivablePortfolioSegmentAxis=us-gaap_ResidentialPortfolioSegmentMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type: