Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Afton earns a D−, 738th of 745 graded towns in New York, mostly because of schools and incomes. Its public schools trail 89% of New York towns on state tests and graduation. The median household income is $52K, and 12% of residents live below the poverty line. It also has a long history, with 1 places on the National Register. Only 15 of New York’s 1,216 towns score lower on hazard risk. 13% of the land in Afton is conserved, above both the New York town median (5.2%) and the median of U.S. towns (4.3%). Melondy Hill State Forest, at 3,639 acres with 2.5 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
Where Afton beats most towns.
Where Afton’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Afton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,992 in 1860, a peak of 4,203 in 1910, 2,769 in 2020. The archive holds 1 old photo or paper going back to 1875 and 2 maps from 1905 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Afton, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Aug 3, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Afton.
Afton is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of New York (mostly inland flooding) and trails Masonville and its other neighbors on schools.
Each of its 5 graded neighbors has a higher School Grade than its D, Masonville highest at C+.
Its public schools are run by the Afton Central School District. Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Afton Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 210 | C |
| Afton Junior/Senior High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 6–12 | Grades 6–12 | 219 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 100% of New York towns, with expected losses of about $746 per resident a year; that rating is what its D for hazard risk is built on.
Afton’s FEMA risk score is 88 of 100, where New York’s towns sit at 31 of 100 and U.S. towns at 44 of 100. Since 1978, 32 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Afton.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The average commute for its 1,093 working residents takes 23.2 minutes, against 32.6 across New York.
Most working residents leave Afton for work: only 9% work in town. Since 2013, Afton has added 60 jobs, to 469 in 2023. The top destinations are Sidney (10%), Binghamton (6%) and Union (5%).
| Afton | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $52,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Afton has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 82°, January nights drop to 14° and about 75 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
2.8 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves. The trail density in Afton is 0.1 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Melondy Hill State Forest | 2.5 mi | 3,639 |
| 2. Oak Ridge State Forest | — | 214 |
| 3. Susquehanna River Boat Launch | — | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Against the 6,373 U.S. towns with household incomes like Afton’s, it is healthier than 80%, so its C+ isn’t only a matter of income.
Afton beats the New York average on 3 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 11. 15% of adults report frequent physical distress in Afton.
| Afton | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 14% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 34% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 25% | 25% |
| What stands out | Afton | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6.3% | 7.9% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 11.7% | 14.5% |
| More adults with COPD | 9.1% | 6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
None within 15 miles of Afton; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Afton residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
4 notable people were born in Afton.
Town in New York, United States
Afton is a town in Chenango County, New York, United States. The population was 2,769 at the 2020 census. Afton is situated in the southeast corner of the county and lies wholly within the original Township of Clinton. It was formed from the town of Bainbridge on November 18, 1857, and derives its name from Afton Water, a small river in the parish of New Cumnock, Ayrshire, Scotland, immortalized by the poet Robert Burns. It is bounded on the north by Bainbridge and Coventry, on the east by Delaware County, and on the west and south by Broome County. The town of Afton contains a village, also called Afton. The town is at the southeastern corner of the county and is northeast of Binghamton.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Afton.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afton | #738 | D− | C+ | — | D | C+ |
| Bainbridge | #701 | D | C+ | — | C | C+ |
| Colesville | #717 | D | C | — | C | C+ |
| Coventry | — | — | B | — | C | B− |
| Sanford | — | — | A− | — | C | B− |
| Masonville | — | — | B | — | C+ | C |
Coventry, Sanford and Masonville have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Afton, Bainbridge, Colesville, Coventry, Sanford and Masonville report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Afton with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Afton grades D− overall, better than 3% of U.S. towns and #738 of 745 in New York. It grades C+ for health and D for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
4 notable people were born here, including Carlton J. H. Hayes and Helen Bevington.
