Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Black River’s best subject grade is an A+ for safety; its weakest is a D for walkability. Only 3 of New York’s 274 towns score higher on safety. Black River has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Black River beats most towns.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Black River is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 1 old photo or paper going back to 1864.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Black River, 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 Black River.
Black River reports less crime per resident than 99% of the U.S. towns and cities we grade. Black River’s property crime rate is 1.6 per 1,000 residents, against 7.5 in New York’s towns and 9.9 across U.S. towns. Black River’s violent crime rate is 0 per 1,000 residents.
| Black River | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.6 per 1,000 residents | 7.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0 per 1,000 residents | 0.8 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The typical Black River home is worth about $249,000, up 4.7% in a year, 53% below the New York typical home. 63% of households own their home in Black River, below both the New York town median (75%) and the median of U.S. towns (73%).
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
0.3% of Black River working residents work locally. Since 2013, Black River has lost 67 jobs, to 45 in 2023. The average trip to work in Black River is 18 minutes.
| Black River | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 0.3% | 10% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $87,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Black River has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 80°, January nights drop to 10° and about 116 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 66% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Black River beats the New York average on 5 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 9. 42% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Black River.
| Black River | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 37% | 36% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 17% | 16% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 33% | 35% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 34% | 35% |
| What stands out | Black River | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 13% | 17.2% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6.2% | 7.9% |
| More adults with obesity | 37.8% | 28.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Adults 35 to 64 are 44% of residents (39% statewide); people 65 and older are 13% of residents (18% statewide). Black River has lost 4.6% of its people since 2020, down to 1,208 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 32% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 40% across New York.
| Black River | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 13% | 20% | 18% |
| Median age | 38.3 years | 43 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 23% | 20% | 22% |
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.2 points. Across New York, 51.2% of residents are women.
| Black River | NY | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.4% | 11% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 12.8% | 9.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 4.5% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 15.1% | 14.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 22.4% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.2% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.1% | 13.3% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.4% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 4% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 2.5% | 12% | 10.4% |
| High school | 34% | 24.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 19.1% | 14.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 11.9% | 8.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 18.4% | 22.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 14% | 17.9% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,200, single groups can be off by several points
1.2 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve.
| Black River | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.5% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Maple Street Park | — | 9 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
1 within 15 miles of the center of Black River
About 3 of every 100 Black River residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
Where Black River’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Village in New York, United States
Black River is a village in Jefferson County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, Black River had a population of 1,232. The village is on the border of the towns of Le Ray and Rutland, east of Watertown.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
That is 3.7 years of the area's median household income ($66,301 across the Watertown-Fort Drum, NY metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.