Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
15% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Bradford, against 32% in New York’s towns and 29% across U.S. towns. Only 1 of the 759 New York towns we compare have a lower share of working residents who work in town than Bradford. 25% of the land in Bradford is conserved, above both New York’s towns (5.2%) and U.S. towns (4.3%). Birdseye Hollow State Forest, at 2,194 acres with 5.4 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Bradford has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
Where Bradford beats most towns.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Census counts: 1,547 in 1840, a peak of 2,010 in 1850, 811 in 2020. The archive holds 1 old photo or paper going back to 1873 and 2 maps from 1903 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Bradford, 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 Bradford.
Most working residents leave Bradford for work: only 1% work in town. The average trip to work in Bradford is 30 minutes. The top destinations are Bath (11%), Urbana (10%) and Erwin (7%).
| Bradford | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 30 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $61,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
16 miles of trail in 5 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. South Bradford State Forest | 7.7 mi | 1,568 |
| 2. Birdseye Hollow State Forest | 5.4 mi | 2,194 |
| 3. Moss Hill State Forest | — | 137 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Bradford has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 81°, January nights drop to 16° and about 48 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Bradford beats the New York average on 2 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 11. 16% of Bradford adults smoke cigarettes.
| Bradford | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 37% | 36% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 25% | 25% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 16% |
| What stands out | Bradford | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6.2% | 7.9% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 12.2% | 14.5% |
| More adults with COPD | 9.1% | 6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 54% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 4 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Bradford.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
| Bradford | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 87% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $770 a month | $1,101 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Bradford. Close and well known come first.
26 mi LakeSeneca Lake
14 mi State parkWatkins Glen State Park
14 mi MuseumCorning Museum of Glass400K visitors a year
33 mi LakeCayuga Lake
32 mi State parkTaughannock Falls State Park
35 mi Stadium & arenaSchoellkopf FieldSeneca Lake: RochesterNY, Public domain · Watkins Glen State Park: Flickr user: Peter Rivera Stamford, Connecticut https://www.flickr.com/people/ri, CC BY 2.0 · Corning Museum of Glass: User:Stilfehler, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Cayuga Lake: The original uploader was Cornellrockey at English Wikipedia. Later versions we, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Taughannock Falls State Park: Michael C. Rygel, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Schoellkopf Field: Alex Sergeev, (www.asergeev.com) Originally uploaded by en:User:Cornell010, CC BY-SA 3.0
None within 15 miles of Bradford; the nearest are
About 5 of every 100 Bradford residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
Where Bradford’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Town in New York, United States
Bradford is a town in Steuben County, New York, United States. The population was 811 at the 2020 census. The town is named after Major Robert Bradford, and is located in the northeastern section of the county, north of Corning.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Bradford has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
