Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,649.
The best of Butternuts’ subject grades are an A+ for history and civic life; the weakest is a C− for hazard risk. On hazard risk, just 95 of New York’s 1,216 towns do worse. 27% of residents are 65 or older in Butternuts, above both New York’s towns (20%) and U.S. towns (18%). Only 17 of New York’s 1,216 towns score higher on history. The biggest park or preserve is Wagner Farm State Forest, at 388 acres. Only 34 of New York’s 1,187 towns score higher on civic life. Butternuts has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Butternuts beats most towns.
Major's Inn and Gilbert BlockWhere Butternuts’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 Butternuts is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 3,601 in 1820, 1,786 in 2010. The archive holds 3 maps from 1915 on.
6 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Who provides power, water and the rest in Butternuts, 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 Butternuts.
Its public schools are run by the Gilbertsville-Mount Upton Central School District. Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gilbertsville-Mount Upton Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 182 | D |
| Gilbertsville-Mount Upton Junior-Senior High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 138 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
Most working residents leave Butternuts for work: only 7% work in town. At 31 minutes, Butternuts’ average trip to work is above both the New York town median (25 minutes) and the median of U.S. towns (25 minutes). 5.5% of Butternuts residents live below the poverty line.
| Butternuts | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 31 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 5.5% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $90,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 7.1% | 10% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 74% of U.S. communities. Since 2006, 5 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Butternuts.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
People 65 and older are 27% of residents (18% statewide); children under 18 are 16% of residents (21% statewide). Butternuts’ median age is 48.1 years. 34% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 40% across New York.
| Butternuts | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 16% | 20% | 22% |
| Median age | 48.1 years | 43 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 34% | 32% | 29% |
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±5.8 points. Across New York, 51.2% of residents are women.
| Butternuts | NY | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.3% | 11% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 5.2% | 9.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 12.9% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 8.5% | 14.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.1% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14.8% | 13.3% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 14.9% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 12.4% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.5% | 12% | 10.4% |
| High school | 36.2% | 24.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 12.6% | 14.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 12.7% | 8.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 18.2% | 22.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 15.9% | 17.9% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,600, single groups can be off by several points
Butternuts has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. The July high in Butternuts is 80°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Wagner Farm State Forest | — | 388 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Butternuts beats the New York average on 6 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 10. 15% of adults report frequent physical distress in Butternuts.
| Butternuts | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 14% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 34% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 11% | 12% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 21% | 23% |
| What stands out | Butternuts | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.9% | 7.9% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 11% | 14.5% |
| More adults with COPD | 8.9% | 6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
2 within 15 miles of the center of Butternuts
About 6 of every 100 Butternuts residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New York.
3 notable people were born in Butternuts.
Town in New York, United States
Butternuts is a town located in Otsego County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a population of 1,786. The Town of Butternuts is located in the southwestern part of the county, and is west of Oneonta.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Butternuts.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Butternuts | — | — | B | — | C− | B− |
| Norwich | #598 | C− | B | — | D | C+ |
| Guilford | #702 | D | B− | — | C | C+ |
| Morris | — | — | B+ | — | B− | B |
| New Berlin | — | — | A− | A+ | D− | C+ |
| Unadilla | #626 | C− | B+ | — | C− | C+ |
| Otego | #661 | D | B | — | C− | B− |
Butternuts, Morris and New Berlin have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Butternuts, Norwich, Guilford, Morris, Unadilla and Otego report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Butternuts with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
The typical home is worth about $209,000, 60% below the New York typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
3 notable people were born here, including Elisha Mills Huntington and Edward Carey Walker.
