Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
The best of Chemung’s subject grades is an A− for history; the weakest is a C for schools. 21% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Chemung, where New York’s towns sit at 32% and U.S. towns at 29%. Only 53 of New York’s 1,187 towns score lower on civic life. Its National Register listings include Dr. Hovey Everett House and Riverside Cemetery. Chemung has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Chemung beats most towns.
Census counts: 2,391 in 1790, a low of 1,147 in 1920, 2,368 in 2020. The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 1795 and a map from 1986 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Chemung is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Chemung, 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 Chemung.
The typical Chemung home is worth about $171,000, up 8.6% in a year, 67% below the New York typical home. 81% of Chemung households own their home, above both the New York town median (75%) and the median of U.S. towns (73%).
| Chemung | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 81% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,042 a month | $1,101 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Chemung has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. The July high in Chemung is 81°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Most working residents leave Chemung for work: only 6% work in town. Jobs based in Chemung grew to 956 in 2023, 553 more than in 2013. Chemung’s median household income is $65,000.
| Chemung | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $65,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 5.8% | 10% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 8.5% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Chemung beats the New York average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 11. 16% of adults report frequent physical distress in Chemung.
| Chemung | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 34% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 25% | 25% |
| What stands out | Chemung | NY |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 9.1% | 6% |
| More smokers | 16.2% | 11.3% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
1.7 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Maple Hill State Forest, at 589 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Maple Hill State Forest | — | 589 |
| 2. Two Rivers State Park Recreation Area | — | 28 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 51% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 8 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Chemung.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Chemung. Close and well known come first.
26 mi State parkWatkins Glen State Park
24 mi MuseumCorning Museum of Glass400K visitors a year
34 mi State parkTaughannock Falls State Park
28 mi Stadium & arenaSchoellkopf Field
28 mi MuseumHerbert F. Johnson Museum of Art80K visitors a year39 mi Ski areaGreek Peak Mountain Resort43 runs · 828 ft verticalWatkins 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 · 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 · Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art: Dmadeo, CC BY-SA 3.0
2 within 15 miles of the center of Chemung
About 6 of every 100 Chemung residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New York.
3 places in Chemung on the National Register of Historic Places.
4 notable people were born in Chemung.
Town in New York, United States
Chemung is a town in Chemung County, New York, United States. The population was 2,368 at the 2020 census. The town name is derived from the Chemung River, which means "big horn" in the Seneca language. The town is in the southeast corner of the county and is southeast of Elmira. It is part of the Elmira Metropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Chemung.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chemung | — | — | B | — | C | C+ |
| Ashland | — | — | B | — | D | C |
| Baldwin | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Barton | #647 | C− | C+ | — | C+ | B |
| Waverly | #616 | C− | C+ | — | C | B− |
Chemung and Ashland have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Chemung, Ashland, Barton and Waverly report no FBI crime data of their own. Baldwin isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Chemung with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Home to 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
4 notable people were born here, including Todd Bodine and Wells Spicer.
