Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 98% of U.S. towns. Overall it grades B, 339th among New York's 745 graded towns. It is healthier than 83% of U.S. towns and the median household earns $100K. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 93% of U.S. towns, with 1 place on the National Register. 26% of the land in Danby is conserved, where New York’s towns sit at 5.2% and U.S. towns at 4.3%. The biggest place to walk is Danby State Forest, 7,214 acres with 20.6 miles of trail. On civic life, just 67 of New York’s 1,187 towns do better.
Where Danby beats most towns.
Census counts: 2,001 in 1820, a low of 1,143 in 1920, 3,457 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1866 and 4 maps from 1900 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Danby is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Danby, 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 Danby.
36 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves. At 0.7 miles per square mile, Danby’s trail density is against 0.4 in New York’s towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Danby State Forest | 20.6 mi | 7,214 |
| 2. Buttermilk Falls State Park | 0.9 mi | 43 |
| 3. Sweedler and Thayer Nature Preserves | 0.6 mi | 23 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ithaca Waldorf School PrivateLargest elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 61 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
28% of adults have obesity in Danby. Danby beats the New York average on 11 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 4. 30% of adults have high blood pressure in Danby.
| Danby | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 33% | 35% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 34% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 9% | 11% | 12% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 14% | 14% |
| What stands out | Danby | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.4% | 7.9% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 10.7% | 14.5% |
| More adults with depression | 22.4% | 17.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Danby has 255 jobs for its 1,476 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. The average commute takes 22 minutes, against 32.6 across New York.
2.1% of Danby working residents work locally. The top destinations are Ithaca (29%), Ithaca (24%) and Lansing (6%). Danby’s average trip to work is 22 minutes.
| Danby | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 2.1% | 10% | 8% |
| Median household income | $100,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 6.8% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Danby has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. The July high in Danby is 79°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 57% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Danby. Close and well known come first.
31 mi LakeSeneca Lake
27 mi LakeCayuga Lake
21 mi State parkWatkins Glen State Park
8 mi Stadium & arenaSchoellkopf Field
16 mi State parkTaughannock Falls State Park
8 mi MuseumHerbert F. Johnson Museum of Art80K visitors a yearSeneca Lake: RochesterNY, Public domain · Cayuga Lake: The original uploader was Cornellrockey at English Wikipedia. Later versions we, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Watkins Glen State Park: Flickr user: Peter Rivera Stamford, Connecticut https://www.flickr.com/people/ri, CC BY 2.0 · Schoellkopf Field: Alex Sergeev, (www.asergeev.com) Originally uploaded by en:User:Cornell010, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Taughannock Falls State Park: Michael C. Rygel, 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 Danby
About 6 of every 100 Danby residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New York.
Where Danby’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Town in New York, United States
Danby is a town in Tompkins County, New York, United States. The population was 3,457 at the 2020 census. The town is in the southern part of the county and is south of the city of Ithaca.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Danby.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Danby | #339 | B | C+ | — | B | A− |
| Caroline | #510 | C | C− | — | B | A |
| Newfield | #589 | C− | B− | — | C− | A− |
| Spencer | #677 | D | C | — | B− | B |
| Candor | #667 | D | B | — | C+ | C+ |
| Ithaca | #314 | B | D− | — | B | A |
| West Danby | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Danby, Caroline, Newfield, Spencer, Candor and Ithaca report no FBI crime data of their own. West Danby isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Danby with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Danby grades B overall, better than 57% of U.S. towns and #339 of 745 in New York. It grades A− for health and B for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a D−.
The typical home is worth about $292,000, 44% 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 C+.
2 notable people were born here, including Duke York and Martin Luther Smith.
