Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
De Kalb’s best subject grades are an A− for cost of living and history; its weakest is a D for walkability. Only 48 of New York’s 1,213 towns score lower on health. Only 72 of New York’s 1,216 towns score lower on the outdoors. De Kalb's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 87% of U.S. towns. Methodist Episcopal Church of East DeKalb is on the National Register of Historic Places. De Kalb has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where De Kalb beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far De Kalb is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 709 in 1820, a peak of 3,182 in 1860, 2,375 in 2020. The archive holds 1 old photo or paper going back to 2025 and 3 maps from 1948 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in De Kalb, 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 De Kalb.
Its public schools are run by the Hermon-Dekalb Central School District. Its two schools are below. The largest public high school is Hermon-Dekalb Central School, with 363 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anderson Valley School PrivateLargest elementary schoolGrades 1–8 | Grades 1–8 | 16 | – |
| Hermon-Dekalb Central SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades PK–12 | Grades PK–12 | 363 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
44% of adults have obesity in De Kalb, above both New York’s towns (33%) and U.S. towns (35%). 38% of adults have high blood pressure in De Kalb. De Kalb beats the New York average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 17.
| De Kalb | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 33% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 13% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 25% | 25% |
| What stands out | De Kalb | NY |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 9.8% | 6% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 20.5% | 12.8% |
| More smokers | 17.7% | 11.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 80% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
De Kalb has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. De Kalb’s July high is 80°F, below both the New York town median (81°F) and the median of U.S. towns (85°F).
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Most working residents leave De Kalb for work: only 8% work in town. Since 2013, De Kalb has added 296 jobs, to 680 in 2023. The median household income in De Kalb is $57,000.
| De Kalb | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $57,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 6.4% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
2.5 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Upper And Lower Lakes Wildlife Management Area | — | 152 |
| 2. Beaver Creek State Forest | — | 15 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
De Kalb’s median rent is $967 a month.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
2 within 15 miles of the center of De Kalb
About 1 of every 100 De Kalb residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
Town in New York, United States
DeKalb is a town in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 2,375 at the 2020 census, down from 2,434 at the 2010 census. The town is named after American general Baron de Kalb, a German officer serving under George Washington. The Town of DeKalb is in the southwest part of the county and is southwest of the Village of Canton.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with De Kalb.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| De Kalb | — | — | A− | — | C− | C− |
| De Peyster | — | — | A− | — | B− | C |
| Hermon | — | — | A− | — | C− | C− |
| Gouverneur | #730 | D− | C+ | — | C− | D |
| Canton | #447 | C+ | C+ | — | B− | B |
| Oswegatchie | #381 | B− | A | — | C+ | C− |
| Macomb | — | — | — | — | — | — |
De Kalb, De Peyster and Hermon have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. De Kalb, De Peyster, Hermon, Gouverneur, Canton and Oswegatchie report no FBI crime data of their own. Macomb isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare De Kalb with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Not for the area. The typical home is worth about $104,000, 80% 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 A−.
2 notable people were born here, including Ozora P. Stearns and Clara Cleghorn Hoffman.