Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The best of Dryden’s subject grades are an A+ for civic life and an A for history; the weakest is a D for incomes. On hazard risk, just 40 of New York’s 1,216 towns do worse. Dryden's schools rank behind 85% of the state's. Only 7 of New York’s 1,187 towns score higher on civic life. Dryden has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Dryden beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Dryden is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 3,951 in 1820, a low of 3,186 in 1920, 14,029 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1866 and 3 maps from 1949 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Dryden, 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 Dryden.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 79% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 15 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Dryden.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Dryden beats the New York average on 5 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 5. 25% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Dryden, above both New York’s towns (21%) and U.S. towns (23%). 30% of Dryden adults have obesity.
| Dryden | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 21% | 23% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 33% | 35% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 35% | 37% | 36% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 25% | 25% |
| What stands out | Dryden | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.2% | 7.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 13.1% | 17.2% |
| More adults with depression | 24.7% | 17.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Dryden has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. At 80°F, Dryden’s July high is where New York’s towns sit at 81°F and U.S. towns at 85°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Most working residents leave Dryden for work: only 7% work in town. 18% of residents live below the poverty line in Dryden. Since 2013, Dryden has lost 218 jobs, to 785 in 2023.
| Dryden | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 18% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $50,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 6.6% | 10% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Dryden's reported crime rate is well below New York's. Dryden’s property crime rate is 6 per 1,000 residents. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts.
| Dryden | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 6 per 1,000 residents | 9.3 | 11.5 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 1.1 per 1,000 residents | 0.8 | 1.7 |
FBI crime data, 2024 · crimes reported to police
Children under 18 are 16% of residents (21% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 43% of residents (39% statewide). Dryden has lost 6.8% of its people since 2020, down to 1,820 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. The median age in Dryden is 45.7 years.
| Dryden | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 48% | 32% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 16% | 20% | 22% |
| Median age | 45.7 years | 43 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 21% | 20% | 18% |
56% women, 44% men
About 80 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±2.8 points). Across New York, 51.2% of residents are women.
| Dryden | NY | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11% | 11% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 4.9% | 9.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 10.6% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10.2% | 14.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.5% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.2% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 16.8% | 13.3% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 15.8% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5.1% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 3.2% | 12% | 10.4% |
| High school | 16.4% | 24.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 17.7% | 14.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 15% | 8.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 25.1% | 22.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 22.7% | 17.9% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,800, single groups can be off by several points
| Dryden | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.6% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Montgomery Park | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Dryden. Close and well known come first.
39 mi Stadium & arenaJMA Wireless Dome
32 mi LakeSeneca Lake
25 mi LakeCayuga Lake
16 mi State parkTaughannock Falls State Park
30 mi State parkWatkins Glen State Park
10 mi Stadium & arenaSchoellkopf FieldJMA Wireless Dome: Jimhoward03, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Seneca Lake: RochesterNY, Public domain · 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 · 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
4 within 15 miles of the center of Dryden
About 4 of every 100 Dryden residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
7 notable people were born in Dryden.
Town in New York, United States
Dryden is a town in Tompkins County, New York, United States. The population was 14,435 at the 2010 census. The town administers an area that includes two villages, one also named Dryden and one named Freeville, as well as a number of hamlets. The town is on the county's eastern border, east of Ithaca, in the Finger Lakes region.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
5.3 times the library visits per person than the typical New York town.
That is 3.1 years of the area's median household income ($74,024 across the Ithaca, NY metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
7 notable people were born here, including H. Emilie Cady and Cyrus L. Dunham.
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