Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Dryden grades C− overall, 630th of 745 graded towns in New York, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 84% of the country and it has 60 miles of trail. On the other side, its schools rank behind 85% of the state's. On hazard risk, just 81 of New York’s 1,216 towns do worse. 12% of the land in Dryden is conserved, against 5.2% in New York’s towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns. Its National Register listings include Luther Clarke House and Jennings-Marvin House.
Where Dryden beats most 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 4 maps from 1900 on.
11 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Dryden is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
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.
Dryden has commutes shorter than most of New York, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of New York (mostly inland flooding) and trails Lansing and its other neighbors on schools.
60 miles of trail in 21 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Hammond Hill State Forest, 2,555 acres with 24.9 miles of trail. Dryden’s trail density is 0.6 miles per square mile, where New York’s towns sit at 0.4 and U.S. towns at 0.4.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Hammond Hill State Forest | 24.9 mi | 2,555 |
| 2. Roy H. Park Nature Preserve | 1.8 mi | 262 |
| 3. Yellow Barn State Forest | 1.3 mi | 1,369 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Each of its 5 graded neighbors has a higher School Grade than its C−, Lansing highest at B+.
Its public schools are run by the Dryden Central School District. Two of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Dryden High School, with 356 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dryden Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 500 | C− |
| Dryden High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 356 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
28% of Dryden adults have obesity. Dryden beats the New York average on 12 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 5. 30% of Dryden adults have high blood pressure.
| Dryden | 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% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 25% | 25% |
| What stands out | Dryden | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.3% | 7.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 12.1% | 17.2% |
| More adults with depression | 23.4% | 17.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The average commute for its 5,538 working residents takes 19.2 minutes, against 32.6 across New York.
Most working residents leave Dryden for work: only 11% work in town. The average trip to work in Dryden is 19 minutes. Since 2013, Dryden has lost 396 jobs, to 3,227 in 2023.
| Dryden | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 14% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 15% | 12% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 11% | 10% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 94% of New York towns, with expected losses of about $521 per resident a year; that rating is what its C− for hazard risk is built on.
Dryden’s FEMA risk score is 75 of 100. Since 1981, 9 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Dryden.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Dryden has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 80°, January nights drop to 15° and about 63 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
63% of households own their home in Dryden.
| Dryden | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 63% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,074 a month | $1,103 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Dryden. Close and well known come first.
30 mi LakeSeneca Lake
23 mi LakeCayuga Lake
13 mi State parkTaughannock Falls State Park
6 mi Stadium & arenaSchoellkopf Field
27 mi State parkWatkins Glen State Park
7 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 · 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 · Watkins Glen State Park: Flickr user: Peter Rivera Stamford, Connecticut https://www.flickr.com/people/ri, CC BY 2.0 · Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art: Dmadeo, CC BY-SA 3.0
4 within 15 miles of the center of Dryden
About 10 of every 100 Dryden residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
11 places in Dryden on the National Register of Historic Places.
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)
8 towns share a border with Dryden.
All 5 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its C−; Caroline (C) is closest. Ithaca next door grades higher for schools (B to Dryden’s C−) and lower for cost of living (D− to C).
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dryden | #630 | C− | C | — | C− | A− |
| Caroline | #510 | C | C− | — | B | A |
| Groton | #418 | B− | B− | — | C+ | B |
| Virgil | — | — | C | — | C | B |
| Ithaca | #314 | B | D− | — | B | A |
| Lansing | #378 | B− | D− | — | A− | A− |
| Lansing | #374 | B− | D− | — | B+ | A+ |
| McLean | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Virgil has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Dryden, Caroline, Groton, Virgil, Ithaca, Lansing and Lansing report no FBI crime data of their own. McLean isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Dryden with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Dryden grades C− overall, better than 19% of U.S. towns and #630 of 745 in New York. It grades A− for health and C− for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a C−.
The typical home is worth about $243,000, 54% 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.
