Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The town was organized in 1803 and has 3,261 residents today.
Ellisburg’s grades cluster near the middle. The weak point is incomes (C): the median household income is $77K, and 8% of residents live below the poverty line. With a B− overall, Ellisburg sits 430th of 745 in New York. That leaves it better than 46% of U.S. towns. Cost of living is where it shines: a typical home costs about $170K, 2.6 years of the Watertown metro’s $66K median household income. The biggest place to walk is Lakeview Wildlife Management Area, 3,387 acres with 1.5 miles of trail. Its National Register listings include Pierrepont Manor Complex and Amos Wood House. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 91% of U.S. towns, with 2 places on the National Register.
Figures: home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · OpenStreetMap · National Register of Historic Places.
Where Ellisburg beats most towns.
Where Ellisburg’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Ellisburg is from typical.
Its best grade is an A for history (organized 1803; 2 places on the National Register; 7 notable people born here), which describes the town but isn’t part of the overall grade; its B− comes from the livability subjects above.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 3,531 in 1820, a peak of 5,614 in 1860, 3,352 in 2020. The archive holds 4 old photos and papers going back to 1941 and 3 maps from 1895 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Ellisburg, 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 Ellisburg.
Ellisburg gets more snow than nearly all U.S. towns, has commutes shorter than most of New York and has property taxes about half the New York norm.
The average commute for its 1,213 working residents takes 23.5 minutes, against 32.6 across New York.
Ellisburg had 509 jobs in 2023, down 32 from 2013. Just just over a tenth of the town’s working residents have a job in town. The top destinations are Watertown (20%), Watertown (8%) and Adams (8%). For half of commuters, work is under 18 miles away.
| Ellisburg | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 12% | 10% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 7.8% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The Belleville-Henderson Central School District runs its public schools. The largest public high school is Belleville Henderson Central School, with 491 students. Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mannsville Manor Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 338 | C− |
| Belleville Henderson Central SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades PK–12 | Grades PK–12 | 491 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
Federal aid has come to Ellisburg households in 2 declared disasters; the latest was in 2014. Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 70% of U.S. communities. 79% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by strong winds at 6%.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Watertown weather station, 20 miles away, records that 116 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 98% of U.S. towns.
The peak summer temperature for Ellisburg comes to 80°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Ellisburg’s trail network density stands at 0.1 miles per square mile, below both New York’s towns (0.4) and U.S. towns (0.4). Trails run 6.4 miles in 6 parks and preserves. Parks and preserves here: 6, covering 4,547 acres.
| Ellisburg | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 9% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Lakeview Wildlife Management Area | 1.5 mi | 3,387 |
| 2. Southwick Beach State Park | 1.2 mi | 471 |
| 3. Black Pond Wildlife Management Area | 0.3 mi | 553 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
For adults in Ellisburg, the share who have diabetes is 12%. The town does better than the New York average on 6 of 32 CDC measures and worse on 7. In Ellisburg, 40% of adults sleep under 7 hours, above both the New York town median (37%) and the median of U.S. towns (36%). Among adults in the town, 38% have obesity and 30% feel lonely.
| Ellisburg | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 37% | 36% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 33% | 35% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 32% | 33% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 16% |
| What stands out | Ellisburg | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.6% | 7.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 12.2% | 17.2% |
| More adults with COPD | 8.2% | 6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The median property tax bill is $2,596, against $6,582 across New York, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Among households in Ellisburg, 82% own their home. Its midpoint rent stands at $925 a month.
| Ellisburg | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 82% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $925 a month | $1,103 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
None within 15 miles of Ellisburg; the nearest are
About 1 of every 100 Ellisburg residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
7 notable people were born in Ellisburg.
Town in New York, United States
Ellisburg is an incorporated town in Jefferson County, New York. The population was 3,352 at the time of the 2020 census. The town is in the southwestern corner of the county and is south of Watertown. Ellisburg is named after early European-American landowners. Among the villages in the town is Ellisburg.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Ellisburg.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ellisburg | #430 | B− | B+ | — | B− | B− |
| Henderson | — | — | B− | — | C | B− |
| Lorraine | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Sandy Creek | #712 | D | B | — | C− | C− |
| Boylston | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Adams | #174 | A− | B+ | — | B | B |
Henderson has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Ellisburg, Henderson, Sandy Creek and Adams report no FBI crime data of their own. Lorraine and Boylston aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Ellisburg with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Ellisburg grades B− overall, better than 46% of U.S. towns and #430 of 745 in New York. It grades B− for health and B− for schools.
Not for the area. The typical home is worth about $170,000, 68% 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 B+.
7 notable people were born here, including Marietta Holley and A. Page Brown.