97% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Forest Home, above both the New York town median (32%) and the median of U.S. towns (29%). No town among the 759 in New York we compare has a lower share of working residents who work in town than Forest Home. Forest Home’s trail density is 11.5 miles per square mile, against 0.4 in New York’s towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns. We don’t grade Forest Home yet; the figures below are still real.

Small town

1,303 people, and everyone knows the way

In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.

Nearby towns

Cayuga Heights · 1 mi Ithaca · 2 mi Lansing · 3 mi Ithaca · 5 mi Dryden · 6 mi Freeville · 7 mi

The data

Ordered by what stands out in Forest Home.

Work & commute

Most of Forest Home’s workers commute out: the town has 0.1 jobs for each of them

1%work in town

20% of workers work remotely from home in Forest Home. Commuting out is the norm in the town: 1% of working residents work locally. The top destinations are Ithaca (24%), New York (12%) and Syracuse (4%). Half commute less than 73 miles.

	Forest Home	Typical New York town	Typical U.S. town
Work from home	20%	12%	11%
Average trip to work	20 minutes	25 minutes	25 minutes
Below the poverty line	11%	9.5%	9.6%

Where working residents work

In Forest Home1%

Ithaca24%

New York12%

Syracuse4%

Albany4%

73 mi

median commute distance

jobs based in Forest Home

A commuter town

jobs vs. working residents

Full pageForest Home’s work & commute pageOpen the full Work & commute page

The jobs here18 jobs based here · A commuter town Where people work1% work in Forest Home Commute times20 minutes · The average commute How far they goHalf commute less than 73 miles

Census LEHD 2024 · ACS

Climate

Forest Home has snowy winters and pleasant summers

63″snow a winter

The peak summer temperature here in Forest Home is 82°F.

Typical low → high °F

Winter19–35°

Spring34–56°

Summer57–80°

Fall41–61°

Oct 3

typical first frost

May 11

typical last frost

+1.1°

vs. the 20th-century average

Full pageForest Home’s climate pageOpen the full Climate page

A year of weatherJuly highs 82°, January lows 16°Rain & snow63″ of snow a winter · 38 inches of rain and snow a year Heating & coolingMostly a heating bill Then and now+1.1° vs. the 20th century · Warmer than the 20th-century average

NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020

Outdoors

Conserved land covers 14.9% of Forest Home

14.9%conserved

Trails total 2.3 miles in 2 parks and preserves. 26 acres of Forest Home lie in its parks and preserves.

14.9%

conserved · 23 of 154 acres

2.3 mi

of trails · 11.5 per sq mi

Biggest places to walk	Trails	Acres
1. Cornell Botanic Gardens	0.8 mi	9
2. Mundy Wildflower Garden	0.7 mi	17

Full pageForest Home’s outdoors pageOpen the full Outdoors page

Trail map2.3 miles of trail, mapped Pick a walk0.8 miles of trail · Cornell Botanic Gardens Conserved land14.9% conserved · 23 acres protected Questions“Where can I hike in Forest Home?”

Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US

Health

A smaller share of adults in Forest Home have high blood pressure than in the typical New York or U.S. town

The share of adults in Forest Home who smoke cigarettes is 9.9%. This New York town beats the New York average on 13 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 9.

	Forest Home	Typical New York town	Typical U.S. town
Obesity (CDC PLACES)	22%	33%	35%
High blood pressure (CDC PLACES)	18%	34%	35%
Feel lonely (CDC PLACES)	40%	32%	33%
Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES)	71%	81%	79%

32 measures vs. New York

13 better10 too close to call9 worse

What stands out	Forest Home	NY
Fewer adults who have had cancer	2.9%	7.7%
Fewer adults who have had a stroke	1.5%	3.4%
More older adults who have lost all their teeth	18.4%	12.8%

Cayuga Medical Center at Ithaca

3.8 mi away · emergency room

3 of 3

care shortages: primary care, dental, mental health

Full pageForest Home’s health reportOpen the full Health report

Everyday habitsFewer adults who get no exercise Hospitals & doctors nearby3.8 miles to an ER · Cayuga Medical Center at Ithaca How adults are doingFewer adults in frequent physical distress Every CDC estimateBetter than NY on 13 of 32

CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA

Natural hazards

Natural hazards: moderate risk in Forest Home, mostly inland flooding

44risk score of 100

Storm and flood damage is expected to run lower than in 56% of U.S. communities. 62% of Forest Home’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by tornadoes at 16%.

FEMA risk score

Inland floodingTornadoesCold waves

Full pageForest Home’s hazards pageOpen the full Hazards page

What it facesModerate risk Flood claims0 paid flood claims · No paid flood claims on record Past disasters16 disaster declarations · Declared for the county Get ready0.9 events a year, on average · Ready for inland flooding

FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA

Housing

A smaller share of households live in a home they own in Forest Home than in most of New York or the rest of the country

$1.03Mmedian sale price

In Forest Home, the typical rent is $1,379 a month.

	Forest Home	Typical New York town	Typical U.S. town
Households that own their home	35%	75%	73%
Median rent	$1,379 a month	$1,101 a month	$1,185 a month

homes sold in September

Full pageForest Home’s housing & cost-of-living pageOpen the full Housing & cost-of-living page

Prices over the yearsPrices over the years Years of income to buyA typical home costs 17.4 years of the town’s median household income Rents$1,379 a month · Median rent

Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center

Keep exploring

Everything we know about Forest Home

16pages on Forest Home

The big questions

HealthBetter than NY on 13 of 32 CDC measures Cost of livingWork & commute$59K median household income · 18 jobs here Natural hazardsFEMA risk higher than 44% of U.S. communities · inland flooding

Out and about

Outdoors2 mi of trails · 15% conserved land PlacesAttractions45 nearby · Cornell Botanic Gardens under 1 mi LibraryTompkins County Public Library CollegesCornell University is 0.8 mi away

The story

HistorySettled 1876 Climate82° summer highs · 63″ of snow

Day to day

NewsWeatherHandbookTown SquareNeighbors

Nearby attractions

Seneca Lake and 24 more within 40 miles

Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Forest Home. Close and well known come first.

All 45 attractions →

26 mi LakeSeneca Lake

in town Stadium & arenaSchoellkopf Field

20 mi LakeCayuga Lake

9 mi State parkTaughannock Falls State Park

in town MuseumHerbert F. Johnson Museum of Art80K visitors a year

21 mi State parkWatkins Glen State Park

Sources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons

Photo credits

Seneca Lake: RochesterNY, Public domain · Schoellkopf Field: Alex Sergeev, (www.asergeev.com) Originally uploaded by en:User:Cornell010, CC BY-SA 3.0 · 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 · Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art: Dmadeo, 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

Getting set up

Moving to Forest Home: who provides what

Forest Home is unincorporated, so Tompkins County and regional agencies provide most services.

PowerNew York State Elec & Gas22.6¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA

WaterCornell University water systemNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA

Internet3 providers97% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC

Trash & county servicesTompkins CountyTompkins County provides services here

SchoolsIthaca City School DistrictWhich school depends on your addressNCES

Register to voteOnlineIn New York you can register online until 10 days before Election Day, in person until 10 days before Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 15 days before and received 10 days before).vote.gov

Who runs elections hereTompkins County Board of ElectionsTompkins County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Oct 2026

ZIP code1485014850 100%Census 2020

EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Aug 3, 2026.

A commuter town

99% of working residents leave Forest Home for work

Where Forest Home’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.

18jobs based in Forest Home

1%of working residents work in town

73 mimedian commute distance

Census LEHD 2024

After high school

Colleges nearby

3 within 15 miles of the center of Forest Home

Cornell UniversityUniversity or college · Private nonprofit · Ithaca0.8 mi$69,314 tuition Ithaca CollegeUniversity or college · Private nonprofit · Ithaca2.4 mi$53,540 tuition Tompkins Cortland Community CollegeCommunity college · Public · Dryden9.8 mi$6,970 in-state tuition

College town 37 of every 100 Forest Home residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.

Prices by family income, graduation and earnings →

About Forest Home

CDP in New York, United States

Forest Home is a census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Ithaca, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, Forest Home had a population of 1,168. It is located immediately east of the Cornell University campus.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)

Area: 0.3 sq mi
Elevation: 922 ft

Questions about Forest Home

Short answers, built from the data on this page.

Is Forest Home, NY a good place to live?

We don’t grade Forest Home yet; the figures below are still real.

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