Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Gaines gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $126K for a typical one, or 1.6 years of the Rochester metro’s $76K median household income. It grades C overall, 549th among New York's 745 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. The median household income is $57K, and 11% of residents live below the poverty line. On the plus side, natural-hazard risk is low. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 92% of U.S. towns, with 5 places on the National Register. 15% of residents are under 18 in Gaines, below both the New York town median (20%) and the median of U.S. towns (22%). Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 69% of U.S. towns. Gaines's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 80% of U.S. towns.
Where Gaines beats most towns.
Where Gaines’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 Gaines is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Cobblestone Historic District is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 1,134 in 1820, a low of 1,134 in 1820, 3,378 in 2010. The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 1844 and 3 maps from 1897 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Gaines, 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 Gaines.
Gaines trades lower home prices for longer drives to work, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and sends most of its workers to Albion and beyond.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 93% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Gaines has 304 jobs for its 1,326 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
Most working residents leave Gaines for work: only 3% work in town. Jobs based in Gaines grew to 304 in 2023, 105 more than in 2013. Gaines’ average trip to work is 28 minutes.
| Gaines | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $57,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.2% | 10% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 7,902 U.S. towns with household incomes like Gaines’s, it is healthier than 54%, so its C isn’t only a matter of income.
Gaines beats the New York average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 17. 18% of adults smoke cigarettes in Gaines.
| Gaines | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 13% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 25% | 25% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 16% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 14% |
| What stands out | Gaines | NY |
|---|---|---|
| More smokers | 17.6% | 11.3% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 19.5% | 12.8% |
| More adults with COPD | 8.7% | 6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Gaines has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. The July high in Gaines is 80°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
4.5 miles of trail in 0 parks and preserves.
| Gaines | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.4% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Homes are within reach (B+ for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 21 miles. At 1.6 years of the Rochester metro’s $76K median household income, the typical home costs less against local pay than in 97% of New York towns; that ratio is one input to its B+ for cost of living.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
1 within 15 miles of the center of Gaines
About 8 of every 100 Gaines residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New York.
5 places in Gaines on the National Register of Historic Places.
Town in New York, United States
Gaines is a town in Orleans County, New York, United States. The population was 3,226 at the 2020 census, and 3,378 at the 2010 census. The town is named after General Edmund P. Gaines, who defended the area during the War of 1812. The Town of Gaines is in the north-central part of the county and contains part of the Village of Albion, the county seat.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Gaines.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gaines | #549 | C | B+ | — | C+ | C |
| Albion | #564 | C | B+ | — | C+ | C |
| Carlton | #307 | B | A− | — | B− | B− |
| Murray | #365 | B− | B | — | B | B− |
Gaines, Albion, Carlton and Murray report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Gaines with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Gaines grades C overall, better than 30% of U.S. towns and #549 of 745 in New York. It grades C for health and C+ for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a C−.
Not for the area. The typical home is worth about $126,000, 76% 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+.
