Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Groton is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades B− overall, 418th among New York's 745 graded towns, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is health: residents are healthier than 64% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. A typical home there costs about $164K, 2.2 years of the Ithaca metro’s $74K median household income. Groton’s July high is 79°F, below both New York’s towns (81°F) and U.S. towns (85°F). Groton High School is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Where Groton beats most towns.
Where Groton’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 Groton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 2,742 in 1820, 5,746 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1866 and 4 maps from 1898 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Groton, 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 Groton.
Groton is healthier than towns with similar incomes, has homes that are cheap against local pay and has commutes shorter than most of New York.
The average commute for its 2,481 working residents takes 21.3 minutes, against 32.6 across New York.
Most working residents leave Groton for work: only 9% work in town. The average trip to work in Groton is 21 minutes. Since 2013, Groton has added 78 jobs, to 843 in 2023.
| Groton | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $69,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Groton Central School District. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Groton Junior/Senior High School, with 396 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Groton Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 388 | C+ |
| Groton Junior/Senior High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 6–12 | Grades 6–12 | 396 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
Groton has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Groton’s January low is 15°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Against the 10,460 U.S. towns with household incomes like Groton’s, it is healthier than 82%, so its B isn’t only a matter of income.
30% of Groton adults have obesity. Groton beats the New York average on 3 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 6. 24% of Groton adults have been diagnosed with depression.
| Groton | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 33% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 21% | 23% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 78% | 81% | 79% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Groton | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.9% | 7.9% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 11.6% | 14.5% |
| More adults with depression | 23.9% | 17.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
7.4 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve.
| Groton | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.9% | 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. Lime Hollow Nature Center | 0.1 mi | 8 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 57% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 5 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Groton.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
At 2.2 years of the Ithaca metro’s $74K median household income, the typical home costs less against local pay than in 83% of New York towns; that ratio is one input to its B− for cost of living.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Groton. Close and well known come first.
33 mi Stadium & arenaJMA Wireless Dome
28 mi LakeSeneca Lake
19 mi LakeCayuga Lake
13 mi State parkTaughannock Falls State Park
30 mi State parkWatkins Glen State Park
11 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 Groton
About 3 of every 100 Groton residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
3 notable people were born in Groton.
Town in New York, United States
Groton is a town in Tompkins County, New York, United States. The population was 5,950 at the 2010 census. The name is taken from Groton, Massachusetts. The Town of Groton contains a village, also called Groton. The town is in the northeast corner of the county and is northeast of Ithaca. As well as a village, the Town of Groton also includes a former school, Groton High School, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Groton.
Lansing next door grades higher for schools (A− to Groton’s C+) and lower for cost of living (D− to B−).
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Groton | #418 | B− | B− | — | C+ | B |
| Lansing | #378 | B− | D− | — | A− | A− |
| Dryden | #630 | C− | C | — | C− | A− |
| Summerhill | — | — | C+ | — | B− | B− |
| Locke | — | — | B− | — | C+ | C+ |
| McLean | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Cortlandville | #445 | C+ | B− | — | C+ | B |
Summerhill and Locke have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Groton, Lansing, Dryden, Summerhill, Locke and Cortlandville report no FBI crime data of their own. McLean isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Groton with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Groton grades B− overall, better than 46% of U.S. towns and #418 of 745 in New York. It grades B for health and C+ for schools.
The typical home is worth about $164,000, 69% 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−.
3 notable people were born here, including David Bradley and Westel Willoughby.
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