Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Hounsfield grades C overall, 513th of 745 graded towns in New York, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. Natural-hazard risk is low. On the other side, homes are expensive, about $258K for a typical one and 3.9 times the Watertown metro’s $66K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 97% of U.S. towns, with 18 places on the National Register. Its National Register listings include Union Hotel and Elisha Camp House. Hounsfield’s midpoint age is 49.3 years, against 42.9 years in New York’s towns and 40.5 years across U.S. towns. The biggest park or preserve is Dexter Marsh Wildlife Management Area, at 821 acres.
Where Hounsfield beats most towns.
Census counts: 3,429 in 1820, 3,466 in 2010. The archive holds 3 old photos and papers going back to 1820 and 3 maps from 1895 on.
18 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Hounsfield is from typical.
Its best grade is an A+ for history (#75 of 758 in New York; 18 places on the National Register), which describes the town but isn’t part of the overall grade; its C comes from the livability subjects above.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Hounsfield, 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 Hounsfield.
Hounsfield is a second-home town and gets more snow than nearly all U.S. towns, but it is a long drive from an emergency room.
72% of Hounsfield’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by cold waves at 8%. Compared with 89% of U.S. communities, expected storm and flood damage here is lower. Paid flood insurance claims in the town since 1993: 3.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its public schools are run by the Sackets Harbor Central School District. The largest public high school is Sackets Harbor Central School, with 411 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sackets Harbor Central SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades PK–12 | Grades PK–12 | 411 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
There are 28 miles of trail across 9 parks and preserves. Parks and preserves in Hounsfield: 9, covering 1,018 acres. Also worth knowing: the town’s trail network density is 0.2 miles per square mile.
| Hounsfield | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 1.5% | 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. Sackets Harbor Battlefield State Historic Site | 1.3 mi | 95 |
| 2. Dexter Marsh Wildlife Management Area | — | 821 |
| 3. Little Galloo Island Unique Area | — | 46 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The Watertown weather station, 22 miles away, records that 116 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 98% of U.S. towns.
July afternoons reach 79° and January nights drop to 14°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Jobs based here fell from 1,239 in 2013 to 952. The average commute for its 1,173 working residents takes 24.6 minutes, against 32.6 across New York.
Most working residents leave Hounsfield for work: only 11% work in town. The town had 952 jobs in 2023, down 287 from 2013. In Hounsfield, 4.7% of workers do their job from home. Half commute less than 10 miles.
| Hounsfield | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 4.7% | 12% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 7.2% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 11% | 10% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The nearest emergency room, Samaritan Medical Center, is 20 miles away in a straight line.
CDC measures, 32 in all: Hounsfield beats New York on 4 and trails on 6. Nearly a fifth of Hounsfield adults binge drink. In Hounsfield, 41% of adults sleep under 7 hours, and 38% have obesity.
| Hounsfield | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 17% | 16% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 37% | 36% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 33% | 35% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 32% | 33% |
| What stands out | Hounsfield | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6% | 7.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 13.2% | 17.2% |
| More adults with obesity | 37.8% | 28.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
16.1% of homes are seasonal or vacation homes, against 3.5% statewide, which helps explain the older median age.
People 65 and older are 23% of residents (18% statewide); children under 18 are 16% of residents (21% statewide). 34% of adults 25 and older hold at least a bachelor’s degree, against 40% across New York. Since 2020, Hounsfield has lost 3% of its people, to 3,174 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Hounsfield | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 16% | 20% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 23% | 20% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 34% | 32% | 29% |
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.9 points. Across New York, 51.2% of residents are women. Among residents 18 to 24, 65% are men (NY 50%).
| Hounsfield | NY | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.1% | 11% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 4.8% | 9.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.8% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.3% | 14.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 9% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.6% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 18.5% | 13.3% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 13% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9.9% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.1% | 12% | 10.4% |
| High school | 36.5% | 24.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 13.4% | 14.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 11.6% | 8.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 16.8% | 22.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 17.6% | 17.9% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 3,200, single groups can be off by several points
None within 15 miles of Hounsfield; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Hounsfield residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
18 places in Hounsfield on the National Register of Historic Places.
Town in New York, United States
Hounsfield is a town in Jefferson County, New York, United States. The population was 3,466 at the 2010 census. The name of the town is from Ezra Hounsfield, a land agent and land owner. He once owned the Southern part of the township. The town was named by Augustus Sacket. Hounsfield is in the western part of the county and is west of Watertown.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
8 towns share a border with Hounsfield.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hounsfield | #513 | C | D | — | B | B |
| Henderson | — | — | B− | — | C | B− |
| Brownville · Brownville | #416 | B− | B | — | B− | B |
| Dexter | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Watertown | #732 | D− | D | — | C− | C+ |
| Lyme | — | — | B− | — | B+ | B+ |
| Adams | #174 | A− | B+ | — | B | B |
| Glen Park | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Henderson and Lyme have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Hounsfield, Henderson, Brownville, Watertown, Lyme and Adams report no FBI crime data of their own. Dexter and Glen Park aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Brownville and Brownville are one community, graded once. Compare Hounsfield with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Hounsfield grades C overall, better than 34% of U.S. towns and #513 of 745 in New York. It grades B for health and B for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
