Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The best of Jefferson’s subject grades are an A for history and civic life; the weakest is a C− for schools. Its National Register listings include Parker 13-Sided Barn and Stewart House and Howard-Stewart Family Cemetery. Jefferson has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Jefferson beats most towns.
Census counts: 1,573 in 1820, a peak of 2,033 in 1840, 1,333 in 2020. The archive holds 28 old photos and papers going back to 1866 and 3 maps from 1904 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Jefferson is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Jefferson, 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 Jefferson.
The Jefferson Central School District runs its public schools. Its one school is below. The town’s only public school teaches 148 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson Central SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades PK–12 | Grades PK–12 | 148 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
Jefferson’s typical journey to work is 32 minutes, against 25 minutes in New York’s towns and 25 minutes across U.S. towns. Most working residents leave Jefferson for work: only 6% work in town. In Jefferson, the typical household income is $67,000. Jobs here fell by 28 from 2013 to 2023, to 161.
| Jefferson | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 32 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $67,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 6.1% | 10% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
In Jefferson, the FEMA risk score is 71 of 100. Of the losses FEMA expects in the town, 88% come from inland flooding. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Jefferson after 12 declared disasters, most recently in 2017.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The seasons in Jefferson: cold, snowy winters, pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 77°, January nights drop to 12° and about 54 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The biggest place to walk is Clapper Hollow State Forest, 807 acres with 8.2 miles of trail. Across 5 parks and preserves: 23 miles of trail. The trail density for Jefferson comes to 0.5 miles per square mile.
| Jefferson | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 6% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Clapper Hollow State Forest | 8.2 mi | 807 |
| 2. Burnt-Rossman Hills State Forest | 1 mi | 287 |
| 3. Taylor Road Unit | 0.3 mi | 82 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
In Jefferson, 15% of adults report frequent physical distress. CDC measures, 32 in all: Jefferson beats New York on 7 and trails on 9. Also worth knowing: 39% of adults have high blood pressure in the town, above both the New York town median (34%) and the median of U.S. towns (35%).
| Jefferson | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 34% | 35% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 82% | 81% | 79% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 14% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 37% | 36% |
| What stands out | Jefferson | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 10.7% | 14.5% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6% | 7.9% |
| More adults with COPD | 8.8% | 6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
For households in Jefferson, the share who are owner-occupiers is 94%.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Jefferson. Close and well known come first.
Big draw22 mi MuseumNational Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum315K visitors a year18 mi CaveHowe Caverns
35 mi WaterfallKaaterskill Falls
29 mi Park & preserveCatskill Park
28 mi Ski areaHunter Mountain62 runs · 1,532 ft vertical35 mi Zoo & aquariumCatskill Game FarmNational Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum: Beyond My Ken, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Kaaterskill Falls: Mwanner, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Catskill Park: The original uploader was Daniel Case at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0 · Hunter Mountain: The original uploader was Daniel Case at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Jefferson
About 1 of every 100 Jefferson residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Town in Schoharie County, New York, US
Jefferson is a town in Schoharie County, New York, United States. The population was 1,333 at the 2020 census. The town is on the southwestern border of the county and is east of Oneonta.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
The typical home is worth about $187,000, 64% 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−.
