Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Jerusalem is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C+ overall, 507th of 745 graded towns in New York, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is health: residents are healthier than 69% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Expect to pay for it: homes are expensive, about $321K for a typical one and 4.6 times the county’s $70K median household income. Its National Register listings include Peter Bitley House and Thomas Bitley House. Jerusalem’s median age is 34 years, where New York’s towns sit at 43 years and U.S. towns at 40.5 years. Jerusalem is home to Keuka College.
Where Jerusalem beats most towns.
Census counts: 1,610 in 1820, a low of 1,610 in 1820, 4,405 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1833 and 2 maps from 1903 on.
20 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Jerusalem is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Jerusalem, 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 Jerusalem.
Jerusalem is shaped by its college students and is healthier than Italy and its other neighbors, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of New York (mostly inland flooding).
The average commute for its 1,308 working residents takes 24.4 minutes, against 32.6 across New York.
Most working residents leave Jerusalem for work: only 10% work in town. 17% of workers work from home in Jerusalem. Since 2013, Jerusalem has lost 93 jobs, to 904 in 2023.
| Jerusalem | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 17% | 12% | 11% |
| Median household income | $87,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
One of its 2 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pine Grove Mennonite School PrivateLargest elementary schoolGrades 1–8 | Grades 1–8 | 33 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
21.9% of residents are enrolled in college, against 7% statewide, which pulls the median age down.
Adults 35 to 64 are 28% of residents (39% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 32% of residents (23% statewide). 45% of Jerusalem adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more.
| Jerusalem | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 45% | 32% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 19% | 20% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 21% | 20% | 18% |
55% women, 45% men
About 83 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±2.9 points). Across New York, 51.2% of residents are women.
| Jerusalem | NY | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 13.2% | 11% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 5.3% | 9.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 23% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 9.1% | 14.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 6.8% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 6.3% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 15.1% | 13.3% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11.5% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9.7% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 12.3% | 12% | 10.4% |
| High school | 19.9% | 24.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 12.2% | 14.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.5% | 8.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 24.7% | 22.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 20.4% | 17.9% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 4,400, single groups can be off by several points
Its B+ for health tops all 6 graded neighbors; Italy (B) comes closest.
Jerusalem beats the New York average on 4 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 5.
| Jerusalem | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 16% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 35% | 37% | 36% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 33% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 21% | 23% |
| What stands out | Jerusalem | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 10.3% | 14.5% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 6.1% | 8.2% |
| More adults with COPD | 7.9% | 6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Jerusalem has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 81°, January nights drop to 17° and about 57 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 88% of New York towns, with expected losses of about $409 per resident a year; that rating is what its C− for hazard risk is built on.
The FEMA risk score in Jerusalem is 67 of 100. Since 1978, 27 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Jerusalem.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
3.8 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Italy Hill State Forest, at 665 acres. Jerusalem’s trail density is 0.1 miles per square mile.
| Jerusalem | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.4% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Keuka Lake State Park | 1.2 mi | 620 |
| 2. Botsford Nature Preserve | 0.3 mi | 28 |
| 3. Italy Hill State Forest | 0.1 mi | 665 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Jerusalem. Close and well known come first.
14 mi LakeSeneca Lake
24 mi LakeCayuga Lake
22 mi State parkWatkins Glen State Park
27 mi MountainCumorah
32 mi MuseumCorning Museum of Glass400K visitors a year
29 mi State parkTaughannock Falls State ParkSeneca Lake: RochesterNY, Public domain · Cayuga Lake: The original uploader was Cornellrockey at English Wikipedia. Later versions we, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Watkins Glen State Park: Flickr user: Peter Rivera Stamford, Connecticut https://www.flickr.com/people/ri, CC BY 2.0 · Cumorah: Hillcumorahpageantstage.jpg: la salebete derivative work: Eustress (talk), CC BY-SA 2.0 · Corning Museum of Glass: User:Stilfehler, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Taughannock Falls State Park: Michael C. Rygel, CC BY-SA 3.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Jerusalem
College town 22 of every 100 Jerusalem residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
20 places in Jerusalem on the National Register of Historic Places.
3 notable people were born in Jerusalem.
Town in New York, United States
Jerusalem is a town in Yates County, New York. The population was 4,405 at the 2020 census. The town is named after the city of Jerusalem. The Town of Jerusalem is on the south border of the county and is southwest of Geneva, New York.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
9 towns share a border with Jerusalem.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jerusalem | #507 | C+ | C | — | B− | B+ |
| Milo | #323 | B | B+ | — | B− | B− |
| Pulteney | — | — | C | — | B | C+ |
| Wayne | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Potter | — | — | B+ | — | C+ | B− |
| Italy | — | — | B | — | B | B |
| Penn Yan | #291 | B | A− | — | B− | B− |
| Benton | #565 | C | C | — | B− | B− |
Pulteney, Potter and Italy have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Jerusalem, Milo, Pulteney, Potter, Italy, Penn Yan and Benton report no FBI crime data of their own. Wayne isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Jerusalem with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Jerusalem grades C+ overall, better than 35% of U.S. towns and #507 of 745 in New York. It grades B+ for health and B− for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a C−.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
3 notable people were born here, including Thomas B. Jackson and Frank Herman Schofield.
