Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Kirkwood is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C overall, 518th of 745 graded towns in New York, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is schools: its public schools beat 58% of New York towns on state tests and graduation. Its lowest everyday mark is in incomes: the median household income is $59K, and 15% of residents live below the poverty line. A typical home there costs about $189K, 2.9 years of the Binghamton metro’s $65K median household income. Only 36 of New York’s 1,216 towns score lower on history. Kirkwood’s average trip to work is 18 minutes, below both New York’s towns (25 minutes) and U.S. towns (25 minutes). The biggest park or preserve is Skyline Drive State Forest, at 187 acres.
Where Kirkwood beats most towns.
Where Kirkwood’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 Kirkwood is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,389 in 1860, a low of 852 in 1910, 5,495 in 2020. The archive holds 8 old photos and papers going back to 1876 and 4 maps from 1904 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Kirkwood, 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 Kirkwood.
Kirkwood draws workers from Binghamton and beyond, gets more snow than nearly all U.S. towns and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
The median property tax bill is $3,262, against $6,582 across New York, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The median rent in Kirkwood is $883 a month. Typical home values rose 4.7% in the year to September 2026.
| Kirkwood | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $883 a month | $1,103 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 72% | 75% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by the Windsor Central School District. One of its 2 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Floyd Bell Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 280 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
4,337 jobs are based in Kirkwood, 1.9 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 17.6 minutes, against 32.6 across New York.
Most working residents leave Kirkwood for work: only 11% work in town. Since 2013, Kirkwood has added 1,174 jobs, to 4,337 in 2023. The top destinations are Binghamton (17%), Union (11%) and Dickinson (6%).
| Kirkwood | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $59,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 11% | 10% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The Binghamton weather station, 12 miles away, records that 87 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 96% of U.S. towns.
Kirkwood has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 82° and January nights drop to 16°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
2.2 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. Kirkwood’s trail density is 0.1 miles per square mile.
| Kirkwood | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.3% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Skyline Drive State Forest | 0.6 mi | 187 |
| 2. River Park | 0.5 mi | 28 |
| 3. Kirkwood Valley Park | — | 11 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Against the 8,533 U.S. towns with household incomes like Kirkwood’s, it is healthier than 74%, so its B− isn’t only a matter of income.
Kirkwood beats the New York average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 14. 36% of adults feel lonely in Kirkwood.
| Kirkwood | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 32% | 33% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 34% | 35% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 82% | 81% | 79% |
| What stands out | Kirkwood | NY |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 8.9% | 6% |
| More smokers | 15.6% | 11.3% |
| More adults with arthritis | 32.8% | 24% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
198 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 26 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 51% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 198 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Kirkwood.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Kirkwood. Close and well known come first.
6 mi Stadium & arenaBroome County Veterans Memorial Arena34 mi Ski areaGreek Peak Mountain Resort43 runs · 828 ft vertical6 mi Zoo & aquariumBinghamton Zoo at Ross Park28 mi Ski areaElk Mountain Ski Resort28 runs · 908 ft vertical
36 mi MuseumFrench Azilum
28 mi National park siteUpper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River380K visitors a yearBroome County Veterans Memorial Arena: Bmoore2009 at English Wikipedia, Public domain · French Azilum: Nicholas A. Tonelli from Northeast Pennsylvania, USA, CC BY 2.0 · Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River: Jet Lowe (edited by Mitchazenia), Public domain
2 within 15 miles of the center of Kirkwood
About 4 of every 100 Kirkwood residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
Town in New York, United States
Kirkwood is a town in Broome County, New York, United States. The population was 5,495 as of the 2020 census. The town is named after James P. Kirkwood, the civil engineer responsible for constructing the local railroad. The town is located within the Binghamton Metropolitan Area, and lies approximately 10 miles southeast of the city proper. The town itself is also in close proximity to the border with the U.S. State of Pennsylvania, and both Interstate 81 and New York Route 7 run through it.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Kirkwood.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kirkwood | #518 | C | C+ | — | B | B− |
| Conklin | #383 | B− | B | — | B− | B− |
| Windsor | #498 | C+ | C+ | — | B | B+ |
| Fenton | #546 | C | B− | — | B | C |
| Binghamton | #739 | D− | C+ | D | D | C |
| Dickinson | #452 | C+ | B | — | C | C+ |
| Colesville | #717 | D | C | — | C | C+ |
Kirkwood, Conklin, Windsor, Fenton, Dickinson and Colesville report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Kirkwood with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Kirkwood grades C overall, better than 33% of U.S. towns and #518 of 745 in New York. It grades B− for health and B for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
2 notable people were born here, including George E. Green and Charles F. Tupper.
