Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 3,814 people, the town was settled in 1817.
Lansing’s strongest is health (A+). Add walkability to its strengths: it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 84% of U.S. towns. The weak point is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $517K, 7 years of the Ithaca metro’s $74K median household income. It lags on incomes as well — the median household income is $72K, and nearly a quarter of residents live below the poverty line. All told, that adds up to a B− overall and a rank of 374th of 745 in New York. Set against the rest, it does better than 52% of U.S. towns. Only 32 of New York’s 1,216 towns score lower on history. Lansing's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 94% of U.S. towns.
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · National Register of Historic Places.
Where Lansing beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Lansing | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 5.3% | 12.8% |
Where Lansing’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 Lansing is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 3,631 in 1820, a low of 2,380 in 1920, 11,565 in 2020. The archive holds 9 old photos and papers going back to 1801 and 5 maps from 1900 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Lansing, 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 Lansing.
Lansing draws workers from Lansing and beyond and has less tooth loss than most of New York, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of New York.
Its widest gap with New York is tooth loss: 5.3% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 12.8% statewide.
Lansing: nearly a quarter of adults have obesity, against 33% in New York’s towns and 35% across U.S. towns. Among adults in the town, 11% say their health is fair or poor. On the CDC’s 32 measures, Lansing is ahead of New York on 21 and behind on 2.
| Lansing | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 33% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 9% | 14% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 34% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 7.8% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Lansing | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 5.3% | 12.8% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 4.3% | 7.9% |
| Fewer adults treating high blood pressure | 70.6% | 77.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
3,432 jobs are based in Lansing, 2.4 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. Jobs based here fell from 5,817 in 2013 to 3,432.
For Lansing, the average commute is 16 minutes. Most people who work leave Lansing to do it: just 6% work in town. 24% of Lansing residents live below the poverty line. The town had 3,432 jobs in 2023, down 2,385 from 2013.
| Lansing | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 24% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 16 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $72,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 6.3% | 10% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Lansing’s FEMA risk score is 30 of 100, where New York’s towns sit at 31 of 100 and U.S. towns at 44 of 100. One claim on flood insurance has been paid out in the town since 2015. Expected losses in Lansing break down as 84% from inland flooding and 6% from tornadoes.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
In July, afternoons reach 82°; in January, nights fall to 16°, and about 63 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
0.8 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. Lansing’s trail network density stands at 0.2 miles per square mile. One park or preserve covers 8 acres here.
| Lansing | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 1.1% | 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. Marian Hartill Park | — | 8 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
At 7 years of the Ithaca metro’s $74K median household income, the typical home costs more against local pay than in 86% of New York towns; that ratio is one input to its D− for cost of living. 64.4% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 52.1% across New York.
Lansing’s typical rent comes in at $1,726 a month.
| Lansing | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 23% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,726 a month | $1,098 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Lansing. Close and well known come first.
24 mi LakeSeneca Lake
18 mi LakeCayuga Lake
7 mi State parkTaughannock Falls State Park
3 mi Stadium & arenaSchoellkopf Field
21 mi State parkWatkins Glen State Park
3 mi MuseumHerbert F. Johnson Museum of Art80K visitors a yearSeneca 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 · Schoellkopf Field: Alex Sergeev, (www.asergeev.com) Originally uploaded by en:User:Cornell010, 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 · Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art: Dmadeo, CC BY-SA 3.0
3 within 15 miles of the center of Lansing
About 8 of every 100 Lansing residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New York.
Town in New York, United States
Lansing is a town in Tompkins County, New York, United States. The population was 11,565 at the 2020 census. The Town of Lansing has within it a village named Lansing. The town is located on the northern border of Tompkins County and is located just north of the City of Ithaca.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Lansing.
Dryden next door grades lower for schools (C− to Lansing’s B+) and higher for cost of living (C to D−).
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lansing | #374 | B− | D− | — | B+ | A+ |
| Lansing | #378 | B− | D− | — | A− | A− |
| Ithaca | #314 | B | D− | — | B | A |
| Cayuga Heights | #241 | B+ | D− | — | B | A+ |
| Dryden | #630 | C− | C | — | C− | A− |
| Northeast Ithaca | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Lansing, Lansing, Ithaca, Cayuga Heights and Dryden report no FBI crime data of their own. Northeast Ithaca isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Lansing with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Lansing grades B− overall, better than 52% of U.S. towns and #374 of 745 in New York. It grades A+ for health and B+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D−.
Yes. The typical home is worth about $517,000, 2% 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 D−.
