Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Nelson’s best subject grades are an A− for health and an A for history and the outdoors; its weakest is a C− for walkability. Only 8 of the 759 New York towns we compare have a lower July high than Nelson. Nelson's schools outperform 74% of the state's. 23% of the land in Nelson is conserved, against 5.2% in New York’s towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns. The biggest place to walk is Tioughnioga Wildlife Management Area, 3,353 acres with 9 miles of trail. Nelson's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 81% of U.S. towns. Nelson has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Nelson beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Nelson is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 2 old photos and papers going back to 2023.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Nelson, 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 Nelson.
Nelson beats the New York average on 11 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 3. 20% of adults get no exercise outside work in Nelson, below both the New York town median (25%) and the median of U.S. towns (25%). 15% of adults say their health is fair or poor in Nelson.
| Nelson | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 25% | 25% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 82% | 81% | 79% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 17% | 19% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 16% | 17% |
| What stands out | Nelson | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 4.3% | 7.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9.5% | 17.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.3% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 81% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Nelson since 2021.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
33 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. The trail density in Nelson is 0.7 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Stoney Pond State Forest | 18.8 mi | 1,455 |
| 2. Tioughnioga Wildlife Management Area | 9 mi | 3,353 |
| 3. Nelson Swamp Unique Area | 0.6 mi | 771 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Nelson has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Nelson’s January low is 12°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Most working residents leave Nelson for work: only 9% work in town. Jobs based in Nelson fell to 729 in 2023, 614 fewer than in 2013. The top destinations are Cazenovia (12%), Syracuse (12%) and DeWitt (8%).
| Nelson | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 7.8% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Adults 18 to 34 are 19% of residents (23% statewide). 47% of Nelson adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more.
| Nelson | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 47% | 32% | 29% |
| Median age | 47.2 years | 43 years | 40.5 years |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±7.1 points. Across New York, 51.2% of residents are women.
| Nelson | NY | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 5.8% | 11% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 14.3% | 9.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11% | 14.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 9.1% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 19.2% | 13.3% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11.7% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 3.4% | 12% | 10.4% |
| High school | 24.3% | 24.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 14.7% | 14.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.8% | 8.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 26.3% | 22.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 20.5% | 17.9% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,900, single groups can be off by several points
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Nelson. Close and well known come first.
22 mi Stadium & arenaJMA Wireless Dome
27 mi LakeOnondaga Lake
27 mi National MonumentFort Stanwix National Monument78K visitors a year
16 mi State parkGreen Lakes State Park40 mi LandmarkFort Dayton
23 mi Stadium & arenaOncenter War Memorial ArenaJMA Wireless Dome: Jimhoward03, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Onondaga Lake: R. A. Nonenmacher, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Fort Stanwix National Monument: NPS photo, Public domain · Green Lakes State Park: Ebedgert at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Oncenter War Memorial Arena: Crazyale, Public domain
2 within 15 miles of the center of Nelson
About 6 of every 100 Nelson residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New York.
2 places in Nelson on the National Register of Historic Places.
4 notable people were born in Nelson.
4 towns share a border with Nelson.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nelson | — | — | B+ | — | B+ | A− |
| Cazenovia | #154 | A− | C− | — | A− | A |
| Georgetown | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Eaton | #228 | B+ | A | — | B− | B+ |
| Fenner | — | — | A− | — | A− | A− |
Nelson and Fenner have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Nelson, Cazenovia, Eaton and Fenner report no FBI crime data of their own. Georgetown isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Nelson with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Home to 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Not for the area. The typical home is worth about $230,000, 56% 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+.
4 notable people were born here, including Scott Lord and Henry Dexter.
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