Is New Square a good place to live?
New Square earns a D−, in the bottom 2% of U.S. towns, mostly because of schools and health. Its public schools trail 96% of New York towns on state tests and graduation. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 89% of the country. One bright spot: it is more walkable than 93% of U.S. towns. 3.2% of residents are 65 or older in New Square, against 20% in New York’s towns and 18% across U.S. towns. Homes are expensive, about $662K for a typical one and 6.7 times the New York metro’s $99K median household income. On history, just 3 of New York’s 1,216 towns do worse.
What makes New Square stand out
Where New Square beats most towns.
New Square has grown 47% since 2010
6,944 counted in 2010 and 9,679 in 2020; an estimated 10,214 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 5.7% since 2020, after 39.4% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
How New Square grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far New Square is from typical.
Its grades run from A for walkability (better than 93% of comparable towns) to D− for cost of living (better than 3%), so the D− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
United States Military Academy and 518 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around New Square. Close and well known come first.
Big draw18 mi MuseumUnited States Military Academy
Big draw25 mi GardenCentral Park40.0M visitors a year
Big draw27 mi Stadium & arenaMadison Square Garden
Big draw23 mi Stadium & arenaMetLife Stadium
Big draw26 mi TheatreStudio 54
Big draw25 mi MuseumMetropolitan Museum of Art2.0M visitors a yearPhoto credits
United States Military Academy: USMA Public Affairs Office, Public domain · Central Park: Ed Yourdon from New York City, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Madison Square Garden: Ajay Suresh from New York, NY, USA, CC BY 2.0 · MetLife Stadium: babyknight, CC BY 2.0 · Studio 54: Americasroof (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Metropolitan Museum of Art: Hugo Schneider, CC BY-SA 2.0
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Moving to New Square: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in New Square, 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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in New Square.
New Square is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has commutes shorter than most of New York, but it has poverty well above the New York rate.
More of New Square’s adults say their health is fair or poor than in the typical New York or U.S. town
Against the 722 U.S. towns with household incomes like New Square’s, it is healthier than 74%, so its D isn’t only a matter of income.
32% of New Square adults say their health is fair or poor. Of the 755 New York towns we compare, none has a higher share of adults who report frequent physical distress than New Square. 29% of New Square adults report frequent mental distress.
| New Square | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 17% | 19% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 13% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 16% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 14% | 14% |
| What stands out | New Square | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 4.5% | 7.7% |
| Fewer adults with high cholesterol | 29.9% | 37.7% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 47.6% | 12.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
New Square faces a very low natural-hazard risk, led by inland flooding
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 82% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 8 flood insurance claims have been paid out in New Square.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
A larger share of residents live below the poverty line in New Square than in most of New York or the rest of the country
The average commute for its 2,714 working residents takes 13.2 minutes, against 32.6 across New York.
59% of residents live below the poverty line in New Square. Among 757 New York towns, just 1 have a lower median household income than New Square. New Square’s average trip to work is 13 minutes.
| New Square | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 59% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 13 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $31,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 21% | 10% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
In New Square, expect four seasons and pleasant summers
New Square has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 21° and about 36 inches of snow falls in a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Everything we know about New Square
Colleges nearby
27 within 15 miles of the center of New Square
About 4 of every 100 New Square residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
About New Square
Village in New York, United States
New Square (Yiddish: שיכון סקווירא, romanized: Shikun Skvira) is an all-Hasidic village in the town of Ramapo, Rockland County, New York, United States. It is located north of Hillcrest, east of Viola, south of New Hempstead, and west of New City. As of the 2020 United States census, it had a population of 9,679. Its inhabitants are predominantly members of the Skverer Hasidic movement who seek to maintain a Hasidic lifestyle disconnected from the secular world. It is the poorest town (measured by median income) in New York, and the eighth poorest in the United States. It also has the highest poverty rate, at 64.4%.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Established
- 1961
- Area
- 0.4 sq mi
- Elevation
- 492 ft
New Square’s neighbors
2 towns share a border with New Square.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Square | #745 | D− | D− | — | D− | D |
| Hillcrest | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| New Hempstead | #570 | C | D | — | D− | A |
New Square and New Hempstead report no FBI crime data of their own. Hillcrest isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare New Square with a neighbor →
Questions about New Square
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is New Square, NY a good place to live?
New Square grades D− overall, in the bottom 2% of U.S. towns. It grades D for health and D− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D−.
Is New Square, NY expensive?
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D−.