Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Plenty to like here, at a price. Health is its strong suit (A+). It is strong on incomes as well: the median household earns $179K. What holds it back is cost of living (C−): the typical home is worth about $671K, 6.8 years of the New York metro’s $99K median household income. Put together, the subjects come to an A+ overall, better than 95% of U.S. towns. The ranking puts it 48th of 745 in New York. On the outdoors, just 118 of New York’s 1,216 towns do better. North Salem has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Joseph Purdy Homestead and North Salem Town Hall.
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · home values, Zillow · USGS PAD-US · National Register of Historic Places.
Where North Salem beats most towns.
| Widest gap | North Salem | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6% | 17.2% |
Joseph Purdy Homestead12.8% of the town is conserved land, across 17 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far North Salem is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,058 in 1790, a low of 934 in 1920, 5,243 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1868 and 7 maps from 1892 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around North Salem. Close and well known come first.
Big draw18 mi MuseumUnited States Military Academy
Big draw38 mi Stadium & arenaYankee Stadium
24 mi LandmarkFerncliff Cemetery
Big draw36 mi MuseumThe Cloisters
36 mi Zoo & aquariumBronx Zoo
14 mi LakeCandlewood LakeUnited States Military Academy: USMA Public Affairs Office, Public domain · Yankee Stadium: Matt Boulton, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Ferncliff Cemetery: Anthony22 at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · The Cloisters: Paweł Drozd on Wiki Drozdpl cropped by Beyond My Ken (talk) 17:05, 27 December 2, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Bronx Zoo: Stavenn, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Candlewood Lake: Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in North Salem, 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 North Salem.
North Salem has less food insecurity than most of New York, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of New York and has commutes longer than most of New York.
The density of trails for North Salem comes to 1.7 miles per square mile, against 0.4 in New York’s towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns. 39 miles of trail wind through 17 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Mountain Lakes Park, 977 acres with 12.6 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Mountain Lakes Park | 12.6 mi | 977 |
| 2. Baxter Preserve, The Racetrack | 4.6 mi | 128 |
| 3. Bloomerside Preserve | 1.8 mi | 80 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The North Salem Central School District runs its public schools. The largest public high school is North Salem Middle School/High School, with 492 students. Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pequenakonck Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 445 | B− |
| North Salem Middle School/High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 6–12 | Grades 6–12 | 492 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with New York is food insecurity: 6% of its 3,848 adults worry about having enough food, against 17.2% statewide.
In North Salem, nearly one in ten adults have diabetes. 16% of North Salem adults have been diagnosed with depression, where New York’s towns sit at 21% and U.S. towns at 23%. Against the New York average, North Salem comes out ahead on 23 CDC measures out of 32, and behind on 1.
| North Salem | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 33% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 16% | 17% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 21% | 23% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 7% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | North Salem | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6% | 17.2% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 6.1% | 14.5% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.1% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Of the losses FEMA expects in North Salem, 76% come from inland flooding and 7% from hurricanes. Storm and flood damage is expected to run lower than in four fifths of U.S. communities. The national flood insurance program has paid 10 claims here since 1980.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 19° and about 49 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 2,249 working residents takes 39.6 minutes, against 32.6 across New York. 23.4% of workers work from home, against 14.9% across New York.
Among residents in North Salem, 3.1% live below the poverty line. Employers in North Salem added 410 jobs between 2013 and 2023, to 1,781. The typical journey to work for North Salem comes to 40 minutes.
| North Salem | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 40 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $179,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 3.1% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 6.8 years of the New York metro’s $99K median household income, the typical home costs more against local pay than in 85% of New York towns; that ratio is one input to its C− for cost of living.
For households in North Salem, the share who live in a home they own is 81%. The typical rent locally is $1,660 a month. On the market here: a median 39 days to sell.
| North Salem | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,660 a month | $1,098 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 81% | 75% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
3 within 15 miles of the center of North Salem
About 9 of every 100 North Salem residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
3 places in North Salem on the National Register of Historic Places.
4 notable people were born in North Salem.
Town in New York, United States
North Salem is the northernmost town in Westchester County, New York, United States. The town, incorporated in 1788, is a suburb of New York City, located approximately 50 miles north of Midtown Manhattan. As of the 2020 census, North Salem was recorded as possessing a population of 5,243 people living on a land area of 21.37 square miles. North Salem contains an amalgamation of urban and rural features, including parks, forests, lakes, and horse trails alongside commuter train service and an interstate highway. The town has been referred to as "Billionaires' Dirt Road" due to the town's rural characteristics and its relatively high proportion of wealthy residents.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with North Salem.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Salem | #48 | A+ | C− | — | A− | A+ |
| Somers | #83 | A | D | — | A | A+ |
| Lewisboro | #8 | A+ | D | A+ | A | A+ |
| Southeast | #332 | B | D | — | C+ | A |
North Salem, Somers and Southeast report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare North Salem with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. North Salem grades A+ overall, better than 95% of U.S. towns and #48 of 745 in New York. It grades A+ for health and A− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes. The typical home is worth about $671,000, 28% above 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 C−.
4 notable people were born here, including Chapman Grant and Ulysses S. Grant IV.
