Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Orleans is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C+ overall, ranked 480th of 745 in New York, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is cost of living: homes are within reach, about $190K for a typical one, or 2.9 years of the Watertown metro’s $66K median household income. Its lowest everyday mark is in incomes: the median household income is $78K, and 8% of residents live below the poverty line. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 98% of U.S. towns, with 20 places on the National Register. 16% of the land in Orleans is conserved, against 5.2% in New York’s towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns. Its National Register listings include Stone Mills Union Church and Rock Island Light Station.
Where Orleans beats most towns.
Census counts: 3,101 in 1830, 2,789 in 2010. The archive holds 10 old photos and papers going back to 1848 and 4 maps from 1903 on.
20 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Orleans is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Orleans, 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 Orleans.
Orleans gets more snow than nearly all U.S. towns and has commutes shorter than most of New York.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 92% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 3 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Orleans.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its public schools are run by the La Fargeville Central School District. Its one school is below. The largest public high school is La Fargeville Central School, with 448 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| La Fargeville Central SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades PK–12 | Grades PK–12 | 448 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
The average commute for its 942 working residents takes 20.8 minutes, against 32.6 across New York.
Most working residents leave Orleans for work: only 5% work in town. Orleans’ average trip to work is 21 minutes, where New York’s towns sit at 25 minutes and U.S. towns at 25 minutes. Jobs based in Orleans grew to 566 in 2023, 112 more than in 2013.
| Orleans | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 4.9% | 10% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
12 miles of trail in 6 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Perch River Wildlife Management Area, at 4,490 acres. The trail density in Orleans is 0.2 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Wellesley Island State Park | 3.7 mi | 2,548 |
| 2. Perch River Wildlife Management Area | — | 4,490 |
| 3. Grass Point State Park | — | 108 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The Watertown weather station, 18 miles away, records that 116 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 98% of U.S. towns.
Orleans has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Orleans’ July high is 80°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Orleans beats the New York average on 3 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 9. 19% of adults binge drink in Orleans.
| Orleans | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 17% | 16% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 37% | 36% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 33% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Orleans | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 13.4% | 17.2% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 11.6% | 14.5% |
| More adults with COPD | 8.1% | 6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
None within 15 miles of Orleans; the nearest are
About 1 of every 100 Orleans residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
Where Orleans’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
20 places in Orleans on the National Register of Historic Places.
Town in Jefferson County, New York, US
Orleans is a town in Jefferson County, New York, United States. The population was 2,789 at the 2010 census, up from 2,463 in 2000. The town is located in the northern part of the county and is north of Watertown. Orleans is named after the commune of Orléans in France.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Orleans.
Clayton next door grades higher for schools (B+ to Orleans’s C+) and lower for cost of living (C to B).
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orleans | #480 | C+ | B | — | C+ | B− |
| Pamelia | #375 | B− | A− | — | C+ | B− |
| Clayton | #422 | B− | C | — | B+ | B |
| Alexandria | #229 | B+ | A− | — | B | B |
| Thousand Island Park | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Theresa | #492 | C+ | B+ | — | C+ | B |
| Le Ray | #622 | C− | C− | — | C+ | B+ |
| Brownville | #416 | B− | B | — | B− | B |
Orleans, Pamelia, Clayton, Alexandria, Theresa, Le Ray and Brownville report no FBI crime data of their own. Thousand Island Park isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Orleans with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Orleans grades C+ overall, better than 39% of U.S. towns and #480 of 745 in New York. It grades B− for health and C+ 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 B.
2 notable people were born here, including Margaret Clay Ferguson and George Pomeroy Goodale.
