Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
2.3 times the library visits per person than the typical New York town.
A well-rated place to live, with prices to match. Its best grade is for health — residents are healthier than 90% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Pawling ranks 193rd of 745 in New York, with an A− overall. It comes out better than 76% of U.S. towns. Incomes are a strength too — the median household earns $121K. The catch is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $449K, 4.6 years of the Kiryas Joel metro’s $98K median household income. The town has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Oblong Friends Meetinghouse and John Kane House. Pawling’s average trip to work is 37 minutes, above both New York’s towns (25 minutes) and U.S. towns (25 minutes).
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · home values, Zillow · National Register of Historic Places.
Where Pawling beats most towns.
Oblong Friends MeetinghouseEach subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Pawling is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1778 and 6 maps from 1893 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Pawling, 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 Pawling.
Pawling’s trail network density stands at 0.9 miles per square mile. Trails run 40 miles in 6 parks and preserves. Parks and preserves in the town: 6, covering 1,360 acres.
| Pawling | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.9 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 9% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Pawling Nature Reserve | 6.6 mi | 677 |
| 2. Deer Pond Farm | 6.1 mi | 443 |
| 3. Friends of Great Swamp | — | 190 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Public schools: the Pawling Central School District. The largest public high school is Pawling High School, with 360 students. Two of its 6 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pawling Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 401 | B |
| Pawling High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 360 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with New York is food insecurity: 10.1% of its 5,229 adults worry about having enough food, against 17.2% statewide.
For adults in Pawling, the share who get no exercise outside work is 21%. Against the New York average, Pawling comes out ahead on 13 CDC measures out of 32, and behind on 2. 14% of adults in Pawling report frequent mental distress; 19% have been diagnosed with depression.
| Pawling | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 33% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 16% | 17% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 21% | 23% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Pawling | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 10.1% | 17.2% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 9.4% | 14.5% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.2% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The median commute is under 19 miles. The share of workers in Pawling who work from home: 16%. Just 18% of the town’s working residents have a job in town. The top destinations are New York (15%), Southeast (5%) and Carmel (4%).
| Pawling | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 37 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $121,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 4% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 18% | 10% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Pawling’s FEMA risk score comes in at 28 of 100. Expected losses in Pawling break down as 61% from inland flooding and 19% from hurricanes. Federal aid has come to Pawling households in 7 declared disasters; the latest was in 2023.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
In July, afternoons reach 83°; in January, nights fall to 17°, and about 58 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
In Pawling, the age of the median resident is 49.6 years. Since 2020, Pawling has grown 4%, to 8,316 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. Pawling: 43% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more.
| Pawling | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 49.6 years | 42.9 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 43% | 32% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 22% | 20% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 21% | 20% | 22% |
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.5 points. Across New York, 51.2% of residents are women.
| Pawling | NY | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.3% | 11% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.9% | 9.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11% | 14.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 9.6% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.4% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 18% | 13.3% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 12% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 10% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 6% | 12% | 10.4% |
| High school | 26.8% | 24.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 15.2% | 14.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.6% | 8.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 25% | 22.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 18.4% | 17.9% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Pawling’s typical rent is $1,522 a month. Among households in the town, 78% live in a home they own.
| Pawling | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,522 a month | $1,098 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 78% | 75% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Pawling. Close and well known come first.
Big draw22 mi MuseumUnited States Military Academy
20 mi National Historic SiteHome of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site102K visitors a year
9 mi LakeCandlewood Lake
39 mi LandmarkFerncliff Cemetery
6 mi State parkWonder Lake State Park
23 mi National Historic SiteVanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site295K visitors a yearUnited States Military Academy: USMA Public Affairs Office, Public domain · Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site: Crunch, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Candlewood Lake: Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain · Ferncliff Cemetery: Anthony22 at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wonder Lake State Park: Anthony22 (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site: Daderot, Public domain
1 within 15 miles of the center of Pawling
About 3 of every 100 Pawling residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
3 places in Pawling on the National Register of Historic Places.
6 towns share a border with Pawling.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pawling | #193 | A− | C− | — | B | A |
| Beekman | #373 | B− | D | — | B− | A |
| Patterson | #505 | C+ | D− | — | B− | B+ |
| Dover | #563 | C | C | — | C | B+ |
| East Fishkill | #168 | A− | D | A | B+ | A |
| Kent | #141 | A− | D | A | B− | A |
Pawling, Beekman, Patterson and Dover report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Pawling with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Pawling grades A− overall, better than 76% of U.S. towns and #193 of 745 in New York. It grades A for health and B for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes. The typical home is worth about $449,000, 14% 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 C−.
