Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 7,608, settled in 1788.
Pelham is one of the best-graded places in America: an A+, 18th of 745 graded towns in New York. It is among the healthiest towns in the country on CDC estimates, the median household earns $184K, and it reports less crime per resident than 93% of U.S. towns. The exception is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $1.4 million, 14.6 years of the New York metro’s $99K median household income. 72% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Pelham, where New York’s towns sit at 32% and U.S. towns at 29%. Few places in the country are easier to get around without a car. Only 9 of New York’s 1,187 towns score higher on civic life.
Where Pelham beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Pelham | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.6% | 17.2% |
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Pelham is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for walkability (better than 99% of comparable towns) to D− for cost of living (better than 1%), so the A+ overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 199 in 1790, a low of 199 in 1790, 13,078 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1868 and 7 maps from 1897 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Pelham. Close and well known come first.
Big draw12 mi GardenCentral Park40.0M visitors a year
Big draw15 mi Stadium & arenaMadison Square Garden
Big draw8 mi Stadium & arenaYankee Stadium
Big draw12 mi MuseumMetropolitan Museum of Art2.0M visitors a year
Big draw14 mi TheatreStudio 54
Big draw16 mi Stadium & arenaMetLife StadiumCentral 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 · Yankee Stadium: Matt Boulton, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Metropolitan Museum of Art: Hugo Schneider, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Studio 54: Americasroof (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0 · MetLife Stadium: babyknight, CC BY 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Pelham, 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 Pelham.
Pelham has more 90° days than almost anywhere else in New York and reports less crime than New Rochelle or any other graded neighbor, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of New York.
At 14.6 years of the New York metro’s $99K median household income, the typical home (about $1.45M) costs more against local pay than in 97% of New York towns; that ratio is one input to its D− for cost of living. Home values rose 56% in five years, to about $1.45M, against 30% across New York.
The median rent in Pelham is $2,299 a month. Typical home values rose 13% in the year to September 2026. 67% of Pelham households own their home.
| Pelham | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,299 a month | $1,098 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 67% | 75% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its widest gap with New York is food insecurity: 7.6% of its 5,283 adults worry about having enough food, against 17.2% statewide.
9.1% of adults report frequent physical distress in Pelham. Pelham beats the New York average on 26 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 13% of adults report frequent mental distress in Pelham.
| Pelham | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 9.1% | 14% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 33% | 35% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 34% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 21% | 23% |
| What stands out | Pelham | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.6% | 17.2% |
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 6.2% | 12.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its A tops all 3 graded towns on its borders; New Rochelle (B−) comes closest. Violent crime is rare: 1 reported in 2025, 0.1 per 1,000 residents.
Pelham’s property crime rate is 2.9 per 1,000 residents.
| Pelham | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.9 per 1,000 residents | 7.6 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.1 per 1,000 residents | 0.8 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The Dobbs Ferry-ardsley weather station, 7 miles away, records that about 19 days a year reach 90°, the highest of 2,222 New York places with climate records. The Dobbs Ferry-ardsley weather station, 7 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 189 days, the #2 highest of 2,222 New York places with climate records.
Pelham has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 86°, January nights drop to 26° and about 33 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Pelham has about as many jobs (2,928) as working residents, but only 152 people both live and work here. 25% of workers work from home, against 14.9% across New York.
Most working residents leave Pelham for work: only 6% work in town. The top destinations are New York (50%), Pelham (8%) and New Rochelle (4%). Half commute less than 13 miles.
| Pelham | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 38 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $184,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 25% | 12% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 2.9% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 55% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 61 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Pelham.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
| Pelham | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 2% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Wolfs Lane Park | — | 6 |
| 2. Willsons Woods Park | — | 2 |
| 3. Highbrook Highline | 0.2 mi | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
80 within 15 miles of the center of Pelham
About 4 of every 100 Pelham residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
11 notable people were born in Pelham.
Town in New York, United States
Pelham is a suburban town in Westchester County, approximately 10 miles northeast of Midtown Manhattan. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 13,079, an increase from the 2010 census. Historically, Pelham was composed of five villages and became known as "the Pelhams". Pelham currently contains two independently incorporated villages: the Villages of Pelham and Pelham Manor. Approximately 35 minutes away from Grand Central Terminal by the Metro-North Railroad's New Haven Line, Pelham is home to many New York City commuters and has an active social community for its residents. The Bronx–Whitestone Bridge is approximately 8.5 miles (13.7 km) south of the town. It is also 13 miles (21.…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Pelham.
At #18 in NY, it grades higher overall than all 3 graded towns on its borders; Pelham Manor (B+) comes closest.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pelham | #18 | A+ | D− | A | A | A+ |
| Pelham | #68 | A | D− | — | A | A+ |
| Mount Vernon | #684 | D | D | C− | C− | B− |
| New Rochelle | #336 | B | D− | B− | B− | A |
| Pelham Manor | #212 | B+ | D | C− | A | A+ |
Pelham reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Pelham with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Pelham grades A+ overall, better than 98% of U.S. towns and #18 of 745 in New York. It grades A+ for health, A for safety and A for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D−.
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−.
11 notable people were born here, including Harry Babcock and Nick Bollettieri.
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