Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
13,239 people live in this town, settled in 1788.
Health is its strong suit (A+). Add schools to its strengths: its public schools beat 92% of New York towns on state tests and graduation. The trade-off is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $974K, 9.8 years of the New York metro’s $99K median household income. All told, that adds up to an A overall and a rank of 68th of 745 in New York. It comes out better than 93% of U.S. towns. Pelham has 6 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Bolton Priory and Pelhamdale. Three quarters of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in the town, above both New York’s towns (32%) and U.S. towns (29%). The town is among the most walkable places in the country.
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · schools, state test and graduation results · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · National Register of Historic Places.
Where Pelham beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Pelham | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6.9% | 17.2% |
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Hutchinson School | K–5 | 366 |
| Prospect Hill School | K–5 | 334 |
| Colonial School | K–5 | 296 |
Census counts: 199 in 1790, a low of 199 in 1790, 13,078 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1868 and 7 maps from 1897 on.
6 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
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 3%), so the A overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Pelham. Close and well known come first.
Big draw12 mi City parkCentral Park40.0M visitors a year
Big draw14 mi Stadium & arenaMadison Square Garden
Big draw8 mi Stadium & arenaYankee Stadium
Big draw12 mi MuseumMetropolitan Museum of Art2.0M visitors a year
Big draw13 mi TheatreStudio 54
Big draw15 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 schools in the top 5% of New York, has more 90° days than almost anywhere else in New York and has less food insecurity than most of New York.
Its widest gap with New York is food insecurity: 6.9% of its 9,500 adults worry about having enough food, against 17.2% statewide.
One in ten adults say their health is fair or poor in Pelham. Among 755 New York towns, just 10 have a lower share of adults who get no exercise outside work than Pelham.
| Pelham | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 33% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 8.9% | 14% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 16% | 17% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 34% | 35% |
| What stands out | Pelham | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6.9% | 17.2% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 3.9% | 7.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
That grade ranks #31 of the 755 New York towns we grade for schools. It comes with a D− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $974K.
The Pelham Union Free School District runs its public schools. Three of its 7 schools are shown below, with the reason for each. The 5 public schools in Pelham teach 1,976 students between them.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pelham Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 705 | A− |
| Pelham Memorial High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 852 | A |
| Colonial SchoolTop results in townGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 296 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
The New York Laguardia Ap weather station, 9 miles away, records that about 22 days a year reach 90°, the highest of 2,222 New York places with climate records. The New York Laguardia Ap weather station, 9 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 244 days, the #2 highest of 2,222 New York places with climate records.
Summer afternoons peak near 86° in July, and January nights bottom out around 26°; snowfall runs to about 30 inches a winter. Summers in Pelham are warm, and winters chilly.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Pelham has about as many jobs (5,674) as working residents, but only 374 people both live and work here. 24.7% of workers work from home, against 14.9% across New York.
Only 8% of working residents stay in Pelham for work; the rest commute out. For Pelham, the median household income is $211,000. This New York town had 5,674 jobs in 2023, up 565 from 2013. Among workers locally, 25% work remotely from home.
| Pelham | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 38 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $211,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 25% | 12% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 2.7% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
For Pelham, the trail density is 0.1 miles per square mile. There are 0.3 miles of trail across 7 parks and preserves.
| Pelham | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.9% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Glover Field | — | 18 |
| 2. Wolfs Lane Park | — | 5 |
| 3. Highbrook Highline | 0.2 mi | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The national flood insurance program has paid 116 claims in Pelham since 1978. On expected storm and flood damage, Pelham sits above 51% of U.S. communities. Expected losses in Pelham break down as 80% from inland flooding and 6% from earthquakes.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
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.
6 places in Pelham on the National Register of Historic Places.
12 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)
5 towns share a border with Pelham.
At #68 in NY, it grades higher overall than all 4 graded towns on its borders; Pelham Manor (B+) comes closest.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pelham | #68 | A | D− | — | A | A+ |
| Mount Vernon | #684 | D | D | C− | C− | B− |
| Pelham | #18 | A+ | D− | A | A | A+ |
| Pelham Manor | #212 | B+ | D | C− | A | A+ |
| New Rochelle | #336 | B | D− | B− | B− | A |
| New York | #651 | C− | D− | D | — | B+ |
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 93% of U.S. towns and #68 of 745 in New York. It grades A+ for health 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−.
12 notable people were born here, including Harry Babcock and Nick Bollettieri.
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