Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Penfield grades A overall, ranked 110th of 745 in New York. Residents are healthier than 92% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. The median household earns $119K and its schools outperform 82% of the state's. What holds it back is price: homes are expensive, about $391K for a typical one and 5.1 times the Rochester metro’s $76K median household income. 58% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Penfield, against 32% in New York’s towns and 29% across U.S. towns. Penfield has 10 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Mud House and Samuel Rich House.
Where Penfield beats most towns.
Census counts: 3,244 in 1820, a low of 2,087 in 1920, 39,438 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1857 and 5 maps from 1900 on.
10 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Penfield is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Penfield. Close and well known come first.
7 mi MuseumGeorge Eastman Museum
8 mi Stadium & arenaBlue Cross Arena
8 mi MuseumThe National Museum of Play
16 mi MountainCumorah8 mi Theme parkSeabreeze Amusement Park
7 mi MuseumMemorial Art Gallery230K visitors a yearGeorge Eastman Museum: Dmadeo, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Blue Cross Arena: Matthew D. Wilson (LtPowers), CC BY-SA 3.0 · The National Museum of Play: Misc, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cumorah: Hillcumorahpageantstage.jpg: la salebete derivative work: Eustress (talk), CC BY-SA 2.0 · Memorial Art Gallery: DanielPenfield, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Penfield, 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 Penfield.
Penfield pairs an A overall with homes cheaper than the New York norm, gets more snow than nearly all U.S. towns and has less food insecurity than most of New York.
43 miles of trail in 17 parks and preserves. Penfield’s trail density is 1.1 miles per square mile. The biggest place to walk is Ellison Park, 259 acres with 6.3 miles of trail.
| Penfield | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.1 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 6.6% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Abraham Lincoln Park | 8.3 mi | 206 |
| 2. Lucien Morin Park | 6.4 mi | 225 |
| 3. Ellison Park | 6.3 mi | 259 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Penfield Central School District. Three of its 13 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bay Trail Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,094 | B+ |
| Penfield Senior High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,442 | A |
| Scribner Road Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 549 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with New York is food insecurity: 7.5% of its 24,284 adults worry about having enough food, against 17.2% statewide.
13% of Penfield adults report frequent mental distress. Penfield beats the New York average on 18 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 3. 9% of Penfield adults smoke cigarettes.
| Penfield | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 16% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 9% | 13% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 33% | 35% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 17% | 19% |
| What stands out | Penfield | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.5% | 17.2% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 3.8% | 7.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.1% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The average commute for its 17,322 working residents takes 20 minutes, against 32.6 across New York. 23.2% of workers work from home, against 14.9% across New York.
Most working residents leave Penfield for work: only 9% work in town. 23% of workers work from home in Penfield. The top destinations are Rochester (28%), Henrietta (8%) and Webster (6%).
| Penfield | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 23% | 12% | 11% |
| Median household income | $119,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 5.3% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Penfield grades A overall with a typical home of about $391K, below the New York typical value; only 33 of the 89 New York towns graded A− or better can say that.
The median rent in Penfield is $1,473 a month. Typical home values rose 5% in the year to September 2026.
| Penfield | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,473 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
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 71% of U.S. communities. Since 1982, 21 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Penfield.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Webster 2 Ne weather station, 7 miles away, records that 86 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 95% of U.S. towns.
Penfield has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 81° and January nights drop to 18°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
9 within 15 miles of the center of Penfield
About 3 of every 100 Penfield residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
Where Penfield’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
10 places in Penfield on the National Register of Historic Places.
11 notable people were born in Penfield.
Town in New York, United States
Penfield is a town in Monroe County, New York, United States. The population was 39,438 at the 2020 census, up from 36,242 in 2010. The town was incorporated in 1810 by the proprietor Daniel Penfield, a veteran of the Revolutionary War who purchased the town lands in 1795 and moved to the area in 1809. Penfield is a suburb of Rochester. The town sits along Irondequoit Creek, which in the town's early days fueled its economy with mills.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Penfield.
It grades higher overall than all 5 graded towns on its borders; Perinton (A) comes closest.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penfield | #110 | A | C− | — | A− | A |
| Brighton | #272 | B+ | D | C+ | A− | A |
| Irondequoit | #354 | B | C+ | C+ | B | B+ |
| Perinton | #124 | A | C− | — | B+ | A+ |
| Webster | #157 | A− | D | B+ | A− | A |
| Walworth | #191 | A− | C+ | — | B | A− |
Penfield, Perinton and Walworth report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Penfield with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Penfield grades A overall, better than 88% of U.S. towns and #110 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. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
11 notable people were born here, including Almon Brown Strowger and Daniel Lynd.
