Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Peru is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades B overall, ranked 347th of 745 in New York, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is health: residents are healthier than 74% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. It also does better than most on incomes: the median household earns $102K. A typical home there costs about $280K, 3.9 years of the Plattsburgh area’s $71K median household income. 14% of the land in Peru is conserved, against 5.2% in New York’s towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns. Terry Mountain State Forest, at 4,742 acres with 7.3 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. On civic life, just 88 of New York’s 1,187 towns do worse.
Where Peru beats most towns.
Valcour Bay is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 2,710 in 1820, a low of 1,989 in 1930, 6,772 in 2020. The archive holds 3 old photos and papers going back to 1869 and 3 maps from 1913 on.
7 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Peru is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Peru, 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 Peru.
Peru has better schools than Au Sable or any other neighbor, has less food insecurity than most of New York and has commutes shorter than most of New York.
Peru’s trail density is 1.0 miles per square mile, where New York’s towns sit at 0.4 and U.S. towns at 0.4. 95 miles of trail in 12 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Terry Mountain State Forest | 7.3 mi | 4,742 |
| 2. Valcour Island Primitive Area | 7.3 mi | 772 |
| 3. Macomb Reservation State Park | 3.4 mi | 331 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its B− is the best School Grade on its borders; Au Sable (C+) is next.
Its public schools are run by the Peru Central School District. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Peru High School, with 555 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peru Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 832 | C− |
| Peru High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 555 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
Typical home values rose 5.7% in the year to September 2026. 83% of Peru households own their home.
| Peru | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 83% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,067 a month | $1,103 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The average commute for its 2,915 working residents takes 20.7 minutes, against 32.6 across New York.
Most working residents leave Peru for work: only 14% work in town. Peru’s average trip to work is 21 minutes. The top destinations are Plattsburgh (24%), Plattsburgh (23%) and North Elba (2%).
| Peru | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $102,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 10% | 12% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its widest gap with New York is food insecurity: 11.1% of its 5,666 adults worry about having enough food, against 17.2% statewide.
Peru beats the New York average on 7 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 3. 34% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Peru.
| Peru | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 37% | 36% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 9.8% | 11% | 12% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 17% | 19% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 34% | 35% |
| What stands out | Peru | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 11.1% | 17.2% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.2% | 7.9% |
| More adults with depression | 22.2% | 17.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Peru has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. The July high in Peru is 80°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the New York average. 33% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 40% across New York.
| Peru | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 15% | 20% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 33% | 32% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 22% | 20% | 22% |
| Median age | 40.7 years | 43 years | 40.5 years |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.6 points. Across New York, 51.2% of residents are women. Among residents 55 to 64, 62% are men (NY 49%).
| Peru | NY | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.2% | 11% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.6% | 9.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.5% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.9% | 14.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 16.2% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.1% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.1% | 13.3% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.8% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5.6% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 7.8% | 12% | 10.4% |
| High school | 25.1% | 24.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 20.9% | 14.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 13% | 8.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 15.9% | 22.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 17.3% | 17.9% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 53% of U.S. communities. Since 1996, 15 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Peru.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Peru. Close and well known come first.
Big draw12 mi LakeLake Champlain
37 mi MountainMount Marcy
22 mi MountainWhiteface Mountain
37 mi MountainMount Mansfield
6 mi Canyon & gorgeAusable Chasm
38 mi LakeLake Tear of the CloudsLake Champlain: Copernicus Sentinel-2, ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 igo · Mount Marcy: Daniel Tripp, Public domain · Whiteface Mountain: Mwanner, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Mount Mansfield: Original uploader was Calzarette (Joe Calzarette) at en.wikipedia, Public domain · Ausable Chasm: Alan Prusila / Alanp35 at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lake Tear of the Clouds: TheKilimanjaro, CC BY-SA 4.0
2 within 15 miles of the center of Peru
About 6 of every 100 Peru residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New York.
Where Peru’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
7 places in Peru on the National Register of Historic Places.
Town in New York, United States
Peru is a town in Clinton County in the U.S. state of New York. The population was 6,772 at the 2020 census. The town was so named for its views of the Adirondack Mountains to the west and the farmlands throughout the town, resembling scenery found in the country of Peru in South America. Peru, New York, is in the southeastern part of Clinton County, south of Plattsburgh.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Peru.
It grades higher overall than all 4 graded towns on its borders; Schuyler Falls (B−) comes closest.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peru | #347 | B | C+ | — | B− | B+ |
| Au Sable | #533 | C | B− | — | C+ | B+ |
| Schuyler Falls | #429 | B− | B | — | C+ | B+ |
| Plattsburgh | #474 | C+ | B− | — | C+ | B |
| Black Brook | — | — | B | — | C | B |
| Saranac | #609 | C− | B | — | C | B− |
Black Brook has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Peru, Au Sable, Schuyler Falls, Plattsburgh, Black Brook and Saranac report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Peru with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Peru grades B overall, better than 56% of U.S. towns and #347 of 745 in New York. It grades B+ for health and B− 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 C+.
