Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Because it does well by almost any measure. Pittsford earns an A+, ranked 13th of 745 in New York. It is healthier than 97% of U.S. towns, the median household earns $146K, and its schools outperform 93% of the state's. The exception is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $511K, 6.7 years of the Rochester metro’s $76K median household income. 75% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Pittsford, where New York’s towns sit at 32% and U.S. towns at 29%. Pittsford is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 87% of U.S. towns. Pittsford is home to St. John Fisher University.
Where Pittsford beats most towns.
Census counts: 1,582 in 1820, 30,617 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 2006 and 8 maps from 1895 on.
9 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Pittsford is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Pittsford. Close and well known come first.
6 mi MuseumGeorge Eastman Museum
7 mi Stadium & arenaBlue Cross Arena
7 mi MuseumThe National Museum of Play
17 mi MountainCumorah
38 mi State parkLetchworth State Park11 mi Theme parkSeabreeze Amusement ParkGeorge 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 · Letchworth State Park: Suandsoe, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Pittsford, 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 Pittsford.
Pittsford has schools in the top 5% of New York, has less food insecurity than most of New York and gets more snow than nearly all U.S. towns.
51 miles of trail wind through 18 parks and preserves. Mendon Ponds Park, at 429 acres with 6.4 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Pittsford’s trail density comes in at 2.2 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Mendon Ponds Park | 6.4 mi | 429 |
| 2. Isaac Gordon Nature Park | 2.6 mi | 103 |
| 3. Former St. John Fisher Golf Course | 1.4 mi | 18 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
That grade ranks #26 of the 755 New York towns we grade for schools.
Three of the 11 schools are below, and why each made the list. Public schools: the Pittsford Central School District.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barker Road Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 717 | B+ |
| Pittsford-Mendon High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 919 | A |
| Pittsford Sutherland High SchoolTop results in townGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 882 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with New York is food insecurity: 6% of its 23,643 adults worry about having enough food, against 17.2% statewide.
For adults in Pittsford, the share who have diabetes is 9.5%. Only 9 of the 755 New York towns we compare have a lower share of adults 18 to 64 who have no health insurance than Pittsford. Of 32 CDC measures, Pittsford beats the New York average on 20 and trails it on 2.
| Pittsford | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 16% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 7.1% | 13% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 37% | 36% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 33% | 35% |
| What stands out | Pittsford | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6% | 17.2% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 3% | 7.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.1% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Of the losses FEMA expects in Pittsford, 79% come from inland flooding and 11% from cold waves. Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 81% of U.S. communities. 14 flood insurance claims have been paid in the town since 1991.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Rochester Gtr Intl Ap weather station, 8 miles away, records that 102 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 97% of U.S. towns.
Pittsford’s typical July afternoon high stands at 81°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Pittsford has about as many jobs (13,071) as working residents, but only 1,353 people both live and work here. The average commute takes 19 minutes, against 32.6 across New York.
Half of commuters travel less than 7 miles. In Pittsford, 21% of workers work from home. Just just over a tenth of the town’s working residents have a job in town. Its average commute is 19 minutes.
| Pittsford | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $146,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 21% | 12% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 3.7% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 6.7 years of the Rochester metro’s $76K median household income, the typical home (about $511K) costs more against local pay than in 85% of New York towns; that ratio is one input to that grade.
In Pittsford, the median rent is $1,534 a month. Home values are up 5% over the year to September 2026. Also worth knowing: among households in the town, 86% own their home.
| Pittsford | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 86% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,534 a month | $1,098 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
12 within 15 miles of the center of Pittsford
About 13 of every 100 Pittsford residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
11.3% of the town is conserved land, across 18 parks and preserves.
9 places in Pittsford on the National Register of Historic Places.
9 notable people were born in Pittsford.
Town in Western New York
Pittsford is an incorporated town in Monroe County, New York, United States. A suburb of Rochester, its population was 30,617 at the time of the 2020 census. Formerly part of the town of Northfield, Pittsford was settled in 1789 and incorporated in 1796. The village of Pittsford was incorporated in 1827. It was named by Colonel Caleb Hopkins, a War of 1812 hero and subsequently Pittsford town supervisor, for the town of his birth, Pittsford, Vermont. The Erie Canal passes through the town.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Pittsford.
At #13 in NY, it grades higher overall than all 5 graded towns on its borders; Mendon (A) comes closest. East Rochester next door grades lower for schools (C to Pittsford’s A) and higher for cost of living (B− to C−).
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pittsford | #13 | A+ | C− | — | A | A+ |
| East Rochester | #238 | B+ | B− | B | C | A− |
| Perinton | #124 | A | C− | — | B+ | A+ |
| Henrietta | #148 | A− | C | — | B+ | A |
| Mendon | #111 | A | C− | — | A | A+ |
| Brighton | #272 | B+ | D | C+ | A− | A |
Pittsford, Perinton, Henrietta and Mendon report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Pittsford with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Pittsford grades A+ overall, better than 98% of U.S. towns and #13 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−.
9 notable people were born here, including Magnus Sheffield and Burton C. Cook.
