Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
71% more nonprofits per person than the typical New York town.
Rockland grades D overall, 660th among New York's 745 graded towns. One bright spot: it has 42 miles of trail. 25% of the land in Rockland is conserved, above both the New York town median (5.2%) and the median of U.S. towns (4.3%). On hazard risk, just 16 of New York’s 1,216 towns do worse. Willowemoc Wild Forest, at 8,337 acres with 26.9 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
Where Rockland beats most towns.
Aqudas Achim Synagogue
Census counts: 405 in 1820, 3,290 in 2020. The archive holds 13 old photos and papers going back to 1875 and 4 maps from 1921 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Rockland is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Rockland, 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 Rockland.
Rockland is a second-home town and is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of New York (mostly inland flooding).
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Willowemoc Wild Forest | 26.9 mi | 8,337 |
| 2. Beech Mountain Nature Preserve | 2.8 mi | 277 |
| 3. DeBruce Environmental Education Camp | 0.3 mi | 384 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Livingston Manor Central School District. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Livingston Manor Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 217 | B |
| Roscoe Central SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades PK–12 | Grades PK–12 | 193 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 99% of New York towns, with expected losses of about $1,008 per resident a year; that rating is what its D for hazard risk is built on. 499 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 85 properties have flooded more than once.
At 84 of 100, Rockland’s FEMA risk score is where New York’s towns sit at 31 of 100 and U.S. towns at 44 of 100. Since 1978, 499 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Rockland.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The average commute for its 1,346 working residents takes 23.7 minutes, against 32.6 across New York. Jobs based here grew from 458 in 2013 to 649.
Most working residents leave Rockland for work: only 19% work in town. The median household income in Rockland is $53,000. Jobs based in Rockland grew to 649 in 2023, 191 more than in 2013.
| Rockland | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 19% | 10% | 8% |
| Median household income | $53,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 15% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
25.3% of homes are seasonal or vacation homes, against 3.5% statewide, which helps explain the older median age.
People 65 and older are 29% of residents (18% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 13% of residents (23% statewide). 12% of Rockland residents are under 18. 32% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 40% across New York.
| Rockland | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 12% | 20% | 22% |
| Median age | 52.9 years | 42.9 years | 40.5 years |
55% women, 45% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±5.3 points. Across New York, 51.2% of residents are women.
| Rockland | NY | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 7.4% | 11% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 4.7% | 9.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.6% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 6.7% | 14.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.2% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 15.4% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 18.4% | 13.3% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 20.2% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.4% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 9% | 12% | 10.4% |
| High school | 30.6% | 24.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 16.9% | 14.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 11.1% | 8.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 19% | 22.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 13.3% | 17.9% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 3,300, single groups can be off by several points
July afternoons average 76.6°, cooler than in 97% of U.S. towns; January nights average 12.8°.
Rockland’s July high is 77°F. Rockland has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. Rockland’s January low is 13°F.
| Rockland | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 77°F | 81°F | 85°F |
| January low | 13°F | 16°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Against the 6,720 U.S. towns with household incomes like Rockland’s, it is healthier than 88%, so its B− isn’t only a matter of income.
Rockland beats the New York average on 5 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 8. 40% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Rockland.
| Rockland | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 37% | 36% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 32% | 33% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 34% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 25% | 25% |
| What stands out | Rockland | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 11.4% | 14.5% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 13.8% | 17.2% |
| More adults with COPD | 8.4% | 6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Rockland. Close and well known come first.
17 mi Park & preserveCatskill Park31 mi Park & preserveMinnewaska State Park Preserve
34 mi Ski areaHunter Mountain62 runs · 1,532 ft vertical
30 mi CaveSam's Point Preserve19 mi Ski areaBelleayre Mountain Ski Center66 runs · 1,374 ft vertical36 mi Ski areaWindham Mountain Club54 runs · 1,418 ft verticalCatskill Park: The original uploader was Daniel Case at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0 · Hunter Mountain: The original uploader was Daniel Case at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0 · Sam's Point Preserve: Mfwills, CC BY-SA 3.0
None within 15 miles of Rockland; the nearest are
About 1 of every 100 Rockland residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
3,775 counted in 2010 and 3,290 in 2020; an estimated 3,335 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
4 places in Rockland on the National Register of Historic Places.
Town in Sullivan County, New York, US
Rockland is a town in the northern part of Sullivan County, New York, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 3,290.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Rockland.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rockland | #660 | D | C+ | — | C | B− |
| Liberty | #704 | D | C | — | D− | B− |
| Colchester | — | — | C+ | A | C− | B− |
| Fremont | — | — | C | — | C+ | B+ |
| Neversink | #516 | C | C+ | — | C+ | B+ |
| Hardenburgh | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Callicoon | #479 | C+ | C | — | B− | B+ |
| Denning | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Colchester and Fremont have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Rockland, Liberty, Fremont, Neversink and Callicoon report no FBI crime data of their own. Hardenburgh and Denning aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Rockland with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Rockland grades D overall, better than 14% of U.S. towns and #660 of 745 in New York. It grades B− for health and C for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
2 notable people were born here, including Mary Fahl and Brian Doyle.
