Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
2.5 times the nonprofits per person than the typical New York town.
Sidney grades D overall, 663rd of 745 graded towns in New York, mostly because of incomes and health. The median household income is $50K, and 21% of residents live below the poverty line. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 82% of the country. What it does well: much of its housing is old. 21% of residents live below the poverty line in Sidney, where New York’s towns sit at 9.5% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. Only 31 of New York’s 1,187 towns score higher on civic life. The biggest park or preserve is Keith Clark Park, at 35 acres.
Where Sidney beats most towns.
Where Sidney’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Sidney is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,107 in 1820, 5,536 in 2020. The archive holds 8 old photos and papers going back to 1869 and 3 maps from 1915 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Sidney, 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 Sidney.
Sidney draws workers from Sidney and beyond, gets more snow than nearly all U.S. towns and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
2,719 jobs are based in Sidney, 1.9 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 24.6 minutes, against 32.6 across New York.
About one in 4 of Sidney’s working residents works in town. Jobs based in Sidney fell to 2,719 in 2023, 264 fewer than in 2013. The top destinations are Sidney (24%), New York (7%) and Oneonta (5%).
| Sidney | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 24% | 10% | 8% |
| Median household income | $50,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 5,859 U.S. towns with household incomes like Sidney’s, it is less healthy than 57%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
45% of Sidney adults sleep under 7 hours. Sidney beats the New York average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 21. 33% of Sidney adults get no exercise outside work.
| Sidney | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 45% | 37% | 36% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 14% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 25% | 25% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Sidney | NY |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 10.9% | 6% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 23% | 12.8% |
| More smokers | 18.5% | 11.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The Unadilla 2 N weather station, 5 miles away, records that 79 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 95% of U.S. towns.
Sidney has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 82° and January nights drop to 14°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The violent crime rate in Sidney is 2.2 per 1,000 residents.
| Sidney | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.2 per 1,000 residents | 0.8 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 12 per 1,000 residents | 7.5 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
331 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 91 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 58% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 331 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Sidney.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
0.4 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve.
| Sidney | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.9% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Keith Clark Park | 0.2 mi | 35 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Sidney; the nearest are
About 1 of every 100 Sidney residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
5 notable people were born in Sidney.
3 towns share a border with Sidney.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sidney | #663 | D | B− | C+ | C+ | C− |
| Sidney | #697 | D | B− | — | C | C+ |
| Unadilla | #626 | C− | B+ | — | C− | C+ |
| Bainbridge | #701 | D | C+ | — | C | C+ |
Sidney, Unadilla and Bainbridge report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Sidney with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Sidney grades D overall, better than 14% of U.S. towns and #663 of 745 in New York. It grades C− for health, C+ for safety and C+ for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D.
The typical home is worth about $121,000. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
5 notable people were born here, including Evans Carlson and Roswell P. Bishop.
