Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Strong in places, weak in others. Its lowest grade is for incomes — the median household income is $70K, and 17% of residents live below the poverty line. At C+ overall, Sodus is better than nearly two fifths of U.S. towns and ranks 481st of 745 in New York. Health is weaker too (C): residents are less healthy than nearly two thirds of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Cost of living is where it shines: a typical home costs about $198K, 2.6 years of the Rochester metro’s $76K median household income. Its National Register listings include LOTUS (schooner) and Sodus Point Lighthouse. The biggest place to walk is Beechwood State Park, 277 acres with 3.1 miles of trail. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 92% of U.S. towns, with 9 places on the National Register.
Figures: home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · health, CDC PLACES · National Register of Historic Places · OpenStreetMap.
Where Sodus beats most towns.
Sodus Point Lighthouse
Census counts: 2,013 in 1820, 8,384 in 2010. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1833 and 5 maps from 1899 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 Sodus is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Sodus, 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 Sodus.
Sodus gets more snow than nearly all U.S. towns and has commutes shorter than most of New York.
In Sodus, 82% of households are owner-occupiers. Homes in the town are typically worth about $198,000, up 7% in a year, 62% below the New York typical home. For Sodus, the going rate for rent is $853 a month.
| Sodus | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $853 a month | $1,103 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 82% | 75% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Of its 3 schools, two are listed below, each with the reason. The largest public high school is Sodus Jr./Sr. High School, with 472 students. The public schools here belong to the Sodus Central School District.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sodus Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 345 | C |
| Sodus Jr./Sr. High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 472 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
Sodus’ FEMA hazard score stands at 18 of 100. Expected losses in Sodus break down as 77% from inland flooding and 6% from hail. The national flood insurance program has paid 8 claims here since 1978.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The average commute for its 3,441 working residents takes 22.6 minutes, against 32.6 across New York.
Sodus: 8% of workers do their job from home, against 12% in New York’s towns and 11% across U.S. towns. Roughly one working resident in five has a job in Sodus itself. In Sodus, the mean commuting time is 23 minutes. Half of commuters travel less than 18 miles.
| Sodus | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 17% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 21% | 10% | 8% |
| Work from home | 8% | 12% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The Sodus 1w weather station records that 105 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 97% of U.S. towns.
The typical July afternoon high for Sodus comes to 80°F, where New York’s towns sit at 81°F and U.S. towns at 85°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
16% of adults in Sodus report frequent physical distress; 29% get no exercise outside work. Sodus: 40% of adults have obesity.
| Sodus | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 33% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 25% | 25% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Sodus | NY |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 8.8% | 6% |
| More smokers | 15.8% | 11.3% |
| More adults with obesity | 39.6% | 28.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Trails total 6.4 miles in 6 parks and preserves. Sodus’ trail density comes in at 0.1 miles per square mile.
| Sodus | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.2% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Beechwood State Park | 3.1 mi | 277 |
| 2. Macyville Woods Nature Preserve | 0.7 mi | 30 |
| 3. Lake Shore Marshes Wildlife Management Area | — | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Sodus; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Sodus residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
9 places in Sodus on the National Register of Historic Places.
5 notable people were born in Sodus.
Town in New York, United States
Sodus is a town in Wayne County, New York, United States. The population was 8,384 at the 2010 census. The town takes its name from a native word for the bay in the eastern part of the town: "Assorodus," meaning "silvery water." The Town of Sodus is on the north border of the county and is midway between Rochester and Syracuse.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Sodus.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sodus | #481 | C+ | B+ | — | C+ | C |
| Sodus Point | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Huron | — | — | C+ | — | C | C− |
| Arcadia | #591 | C− | B− | — | C− | C |
| Williamson | #137 | A− | B+ | — | B | B+ |
| Lyons | #555 | C | A− | — | D | C+ |
| Marion | #177 | A− | B+ | — | B− | B |
Huron has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Sodus, Huron, Arcadia, Williamson, Lyons and Marion report no FBI crime data of their own. Sodus Point isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Sodus with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Sodus grades C+ overall, better than 39% of U.S. towns and #481 of 745 in New York. It grades C for health and C+ for schools.
Not for the area. 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 Ellen Sergeant Rude and N. K. Fairbank.
