Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 32,055, settled in 1823.
Vestal grades B− overall, 362nd among New York's 745 graded towns, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. It is healthier than 82% of U.S. towns and its public schools beat 76% of New York towns on state tests and graduation. On the other side, homes are expensive, about $260K for a typical one and 4 times the Binghamton metro’s $65K median household income. Vestal’s median age is 26.3 years, below both New York’s towns (43 years) and U.S. towns (40.5 years). Vestal is home to Binghamton University.
Where Vestal beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Vestal Hills Elementary School | K–5 | 388 |
| African Road Elementary School | K–5 | 325 |
| Glenwood Elementary School | K–5 | 310 |
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Vestal is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 948 in 1830, 29,110 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1876 and 3 maps from 1901 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Vestal, 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 Vestal.
Vestal is shaped by its college students, reports less crime than Endicott or any other graded neighbor and gets more snow than nearly all U.S. towns.
Its typical home is the priciest on its borders; Endwell is next at $226K.
Homes in Vestal are typically worth about $260,000, up 7.7% in a year, 50% below the New York typical home. Bidding over the asking price: 42% of homes sold locally. Its rent at the middle of the market comes in at $1,199 a month.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
That grade is the best School Grade on its borders; Owego (B) is next.
Of its 9 schools, two are listed below, each with the reason. The public schools here belong to the Vestal Central School District. 4 public schools serve Vestal, with 1,273 students in all.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vestal Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 847 | B− |
| Vestal Senior High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,015 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
The biggest place to walk is Binghamton University Nature Preserve, 453 acres with 8.2 miles of trail. Trails total 27 miles in 16 parks and preserves. The trail network density for Vestal comes to 0.5 miles per square mile.
| Vestal | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.3% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Jones Park | 13.4 mi | 336 |
| 2. Binghamton University Nature Preserve | 8.2 mi | 453 |
| 3. Arnold Park | 1.9 mi | 105 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
That grade tops all 5 graded neighbors; Owego (B+) comes closest. Its widest gap with New York is no health insurance: 5.1% of those 18–64 have no health insurance, against 7.9% statewide.
The share of adults in Vestal who have obesity: 31%. This New York town beats the New York average on 6 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. Two figures for adults in the town: 15% report frequent mental distress, 11% smoke cigarettes.
| Vestal | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 21% | 23% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 16% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 13% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 37% | 36% |
| What stands out | Vestal | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.1% | 7.9% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 10.3% | 14.5% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.7% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
33.1% of residents are enrolled in college, against 7% statewide, which pulls the median age down.
Among residents in Vestal, 17% are under 18. Adults 18 to 34 are 39% of residents (23% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 26% of residents (39% statewide). The town is growing: up 9.4% since 2020, to 32,055 residents (2025 estimate).
| Vestal | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 45% | 32% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 17% | 20% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 17% | 20% | 18% |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2 points. Across New York, 51.2% of residents are women. Among residents 45 to 54, 60% are men (NY 49%).
| Vestal | NY | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 8.1% | 11% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.9% | 9.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 32.2% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 7% | 14.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 8.3% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 8.5% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 9.6% | 13.3% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.2% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9.2% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 6.5% | 12% | 10.4% |
| High school | 21.8% | 24.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 15.5% | 14.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 11.7% | 8.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 22% | 22.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 22.5% | 17.9% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
The Binghamton weather station, 10 miles away, records that 87 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 96% of U.S. towns.
July afternoons reach 81° and January nights drop to 16°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 8,923 working residents takes 18.8 minutes, against 32.6 across New York.
For working residents in Vestal, the share who work locally is 14%. The top destinations are Binghamton (17%), Union (16%) and Dickinson (5%). Its mean commuting time is 19 minutes. Half the trips to work are shorter than 8 miles.
| Vestal | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 14% | 10% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 13% | 12% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Crime runs higher than in most U.S. towns, but its C+ tops all 3 graded towns on its borders; Endicott (D) comes closest. Reported crimes fell from 655 to 569 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The level of property crime in Vestal is 17 per 1,000 residents. The rate of reported violence locally is 0.5 per 1,000 residents.
| Vestal | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 17 per 1,000 residents | 7.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.5 per 1,000 residents | 0.8 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
434 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 71 properties have flooded more than once.
Federal disaster aid has reached households in Vestal after 11 declared disasters, most recently in 2024. Storm and flood damage is expected to run lower than in 59% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, Vestal has seen 434 flood insurance claims paid out. 78% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by tornadoes at 8%.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Vestal. Close and well known come first.
6 mi Stadium & arenaBroome County Veterans Memorial Arena
36 mi Stadium & arenaSchoellkopf Field
37 mi MuseumHerbert F. Johnson Museum of Art80K visitors a year32 mi Ski areaGreek Peak Mountain Resort43 runs · 828 ft vertical6 mi Zoo & aquariumBinghamton Zoo at Ross Park37 mi AttractionSagan Planet WalkBroome County Veterans Memorial Arena: Bmoore2009 at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Schoellkopf Field: Alex Sergeev, (www.asergeev.com) Originally uploaded by en:User:Cornell010, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art: Dmadeo, CC BY-SA 3.0
2 within 15 miles of the center of Vestal
College town 33 of every 100 Vestal residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
2 places in Vestal on the National Register of Historic Places.
4 notable people were born in Vestal.
Town in Broome County, New York, US
Vestal is a town within Broome County in the Southern Tier of New York, United States, and lies between the Susquehanna River and the Pennsylvania border. As of the 2020 census, the population was 29,110. Vestal is on the southern border of the county, and serves as a western suburb of the city of Binghamton. The town is home to the main campus of Binghamton University.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Vestal.
It grades higher overall than all 6 graded towns on its borders; Owego (B−) comes closest.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vestal | #362 | B− | C− | C+ | A− | A− |
| Union | #535 | C | C+ | — | C | B |
| Binghamton | #524 | C | C− | — | B− | B |
| Johnson City | #718 | D | C | D | C− | B− |
| Endwell | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Owego | #379 | B− | C+ | — | B | B+ |
| Endicott | #716 | D | C+ | D | C | C− |
| Binghamton | #739 | D− | C+ | D | D | C |
Union, Binghamton and Owego report no FBI crime data of their own. Endwell isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Vestal with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Vestal grades B− overall, better than 54% of U.S. towns and #362 of 745 in New York. It grades A− for health, C+ for safety 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−.
4 notable people were born here, including David Ross Locke and Peter Robinson.
