The Town Files

The 25 Best College Small Towns in New York

Ranked on The Town Files lifestyle rankings among 707 towns of 2,500–10,000 people in New York. #1 is Sleepy Hollow, NY.

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Numbers match the ranking.
The 25 Best College Small Towns in New York1. Sleepy Hollow100th pct2. Pelham100th pct3. North Patchogue100th pct4. Bronxville100th pct5. Islip Terrace100th pct6. New Square99th pct7. Williston Park99th pct8. Cedarhurst99th pct9. West Point99th pct10. Tuckahoe99th pct11. University at Buffalo99th pct12. Glen Head99th pct13. Hamilton99th pct14. Manhasset Hills99th pct15. Brightwaters99th pct16. Montrose99th pct17. East Williston99th pct18. Hamburg98th pct19. Malverne98th pct20. Sound Beach98th pct21. Walden98th pct22. Lawrence98th pct23. Albertson98th pct24. Garden City South98th pct25. Cayuga Heights98th pct
  1. 25Cayuga Heights, New York

    More of a college town than 98% of New York towns

    4,114 people · Tompkins County · median home $433,000 · income $166,526 · Jan low 15°F · 63 in snow

  2. 24Garden City South, New York

    More of a college town than 98% of New York towns

    4,119 people · Nassau County · median home $740,400 · income $136,164 · Jan low 27°F · 19 in snow

  3. 23Albertson, New York

    More of a college town than 98% of New York towns

    5,220 people · Nassau County · median home $803,900 · income $132,955 · Jan low 27°F · 19 in snow

  4. 22Lawrence, New York

    More of a college town than 98% of New York towns

    6,809 people · Nassau County · median home $1,623,200 · income $170,000 · Jan low 26°F · 26 in snow

  5. 21Walden, New York

    More of a college town than 98% of New York towns

    6,818 people · Orange County · median home $333,500 · income $87,487 · Jan low 16°F · 44 in snow

  6. 20Sound Beach, New York

    More of a college town than 98% of New York towns

    7,416 people · Suffolk County · median home $428,700 · income $132,008 · Jan low 26°F · 33 in snow

  7. 19Malverne, New York

    More of a college town than 98% of New York towns

    8,560 people · Nassau County · median home $651,100 · income $149,489 · Jan low 26°F · 26 in snow

  8. 18Hamburg, New York

    More of a college town than 98% of New York towns

    9,696 people · Erie County · median home $248,600 · income $112,292 · Jan low 16°F · 168 in snow

  9. 17East Williston, New York

    More of a college town than 99% of New York towns

    2,645 people · Nassau County · median home $1,068,500 · income $214,750 · Jan low 27°F · 19 in snow

  10. 16Montrose, New York

    More of a college town than 99% of New York towns

    2,862 people · Westchester County · median home $422,700 · income $145,320 · Jan low 17°F · 40 in snow

  11. 15Brightwaters, New York

    More of a college town than 99% of New York towns

    3,181 people · Suffolk County · median home $768,600 · income $218,000 · Jan low 25°F · 28 in snow

  12. 14Manhasset Hills, New York

    More of a college town than 99% of New York towns

    3,649 people · Nassau County · median home $1,057,800 · income $165,536 · Jan low 27°F · 19 in snow

  13. 13Hamilton, New York

    More of a college town than 99% of New York towns

    4,107 people · Madison County · median home $264,200 · income $66,750 · Jan low 11°F · 77 in snow

  14. 12Glen Head, New York

    More of a college town than 99% of New York towns

    4,837 people · Nassau County · median home $872,000 · income $138,465 · Jan low 27°F · 19 in snow

  15. 11University at Buffalo, New York

    More of a college town than 99% of New York towns

    6,798 people · Erie County · median home — · income — · Jan low 19°F · 95 in snow

  16. 10Tuckahoe, New York

    More of a college town than 99% of New York towns

    7,084 people · Westchester County · median home $621,300 · income $104,375 · Jan low 23°F · 33 in snow

  17. 9West Point, New York

    More of a college town than 99% of New York towns

    7,341 people · Orange County · median home — · income $135,333 · Jan low 21°F · 36 in snow

  18. 8Cedarhurst, New York

    More of a college town than 99% of New York towns

    7,374 people · Nassau County · median home $861,900 · income $101,572 · Jan low 26°F · 26 in snow

  19. 7Williston Park, New York

    More of a college town than 99% of New York towns

    7,591 people · Nassau County · median home $739,800 · income $156,382 · Jan low 27°F · 19 in snow

  20. 6New Square, New York

    More of a college town than 99% of New York towns

    9,679 people · Rockland County · median home $662,400 · income $31,443 · Jan low 23°F · 36 in snow

  21. 5Islip Terrace, New York

    More of a college town than 100% of New York towns

    5,323 people · Suffolk County · median home $519,200 · income $155,313 · Jan low 25°F · 32 in snow

  22. 4Bronxville, New York

    More of a college town than 100% of New York towns

    6,656 people · Westchester County · median home $1,095,100 · income $215,815 · Jan low 23°F · 33 in snow

  23. 3North Patchogue, New York

    More of a college town than 100% of New York towns

    6,751 people · Suffolk County · median home $450,600 · income $107,695 · Jan low 25°F · 32 in snow

  24. 2Pelham, New York

    More of a college town than 100% of New York towns

    7,326 people · Westchester County · median home $915,800 · income $184,375 · Jan low 27°F · 33 in snow

  25. 1Sleepy Hollow, New York

    More of a college town than 100% of New York towns

    9,986 people · Westchester County · median home $746,800 · income $104,313 · Jan low 23°F · 33 in snow

Price vs ranking

Median home value vs ranking, New York towns0255075100$81K$426K$771K$1116K$1462KMedian home valuePercentile
Orange squares are the 25 towns on this list; green dots are other towns on The Town Files in New York.

More New York rankings

Same ranking, other places

Methodology. We ranked 707 towns of 2,500–10,000 people in New York (2020 Census population; towns with 2,500+ people have pages so far). Lifestyle measures are The Town Files lifestyle rankings, built from federal demographic, school, crime and housing data (2025), shown as percentiles. Only towns better than 60% of their peers on this measure qualify, so lists can be shorter than 25. Sources: