Living in Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 9.4% above the U.S. average in the Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh metro area.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3.4 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhood0 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 2 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town4 public schools: 3 elementary and 1 middle. No public high school in town: the nearest is Cornwall Central High School, about 3 miles away.
A hospital close byMontefiore St. Luke's Cornwall in Newburgh, about 5 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityBridgeport is about 46 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Cornwall-on-Hudson meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

What kind of town

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

Cornwall-on-Hudson runs into the built-up area around Poughkeepsie (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024: $471,200U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 21%Orange County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $1,471 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $140,208U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 71%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $10,000 or more a yearNew York: $6,582
Homes built before 1940: 46%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 5%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 3%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 109.4U.S. average = 100 (the Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 21% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh metro area, not Cornwall-on-Hudson alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate: 2,9902020: 3,058
Median age: 46.6 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 20%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 18%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 54%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 3%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work: Schools, health care and social services (26%); government (18%); retail (13%)
Average commute: 31 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 17%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 4%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Montefiore St. Luke's Cornwall, Newburgh, NY, about 5 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 2 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

4 public schools in Cornwall-on-Hudson, run by Cornwall Central School District. The nearest public high school is Cornwall Central High School, about 3 miles away.

Colleges in or next to town: Yeshiva Ohr Naftoli (under 1,000 students).

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on New York's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet: 80%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 96%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low: 21°F
July average high: 85°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 18 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 110 a year
Rain and melted snow: 51.5 inches a year
Snow: 36 inches a year
Elevation: 365 feet

Weather station: West Point (4 miles away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Montefiore St. Luke's CornwallEmergency room5

Danbury, CTCity of 89,00028

Bridgeport, CTMetro of 1 million46

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Montefiore St. Luke's Cornwall, Danbury, Bridgeport.

Orange County is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

8 places on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Appalachian National Scenic Trail7 miles
Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site23 miles
Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site23 miles
Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site25 miles
Weir Farm National Historical Park31 miles

Campus life. Check Yeshiva Ohr Naftoli's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Cornwall-on-Hudson's history on Wikipedia.

Know Cornwall-on-Hudson?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Firthcliffe, NY5,400 people, 1 miles
Vails Gate, NY3,100 people, 3 miles
New Windsor, NY8,900 people, 3 miles
Cold Spring, NY2,000 people, 3 miles
Newburgh, NY28,000 people, 5 miles
West Point, NY6,300 people, 5 miles

Smaller places

Nelsonville, NY635 people, 3 miles
Salisbury Mills, NY (unincorporated)293 people, 5 miles
Fort Montgomery, NY (unincorporated)2,422 people, 6 miles
Mountain Lodge Park, NY (unincorporated)1,669 people, 7 miles
Merritt Park, NY (unincorporated)1,685 people, 10 miles
New Hamburg, NY (unincorporated)740 people, 11 miles
Shrub Oak, NY (unincorporated)2,498 people, 12 miles
Verplanck, NY (unincorporated)650 people, 13 miles

Sources

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.