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Towns / New York

Dundee, New York

Dundee is a small town of about 1,700 people in Yates County, New York. It has lost about 2% of its people since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.2 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Rochester, is about 55 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
1,672
down 2.3% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$95,900
Yates County prices up 30% since 2022
Household income
$44,583
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural New York
91.6
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
11 miles
Penn Yan, NY
To Rochester
55 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 8.4% below the U.S. average in the parts of New York outside metro areas.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.2 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Dundee itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close bySoldiers and Sailors Memorial Hospital of Yates in Penn Yan, about 11 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityRochester is about 55 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 Dundee 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.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$95,900U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 30%Yates County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$703 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$44,583U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
57%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$2,928 a yearNew York: $6,582
Homes built before 1940
41%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
2%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
1%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
91.6U.S. average = 100 (the parts of New York outside metro areas)

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 30% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of New York outside metro areas, not Dundee 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
1,6722020: 1,712
Median age
40.7 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
10%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
25%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
12%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
4%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 (35%); manufacturing (16%)
Unemployment rate
3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
24 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Below the poverty line
22%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hospital of Yates, Penn Yan, NY, about 11 miles away. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

Nearest general hospital: Cayuga Medical Center at Ithaca, Ithaca, NY, about 23 miles away. Medicare gives it 3 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

2 public schools in Dundee, run by Dundee Central School District.

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
73%U.S.: 76%

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
18°F
July average high
81°F
Days 90°F or hotter
9 a year
Nights at or below freezing
129 a year
Rain and melted snow
37 inches a year
Snow
56 inches a year
Elevation
985 feet

Weather stations: Penn Yan Ap (9 miles away) and Aurora Rsch Farm (22 miles away, rain and snow). 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

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: Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hospital of Yates, Rochester.

Yates County is outside any metro area, with 5,000 to 20,000 people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 6, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

4 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Dundee Village Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Women's Rights National Historical Park27 miles
  • Harriet Tubman National Historical Park34 miles

Read about Dundee's history on Wikipedia.

Know Dundee?

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

Smaller places

  • Keuka Park, NY (unincorporated)1,121 people, 8 miles
  • Burdett, NY313 people, 10 miles
  • Lodi, NY274 people, 10 miles
  • Dresden, NY296 people, 11 miles
  • Ovid, NY514 people, 13 miles
  • Interlaken, NY606 people, 14 miles
  • Hammondsport, NY567 people, 15 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

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.