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Towns / New York

Pittsford, New York

Pittsford is a suburb of about 1,300 people in Monroe County, New York, in the Rochester area. It has lost about 3% of its people since 2020. A typical home costs about 3.1 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 7 miles away as the crow flies.

Suburb of Rochester

Population
1,323
down 3.1% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$374,000
Monroe County prices up 30% since 2022
Household income
$119,211
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Rochester area
97
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
6 miles
Rochester, NY
To Rochester
7 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 3% below the U.S. average in the Rochester metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3.1 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 Pittsford 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 town8 public schools: 4 elementary, 2 middle and 2 high schools.
  • A hospital close byHighland Hospital in Rochester, about 6 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityRochester is about 7 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 Pittsford 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

Pittsford runs into the built-up area around Rochester (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
$374,000U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 30%Monroe County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,734 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$119,211U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
78%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$10,000 or more a yearNew York: $6,582
Homes built before 1940
57%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
0%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
97U.S. average = 100 (the Rochester 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 30% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Rochester metro area, not Pittsford 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
1,3232020: 1,365
Median age
39.1 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
15%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
24%U.S.: 22%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
2%U.S.: 6%
College students
8%share of all residents

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 (36%); professional and business services (16%); manufacturing (9%)
Unemployment rate
3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
17 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Below the poverty line
2%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Highland Hospital, Rochester, NY, about 6 miles away. It's a general hospital. 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

8 public schools in Pittsford, run by Pittsford Central School District.

Colleges in or next to town: Nazareth University (1,000 to 4,999 students); St. John Fisher University (1,000 to 4,999 students); St Bernard's School of Theology and Ministry (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
90%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
97%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
16°F
July average high
81°F
Days 90°F or hotter
11 a year
Nights at or below freezing
142 a year
Rain and melted snow
35.1 inches a year
Snow
102 inches a year
Elevation
501 feet

Weather stations: Victor 2NW (7 miles away) and Rochester Gtr Intl Ap (8 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: Highland Hospital, Rochester.

Monroe County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

9 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Hopkins Farm, Oak Hill Country Club, the Pittsford Village Historic District and Pittsford Village Historic District (Boundary Increase).

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Women's Rights National Historical Park36 miles
  • Harriet Tubman National Historical Park50 miles

Campus life. Check Nazareth University's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Pittsford's history on Wikipedia.

Know Pittsford?

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

  • Nazareth College, NY (unincorporated)1,319 people, 1 mile
  • St. John Fisher College, NY (unincorporated)1,361 people, 2 miles
  • Macedon, NY (unincorporated)2,157 people, 11 miles
  • Walworth, NY (unincorporated)725 people, 12 miles
  • Ontario, NY (unincorporated)2,044 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.