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Towns / New York

Scottsville, New York

Scottsville is a suburb of about 2,000 people in Monroe County, New York, in the Rochester area. It has lost about 2% of its people since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.1 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 12 miles away as the crow flies.

Suburb of Rochester

Population
1,994
down 2.5% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$169,000
Monroe County prices up 30% since 2022
Household income
$80,024
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Rochester area
97
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
10 miles
Rochester, NY
To Rochester
12 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 2.1 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 Scottsville 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 byStrong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, about 10 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityRochester is about 12 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 Scottsville 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

Scottsville 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
$169,000U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 30%Monroe County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,084 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$80,024U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
72%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$5,763 a yearNew York: $6,582
Homes built before 1940
32%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
0%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
1%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 Scottsville 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
1,9942020: 2,045
Median age
37.7 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
14%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
23%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
39%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
2%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 (30%); professional and business services (14%); finance, insurance and real estate (11%)
Unemployment rate
7%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
20 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
13%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
11%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Strong Memorial Hospital, Rochester, NY, about 10 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

2 public schools in Scottsville, run by Wheatland-Chili 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
82%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
94%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
82°F
Days 90°F or hotter
7 a year
Nights at or below freezing
143 a year
Rain and melted snow
33.6 inches a year
Snow
52 inches a year
Elevation
550 feet

Weather station: Avon (7 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

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: Strong Memorial 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

10 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Rochester Street Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Women's Rights National Historical Park47 miles
  • Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site57 miles

Read about Scottsville's history on Wikipedia.

Know Scottsville?

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

  • East Avon, NY (unincorporated)611 people, 8 miles
  • Fowlerville, NY (unincorporated)444 people, 10 miles
  • South Lima, NY (unincorporated)153 people, 12 miles
  • York, NY (unincorporated)349 people, 13 miles
  • Lakeville, NY (unincorporated)404 people, 13 miles
  • Nazareth College, NY (unincorporated)1,319 people, 13 miles
  • St. John Fisher College, NY (unincorporated)1,361 people, 14 miles
  • Piffard, NY (unincorporated)199 people, 14 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.