Living in Viola, New York: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 12.6% above the U.S. average in the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro area.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 12.4 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhoodThe FBI doesn't publish crime figures for unincorporated communities. Call the county sheriff's office (or the town or township police, where there is one) and ask what calls they get most.
Schools in town6 public schools: 3 elementary, 1 middle and 2 high schools.
A hospital close byGood Samaritan Hospital of Suffern in Suffern, about 3 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityNew York is about 33 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 Viola 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

Viola runs into the built-up area around New York (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: $1,044,300U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 24%Rockland County, 2022 to 2025
Typical household income: $83,913U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 60%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $10,000 or more a yearNew York: $6,582
Homes built before 1940: 2%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 8%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 3%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 112.6U.S. average = 100 (the New York-Newark-Jersey City 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 24% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro area, not Viola 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, 2020-2024 Census survey: 8,461The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Age 65 and older: 15%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 39%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 37%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 1%U.S.: 6%
College students: 6%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 (44%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (11%); finance, insurance and real estate (10%)
Work from home: 23%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 21%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Good Samaritan Hospital of Suffern, Suffern, NY, about 3 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

6 public schools in Viola, run by East Ramapo Central School District (spring Valley) and Suffern Central School District.

Colleges in or next to town: Rockland Community College (5,000 to 9,999 students); Yeshivath Viznitz (1,000 to 4,999 students); Bais Binyomin Academy (under 1,000 students); Yeshiva Shaarei Torah of Rockland (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: 60%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 73%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: 20°F
July average high: 84°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 14 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 121 a year
Rain and melted snow: 50.3 inches a year
Snow: 40 inches a year
Elevation: 634 feet

Weather stations: Wanaque Raymond Dam (12 miles away) and Yorktown Hts 1W (18 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

Good Samaritan Hospital of SuffernEmergency room3

Paterson, NJCity of 162,00015

New York, NYMetro of 20.1 million33

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: Good Samaritan Hospital of Suffern, Paterson, New York.

Rockland 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

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Appalachian National Scenic Trail9 miles
Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park15 miles
Saint Paul's Church National Historic Site21 miles
General Grant National Memorial22 miles
Hamilton Grange National Memorial22 miles

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

Read about Viola's history on Wikipedia.

Know Viola?

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

Kaser, NY6,100 people, 1 miles
Montebello, NY4,800 people, 1 miles
Airmont, NY10,600 people, 2 miles
New Hempstead, NY5,700 people, 2 miles
Wesley Hills, NY6,500 people, 2 miles
Hillcrest, NY9,100 people, 3 miles

Smaller places

Hillburn, NY950 people, 5 miles
Ramapo College of New Jersey, NJ (unincorporated)2,018 people, 6 miles
Tuxedo Park, NY619 people, 8 miles
Grand View-on-Hudson, NY278 people, 10 miles
Sparkill, NY (unincorporated)1,483 people, 10 miles
Verplanck, NY (unincorporated)650 people, 11 miles
Crugers, NY (unincorporated)1,634 people, 11 miles
Rockleigh, NJ399 people, 12 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.