Village · Chenango County, New York

Afton, New York

Afton is a village in Chenango County, New York. It has 1,225 residents. Afton, New York has a quality-of-life score of 22 out of 100 (low), ranking #12,249 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within New York it ranks #854 of 859 cities and towns. It ranks best on hot days (low), students per teacher (low) and time spent in the emergency room (low). It ranks worst on new business applications (low), comfortable days (low) and unemployment rate (high).

22Low

Quality-of-life score: #12,249 of 15,651 cities and towns
New York: #854 of 859 in NY
Population: 1,225 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 802.4 /mi²
FIPS code: 3600342

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 71 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety57#6,787/15,637
Economy11#13,834/15,631
Housing9#13,652/14,977
Health38#9,664/15,609
Healthcare28#11,237/15,650
Environment77#3,571/15,453
Education19#12,607/15,649
Infrastructure14#13,415/15,650
Community41#9,237/15,651
Leisure & amenities41#9,162/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Afton, New York ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Chenango County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Hot days · low1 days
98/100New York 3 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationChenango County value
Students per teacher · low10.7×
95/100New York 12.0×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsChenango County value
Time spent in the emergency room · low108 min
93/100New York 202 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesChenango County value
Public libraries · high2.0 /10k
91/100New York 0.5 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesChenango County value
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low6.1 µg/m³
89/100New York 7.2 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyChenango County value
Drought exposure · low4%
87/100New York 15%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAChenango County value

Weaknesses

New business applications · low6.9 /1k
2/100New York 15.1 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauChenango County value
Comfortable days · low21.9%
2/100New York 22.7%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationChenango County value
Unemployment rate · high15.4%
3/100New York 4.3%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025High uncertainty
Child care cost burden · high42.7%
4/100New York 37.7%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteChenango County value
Average commute time · high24.7 min
6/100New York 32.6 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Median household income · low$37,031
6/100New York $85,768United States $81,6042020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19013

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationRising
933 (2015-2019) → 1,225 (2020-2024)
+31%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Child poverty rateImproving
37.2% (2015-2019) → 14.3% (2020-2024)
−23 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
72.6% (2015-2019) → 90.9% (2020-2024)
+18 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
1.8× (2015-2019) → 3.1× (2020-2024)
+72%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Unemployment rateWorsening
10.0% (2015-2019) → 15.5% (2020-2024)
+5.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%
Poverty rateImproving
20.7% (2015-2019) → 15.3% (2020-2024)
−5.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Afton, New York improved on 1 of 11 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 10 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved1

Broadband+18 points72.6% → 90.9%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Afton, New York between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	29.1 min2015-2019	24.7 min2020-2024	−4.4 min	Within the margin of error	87%
Bachelor's degree or higher	15.4%2015-2019	12.6%2020-2024	−2.8 points	Within the margin of error	13%
Broadband subscriptions	72.6%2015-2019	90.9%2020-2024	+18 points	Improved	87%
High school diploma or higher	90.3%2015-2019	93.9%2020-2024	+3.6 points	Within the margin of error	73%
Home price to income ratio	1.8×2015-2019	3.1×2020-2024	+1.3×	Within the margin of error	13%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4812015-2019	0.4392020-2024	−0.042	Within the margin of error	80%
Median household income	$48,7502015-2019	$37,0312020-2024	−24%	Within the margin of error	1%
Poverty rate	20.7%2015-2019	15.3%2020-2024	−5.4 points	Within the margin of error	82%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	32.7%2015-2019	33.5%2020-2024	+0.8 points	Within the margin of error	49%
Rent-burdened households	66.7%2015-2019	66.5%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	57%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Afton, New York five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Afton, New York in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Afton, New York itself moved +1.1 points in standing on average over the same 9 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

1,225 residents (±230)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

497 households (±89)

Afton, New York
New York share

Under $25k25%†124
$25k–50k29%†142
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

497 households (±89)

Afton, New York
New York share

Own59%295
Rent41%†202

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

457 workers (±93)

Afton, New York
New York share

Drive alone71%325
Carpool16%†75
Public transit0.0%0

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Chenango County, the county holding most of Afton's residents.

Chenango County has 857 employer establishments, 187 for every 10,000 residents (0.75× the US rate of 248; 0.68× New York's), with 13,783 paid employees at an average annual pay of $53,414. The Census Bureau also counts 2,797 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 857; 2,797 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 187; US 248 · New York 274
Paid employees: 13,783
Average annual pay: $53,414; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Chenango County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Restaurants and other eating places	71	15.5	0.84×About typical	780	$18,724	10
Ambulatory health care services	57	12.4	0.60×Fewer than typical	454	$66,104	134
Specialty trade contractors	51	11.1	0.72×Fewer than typical	159	$63,434	255
Full-service restaurants	38	8.3	1.08×About typical	338	$18,337	5
Religious organizations	33	7.2	1.30×More than typical	138	$16,609	—
Automotive repair and maintenance	30	6.5	1.30×More than typical	126	$42,984	58
Gasoline stations	27	5.9	1.81×More than typical	218	$26,193	—
Offices of physicians	23	5	0.77×Fewer than typical	116	$113,517	17
Construction of buildings	22	4.8	0.63×Fewer than typical	140	$57,514	119
Limited-service restaurants	22	4.8	0.60×Fewer than typical	325	$18,225	—
Building equipment contractors	21	4.6	0.76×Fewer than typical	81	$65,988	55
General merchandise stores	19	4.1	2.34×More than typical	468	$32,348	30

Rank places for an industry Open Chenango County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 45,904 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

No federal contract obligations recorded here in FY2026.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Afton is mostly in Chenango County.

See federal money in Chenango County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Afton, New York is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Josh RileyD-NY-19 · 100% of residentsWith party 89%Missed 1.8%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Chenango County62100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Chenango County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/3600342

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends