How big is Penn Yan, New York?

Penn Yan has a population of approximately 12,444 residents according to the latest U.S. Census American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2019–2023). It is a town by Census Place size classification.

Is housing in Penn Yan affordable?

By the years-to-own measure, housing in Penn Yan is affordable. The median home value ($315,994) divided by the median household income ($65,212) gives a ratio of 4.8 — meaning the median home costs about 4.8 years of pre-tax household income. (Lower is more affordable; the U.S. median is ~4.) Methodology: /methodology/years-to-own/.

What is the climate like in Penn Yan?

Penn Yan has an annual average temperature of 49.2°F. The coldest month is January (average 25.1°F) and the warmest is July (average 71.6°F). Source: NOAA NCEI nClimDiv, 1991–2020 climate normals.

Is the climate changing in Penn Yan?

Penn Yan is steadily warming at a rate of 2.72°F per century, measured as the linear regression slope of annual mean temperature on year since 1970. Source: NOAA NCEI nClimDiv. Methodology: /methodology/warming-velocity/.

What is the median household income in Penn Yan?

The median household income in Penn Yan is $65,212, which ranks at the 43th percentile nationally — higher than 43% of U.S. Census places. Source: U.S. Census American Community Survey 5-year 2019–2023.

How did Penn Yan vote in the 2024 presidential election?

Penn Yan is Republican-leaning. In the 2024 presidential election, the underlying county recorded 58% Republican and 42% Democratic. Source: MIT Election Lab.

What is the local economy like in Penn Yan?

Penn Yan's economy is diverse across major industry sectors, with a Herfindahl–Hirschman Index of 2,071. The single largest NAICS sector accounts for 36% of local establishments. Source: U.S. Census County Business Patterns. Methodology: /methodology/industry-hhi/.

What county is Penn Yan in?

Penn Yan is in Yates County, NY. Yates County has a total population of 16,471 with a years-to-own ratio of 4.8.

Where is Penn Yan located?

Penn Yan is located in New York, in the Finger Lakes region. The Finger Lakes region has a population of approximately 767,791.

How old is the population in Penn Yan?

The median resident in Penn Yan is 45.3 years old, which is older than the U.S. median of about 38.9. Source: U.S. Census ACS.

Penn Yan, New York — Commerce Institute

55 years

The slow remaking of a yates

Per-capita personal income from 1969 to 2024, drawn from BEA County Income data.

Per-capita personal income

BEA Personal Income · Yates County

Income up 16.6× in 55 years. Yates County per-capita personal income rose from $3,293 in 1969 to $54,652 in 2024.

Time machine

Penn Yan in 2024 is what Plainview, NE was in 2015.

Across our 8 dimensions, Penn Yan's 2024 profile most closely matches Plainview, NE's 2015 profile. Similarity score 0.97.

The setting

The lay of the land

Topography

Elevation

782 ft

Mid-elevation Northeast/Midwest range.

126 years of weather, in one panel

What weather looks like here

Annual averages back to 1900 (NOAA NCEI nClimDiv), severe weather counts since 1950 (NOAA Storm Events Database).

1900–2025 — every year's average temperature

Each stripe is one year. Blue = cooler, red = warmer. The trend is the story. Dashed line marks 1970, when the modern warming era began. 126 years of NOAA nClimDiv records.

Long-run shift

+2.0°F

1900–1929 avg → 2000s+ avg

Warmest year

2012 · 50.3°F

Coldest year

1917 · 42.9°F

By the numbers

Annual avg temp

49.2°F

↗ +1.3°F since 1900

Hottest month

71.6°F

July average

Coldest month

25.1°F

January average

Annual precip

35.4″

Above US avg (30″)

Heating degree days

6,224

cold heating bills

Cooling degree days

512

light AC use

Severe weather, 1950–2024

Counted events from NOAA Storm Events Database

Tornadoes

≈ 1 every 12 years

Hail

75-yr record

Flash floods

75-yr record

Floods

≈ 1 every 37 years

Within driving distance

In Penn Yan's orbit

Nearby places — neighbors, the closest county seat, the closest college town. Click through to compare.

Canandaigua

NY · pop

Geneva

NY · pop

Trumansburg

NY · pop

Seneca Falls

NY · pop

Waterloo

NY · pop

Dundee

NY · pop

Clifton Springs

NY · pop

Manchester

NY · pop

Against every other US town

What stands out

Where Penn Yan ranks among 32,000+ US Census places. Each dot is this place; the gray band is the national distribution; the red tick is the national median.

Industry mix

Local establishment count by NAICS sector · Census County Business Patterns · 2014–2022

Construction25%

Retail23%

Food & lodging17%

Manufacturing14%

Healthcare13%

Professional8%

What's notable about Penn Yan

Top 10% nationally for industry diversity
Top quartile nationally for housing cost burden (rank 79)

If you like Penn Yan

Towns that feel familiar

Across our 768-dimensional embedding of demographics, climate, and economy, these are the places most like Penn Yan.

#1 · 1.0

Seneca Falls

NY · pop

HHI$58k

#2 · 1.0

Waterloo

NY · pop

HHI$63k

#3 · 1.0

Dundee

NY · pop

HHI$67k

Jan temp25°F

#4 · 1.0

Gang Mills

NY · pop

HHI$88k

Frequently asked

Common questions about Penn Yan

Each answer is computed from the data on this page. Citation sources linked in each answer.

How big is Penn Yan, New York?: Penn Yan has a population of approximately 12,444 residents according to the latest U.S. Census American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2019–2023). It is a town by Census Place size classification.
Is housing in Penn Yan affordable?: By the years-to-own measure, housing in Penn Yan is affordable. The median home value ($315,994) divided by the median household income ($65,212) gives a ratio of 4.8 — meaning the median home costs about 4.8 years of pre-tax household income. (Lower is more affordable; the U.S. median is ~4.) Methodology: /methodology/years-to-own/.
What is the climate like in Penn Yan?: Penn Yan has an annual average temperature of 49.2°F. The coldest month is January (average 25.1°F) and the warmest is July (average 71.6°F). Source: NOAA NCEI nClimDiv, 1991–2020 climate normals.
Is the climate changing in Penn Yan?: Penn Yan is steadily warming at a rate of 2.72°F per century, measured as the linear regression slope of annual mean temperature on year since 1970. Source: NOAA NCEI nClimDiv. Methodology: /methodology/warming-velocity/.
What is the median household income in Penn Yan?: The median household income in Penn Yan is $65,212, which ranks at the 43th percentile nationally — higher than 43% of U.S. Census places. Source: U.S. Census American Community Survey 5-year 2019–2023.
How did Penn Yan vote in the 2024 presidential election?: Penn Yan is Republican-leaning. In the 2024 presidential election, the underlying county recorded 58% Republican and 42% Democratic. Source: MIT Election Lab.
What is the local economy like in Penn Yan?: Penn Yan's economy is diverse across major industry sectors, with a Herfindahl–Hirschman Index of 2,071. The single largest NAICS sector accounts for 36% of local establishments. Source: U.S. Census County Business Patterns. Methodology: /methodology/industry-hhi/.
What county is Penn Yan in?: Penn Yan is in Yates County, NY. Yates County has a total population of 16,471 with a years-to-own ratio of 4.8.
Where is Penn Yan located?: Penn Yan is located in New York, in the Finger Lakes region. The Finger Lakes region has a population of approximately 767,791.
How old is the population in Penn Yan?: The median resident in Penn Yan is 45.3 years old, which is older than the U.S. median of about 38.9. Source: U.S. Census ACS.

Every number on this page comes from a federal data source.

Commerce Institute builds profiles from public-domain federal datasets only — no surveys, no proprietary scoring, no opaque indexes. Every metric on this page is queryable; every methodology is published.

U.S. Census ACS — demographics, housing, education, 2014–2023
BEA Personal Income — per-capita income, 1969–2024
BLS QCEW — wages by NAICS sector, 1990–2024
NOAA NCEI nClimDiv — climate, 1901–2024
NOAA Storm Events — severe weather, 1950–2024
Zillow ZHVI — home values, 2000–2025
FHFA HPI — housing index, 1975–2025
IRS SOI Migration — net flows + AGI, 1991–2022
MIT Election Lab — presidential, 2008–2024
Census CBP — business establishments by NAICS, 2014–2022
USGS Elevation — place elevation
OpenStreetMap — retail brand presence, F&B amenities
+ 23 more sources — covering health, schools, banking, agriculture, mobility, civic life

Rendered 2026-05-12. See methodology for every metric definition.

Penn Yan,
New York.

14527

Yates County, NY

Finger Lakes

New York

The slow remaking of a yates

The lay of the land

What weather looks like here

In Penn Yan's orbit

What stands out

What's notable about Penn Yan

Towns that feel familiar

Common questions about Penn Yan

Every number on this page comes from a federal data source.