Finger Lakes
Dryden, New York
Dryden is a town in Tompkins County, in New York's Finger Lakes region, home to about 14,000 people as of the 2020 census.
Whether you're moving in or you've been here for years, the checks that matter most are the school district, the assessment and STAR, and — outside the cities — the well, the septic, and the flood map.
- Type
- Town
- County
- Tompkins
- Region
- Finger Lakes
- Population (2020)
- 13,905
Local Almanac
Notes in and around Dryden
Short, sourced notes tied to this place, its county, or nearby communities.
This place · History & Culture
Dryden Runs Along the Rail Trail
Dryden's rail trail turns an old railroad corridor into a town link among hamlets, Cornell, Ithaca, and open land.
Read this note ->This place · The Outdoors
Dryden Reads Like a Rail-Trail Town
Dryden gets a practical and visual spine from a rail trail that ties village, hamlet, and town edges together.
Read this note ->This place · Home & Property
Tompkins septic work needs the OWTS permit page before construction
Tompkins County says new or repaired onsite wastewater systems need a county permit before construction work begins.
Read this note ->This place · Rules & Licenses
Tompkins Recycling Questions Belong on the County Materials Page
Tompkins County’s Recycling and Materials Management page separates recycling, trash, food scraps, permits, fees, and outreach.
Read this note ->This place · History & Culture
Yellow Barn Turns Dryden Farm Country Back Into Working Forest
Yellow Barn State Forest tells a Dryden story of former farms, New Deal-era land policy, and a managed working forest.
Read this note ->This place · The Outdoors
Hammond Hill Is Dryden’s Family-Scale Trail Grid
Hammond Hill State Forest gives Dryden and Caroline a multi-use public trail system with a strong local stewardship flavor.
Read this note ->Nearby · History & Culture
Cayuga Heights Was Planned as a Cornell-Edge Village
Cayuga Heights reads differently when you know it was planned as a home-focused village beside a growing Cornell.
Read this note ->Nearby · History & Culture
Caroline's History Room Opens a Local Door
Caroline’s History Room and Old Town Hall restoration keep rural schoolhouse, records, genealogy, and civic memory in one local doorway.
Read this note ->Tompkins County · The Outdoors
Ulysses Has a Gorge-and-Lake Identity at Taughannock
Ulysses reads as a Cayuga Lake town with a dramatic gorge landscape at Taughannock Falls.
Read this note ->Property tax snapshot
Roughly $23–$28 per $1,000
Combined full-value rate — county + town/city + school district, per $1,000 of market value (FY2025). On a $300,000 home that's about $7,021–$8,478 a year before the STAR break.
A planning estimate, not a bill. Your exact rate depends on your school district and any village. Confirm with the assessor.
Statewide links
Statewide starting points.
Good to know
- • Your assessed value usually isn't your market value — ask for the equalization rate.
- • Register for STAR; new applicants generally receive a credit instead of an automatic exemption on the bill.
- • Outside the cities, check the well, the septic, and the FEMA flood map before you buy.
Nearby
Nearby places
Tax rates: NYS Dept of Taxation & Finance (ORPTS), Real Property Tax Rates and Levy Data by Municipality, data.ny.gov dataset iq85-sdzs. (FY2025). Population: U.S. Census 2020. Reviewed June 2026. Source data ->
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