Finger Lakes
Forest Home, New York
Forest Home is a hamlet — a community without a village government of its own — in Tompkins County, part of New York's Finger Lakes region, with about 1,200 residents at 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
- Hamlet (CDP)
- County
- Tompkins
- Region
- Finger Lakes
- Population (2020)
- 1,168
Local Almanac
Notes in and around Forest Home
Short, sourced notes tied to this place, its county, or nearby communities.
Nearby · History & Culture
Ithaca's Town Story Climbs Above the City
The Town of Ithaca frames the city from Cayuga Lake hills, Cornell and Ithaca College edges, natural areas, and surrounding neighborhoods.
Read this note ->Nearby · The Outdoors
The Waterfall in Town That Beats Niagara on Height
Taughannock Falls drops 215 feet straight down — taller than Niagara — and it's one of more than 150 waterfalls hiding in the gorges around Ithaca.
Read this note ->Nearby · 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 ->Nearby · 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 ->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 · Home & Property
Ithaca Renovations Need the Building Permit Portal Early
Ithaca owners should check the city Building Division before treating electrical, demolition, tent, sign, or compliance work as informal.
Read this note ->Nearby · History & Culture
The Two Schools That Shape Ithaca
Ithaca has been a college town since Cornell University was founded here in 1865. Together with Ithaca College, the campuses give the small Finger Lakes city its outsized buzz.
Read this note ->Nearby · Cars & Driving
Tompkins DMV has a lunch break and two permit-test windows
Tompkins County DMV trips should account for the Ithaca office lunch break, permit-test windows, and driving-test timing.
Read this note ->Nearby · Money & Taxes
Ithaca City Tax Payments Are a Chamberlain's Office Question
Ithaca owners should route city tax, water and sewer, and some payment questions through the Chamberlain's Office.
Read this note ->Property tax snapshot
About $15–$28 per $1,000 in Tompkins County
Combined full-value rate — county + town/city + school district, per $1,000 of market value (FY2025). On a $300,000 home that's about $4,584–$8,478 a year before the STAR break. A hamlet has no government of its own — it's taxed at the rates of the town it sits in.
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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