County outline
Where Yates County is located
Area breakdown
Land accounts for 90% of Yates County’s measured area and water for 10%. Its combined area converts to 973.3 square kilometers or approximately 240,520 acres.
Green: land · blue: water
| Measurement | Square miles | Square kilometers | Acres |
|---|---|---|---|
| Land | 338.168 | 875.851 | 216,427.5 |
| Water | 37.644 | 97.498 | 24,092.2 |
| Total | 375.812 | 973.349 | 240,519.7 |
How Yates County compares
By original Census land area, Yates County ranks #51 of 62 in New York and #2718 of 3,222 nationally. National rankings include the 50 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
Its land area is 0.517 times the New York county-equivalent median of 653.7 square miles. It accounts for 0.7% of the combined county land area in the state.
See the complete New York ranking · What counts as a county equivalent?
Population and density of Yates County
The Census Bureau estimates that 24,547 people lived in Yates County on July 1, 2025. That ranks #1,681 of 3,222 county equivalents nationally and #60 of 62 in New York. Since the April 1, 2020 estimates base of 24,770, the population has declined by 223 (−0.9%), compared with −1% for New York as a whole.
With 338.2 square miles of land, that is 73 people per square mile (28 per km²), placing Yates County #1,232 nationally for density and #46 in New York. The median county equivalent has 47 people per square mile; the New York median is 112. Put another way, there are about 8.8 acres of land per resident.
| July 1 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estimate | 24,735 | 24,574 | 24,455 | 24,367 | 24,434 | 24,547 |
| Change | — | −161 | −119 | −88 | +67 | +113 |
U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 population estimates. Estimates are revised each year and are not decennial census counts. Density divides the whole population by the whole county’s land area, so it describes an average, not how settlement is distributed within the county. Population sources and methods.
Cities and towns in Yates County
Yates County is divided into 9 cities and towns. In New York, county subdivisions are local governments, and together they cover all of the county’s land and residents.
The most populous is Milo town, with 6,772 residents (27.6% of the county). The largest by land is Jerusalem town, at 58.6 mi², or 17.3% of the county’s land. Among those with at least 1,000 residents in 2020, Benton town grew fastest since then (+0.9%).
| County subdivision | Population 2025 | Since 2020 | Land mi² | Share of county land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milo town | 6,772 | −0.4% | 38.4 | 11.4% |
| Jerusalem town | 4,363 | −1.1% | 58.6 | 17.3% |
| Starkey town | 3,334 | −2% | 32.8 | 9.7% |
| Benton town | 3,014 | +0.9% | 41.5 | 12.3% |
| Potter town | 1,825 | −1.9% | 37.2 | 11% |
| Barrington town | 1,526 | −0.3% | 35.8 | 10.6% |
| Middlesex town | 1,349 | −2.5% | 30.9 | 9.1% |
| Torrey town | 1,286 | −1% | 22.8 | 6.7% |
| Italy town | 1,078 | −1.8% | 40.1 | 11.9% |
Population: U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 subcounty estimates, counting only the part of each subdivision inside Yates County. Land: 2026 Census Gazetteer. How communities are listed.
Metropolitan area
Yates County is not part of any metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area in the Office of Management and Budget’s July 2023 delineation; 1,306 other county equivalents are also outside one. These areas are built around an urban core of at least 10,000 people plus the counties tied to it by commuting, so counties outside them are generally rural.
ZIP codes
13 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Yates County; 9 of them have most of their land inside the county, and the others mainly cover neighboring areas.
14415144181444114456144781450714512145271454414561148371484214878
ZIP Code Tabulation Areas are the Census Bureau’s approximations of USPS ZIP Code service areas, from the 2020 Census relationship files. Lighter codes have less than half of their land in this county. Post-office-box and single-address ZIP Codes have no tabulation area.
Counties bordering Yates County
Yates County shares a land border with 4 county equivalents. It has more land than 2 of them. The largest neighbor is Steuben County (1,390.5 mi²) and the smallest is Seneca County (323.7 mi²). Together with its neighbors, Yates County forms a block of 3,024.7 mi² of land, of which it holds 11.2%.
| Bordering county equivalent | Land mi² | Size vs. Yates | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steuben County | 1,390.5 | 4.1× larger | Compare |
| Ontario County | 644 | 1.9× larger | Compare |
| Schuyler County | 328.3 | about the same | Compare |
| Seneca County | 323.7 | about the same | Compare |
How big is Yates County compared with U.S. states?
Yates County has less land than any of the 50 states. Rhode Island, the smallest state by land area, has 1,033.9 mi², about 3.1 times as much. New York’s county land could hold about 139 areas the size of Yates County.
Another way to picture it: the same land area would fill a square about 18.4 miles (29.6 km) on each side. Real county shapes are rarely square, so this is a scale reference rather than a width or driving distance.
State figures are the sums of each state’s county-equivalent land measurements in the same Census release, so states and counties are compared on the same basis. Published state totals can differ slightly because of rounding. Compare all states · Counties bigger than entire states.
What stands out about Yates County?
Yates County has more land than 504 of the other 3,221 county equivalents in the dataset.
A median is the middle county-equivalent measurement, not the average of the largest and smallest. All three bars use the same linear scale. Very small areas may appear as a thin sliver; the labels retain their values.
Does including water change its rank?
Using land plus water places Yates County at #2,674 nationally by total area, 44 places closer to the top than its land rank. The water assigned to this geography moves it ahead of some county equivalents with more land.
Its water share is 10%, compared with a national county-equivalent median of 1.2% — 8.8 percentage points higher. This describes the statistical geography’s land/water mix, not flood exposure or developable land.
Closest positions in the national land ranking
These entries sit immediately beside Yates County in the national ranking. They can be in different states and are not necessarily geographic neighbors.
| Land rank | County equivalent | Land mi² | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| #2717 | Chesapeake city, Virginia | 338.5 | Compare |
| #2718 | Yates County, New York | 338.2 | This county |
| #2719 | Letcher County, Kentucky | 337.9 | Compare |
Calculated from the same Census release as the area table. Total-area order uses original ALAND + AWATER; water shares and chart labels use published square miles. Calculation details.
Representative coordinates
The Census internal point is 42.638237, -77.104324. It represents a location inside the geography; it is not necessarily the centroid or the address of a courthouse.
Source and precision
U.S. Census Bureau, 2026 Gazetteer Files, Counties. Original ALAND: 875,850,182 m²; AWATER: 97,496,448 m². Rankings use ALAND; exact ties use ascending GEOID. Tables preserve Census-published square miles to three decimals, with conversions based on those values.
Common questions
How big is Yates County?
Yates County, New York has 338.2 square miles (875.9 km²) of land and 37.6 square miles of water, for a total area of 375.8 square miles. It ranks #2718 of 3,222 U.S. county equivalents by land area.
Is Yates County the largest county in New York?
No. Yates County ranks #51 of 62 in New York by land area. The largest is St. Lawrence County, with 2,679.5 square miles of land.
What counties border Yates County?
Yates County shares a land border with Ontario County, Steuben County, Schuyler County, and Seneca County.
What is the population of Yates County?
The Census Bureau estimates Yates County had 24,547 residents on July 1, 2025, ranking #1,681 of 3,222 county equivalents. That is 73 people per square mile of land.
What is the county seat of Yates County?
The county seat of Yates County is Penn Yan.
What cities and towns are in Yates County?
Yates County has 9 county subdivisions (cities, towns and townships). The most populous five are Milo town, Jerusalem town, Starkey town, Benton town, and Potter town.
Is Yates County part of a metropolitan area?
No. Yates County is outside every metropolitan and micropolitan statistical area in the July 2023 OMB delineation.
How many ZIP codes are in Yates County?
13 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Yates County, and 9 of them have most of their land inside the county. Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas approximate USPS ZIP Code areas.
How does Yates County compare with U.S. states?
It has less land than every state. Rhode Island, the smallest, has 3.1 times as much land.
How many acres of land are in Yates County?
The land measurement converts to approximately 216,428 acres. Including water, total area is approximately 240,520 acres. One square mile equals 640 acres.
Why might another source show a different area?
Check whether it reports land or total area, its Census vintage, and its rounding. Our guide explains how to reconcile county area figures.
Can this establish a property boundary?
No. Statistical measurements and generalized maps do not establish property lines. Consult the relevant local surveying or land-records authority.