Westchester County, NY — Home-Buyer Records Checklist

State

New York

County seat

White Plains

Population (2024 est.)

1,006,447

Land area

430.5 sq mi

County FIPS

36119

Westchester County at a glance

Westchester County is one of 62 counties and county-equivalents in New York. Its county seat is White Plains. Its 2024 Census Bureau population estimate is 1,006,447 across 430 square miles of land — about 2,338 people per square mile. In the FBI's 2024 reported-crime file, agencies here reported 10,392 offenses — 10.33 per 1,000 residents; the breakdown is below.

Records to check before you buy in Westchester County

Property record card — the Westchester County assessor / appraisal office. Pull the parcel's assessed-value history, exemption status, and last sale. This is the file your future tax bill is calculated from, and it shows whether the current owner is enjoying exemptions you will not inherit. County government sits in White Plains — start there for office locations and the parcel search.
Deeds & liens — the Westchester County recorder / land-records office. Read the deed chain, open liens, easements, and plat maps — the file a listing never mentions.
Official flood determination. Check the exact parcel on FEMA's National Flood Hazard Layer — not the listing site's licensed model. Zone boundaries cut through streets; the house next door can be in a different zone. Westchester County is the primary county for 74 ZIP codes in the Census Bureau's ZIP-to-county crosswalk — and zone lines ignore every one of them.
The county's reported-crime record. In the FBI's 2024 file, agencies in Westchester County reported 10,392 offenses — 10.33 per 1,000 residents; the largest single category was larceny-theft (7,177). The crime section below sets that beside the New York county median.
Registry check. Run the address through New York State Sex Offender Registry (New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS)) and note the counts within a mile — then check again the week you close.
Permits & code history — the Westchester building department. Open permits, expired permits, and code cases tell you whether the renovation in the photos was ever inspected. County permitting is run out of White Plains.
School assignment — the district office, not the listing. Only the district's own boundary lookup confirms which school an address is actually zoned for.

County list, land area and population: U.S. Census Bureau (population: 2024 PEP estimate). County seat and official website: Wikidata (CC0), checked 2026-11-04. Flood determinations: FEMA. Registry: New York.

Reported crime in Westchester County — FBI 2024

Agencies in Westchester County reported 10,392 offenses to the FBI in 2024 — 1,654 violent and 8,738 property offenses. That works out to a reported-crime rate of 10.33 per 1,000 residents (violent 164.3, property 868.2 per 100,000).

Inside New York, the median county in the same file recorded a violent-crime rate of 99 per 100,000 and a property-crime rate of 827 per 100,000 (medians computed from the FBI 2024 county file across 60 counties).

The largest reported categories were larceny-theft (7,177), aggravated assault (1,190) and motor vehicle theft (798).

Coverage: 42 of 42 law-enforcement agencies assigned to this county reported at least one month of 2024 offense data to the FBI; 38 reported all 12 months. Counts are reported offenses only (FBI Return A / Arson master files), assigned whole to each agency's primary county; they are not adjusted for non-reporting agencies.

These are offenses reported to law enforcement — not convictions, and not a verdict on any street or address. A CurbFacts report pairs this county record with the ZIP-level picture for the specific address you are buying.

Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer, UCR Return A + Arson master files, data year 2024 (pulled 2026-11-04).

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ZIP guides in Westchester County

Registry counts and county crime records for the 49 ZIP codes whose primary county is Westchester County.

10501 — Westchester County 10502 — Ardsley 10507 — Bedford Hills 10510 — Briarcliff Manor 10511 — Buchanan 10514 — Chappaqua 10517 — Westchester County 10520 — Croton-on-Hudson 10522 — Dobbs Ferry 10523 — Elmsford 10526 — Golden's Bridge 10530 — Hartsdale 10543 — Mamaroneck 10547 — Lake Mohegan 10548 — Montrose 10549 — Mount Kisco 10550 — Mount Vernon 10552 — Mount Vernon 10553 — Mount Vernon 10560 — Peach Lake 10562 — Ossining 10566 — Peekskill 10567 — Crompond 10570 — Pleasantville 10573 — Rye Brook 10580 — Rye 10583 — Scarsdale 10589 — Heritage Hills 10591 — Tarrytown 10594 — Thornwood 10595 — Valhalla 10598 — Jefferson Valley-Yorktown 10601 — White Plains 10603 — White Plains 10604 — Harrison 10605 — White Plains 10606 — White Plains 10607 — White Plains 10701 — Yonkers 10703 — Yonkers 10704 — Yonkers 10705 — Yonkers 10707 — Yonkers 10709 — Eastchester 10710 — Yonkers 10801 — New Rochelle 10803 — Pelham Manor 10804 — New Rochelle 10805 — New Rochelle

The New York rules that apply in Westchester County

Disclosure form

Property Condition Disclosure Statement

Flood disclosure

Required by state law

Tax reset at sale

Reassessment cycle

no fixed statewide cycle; state law requires a uniform

Traps researched for New York buyers: The $500 credit opt-out no longer exists; Online registry shows only Level 2 and Level 3 offenders.

Read the full New York guide — disclosure standard, tax math, registry and flood

More New York counties

Ulster County Warren County Washington County Wayne County Wyoming County Yates County

All New York counties · New York buyer guide

See what the listing doesn't say.

Every CurbFacts report pulls the public records behind an address — flood determination, registry, tax reset, price history, permits, and what's planned nearby — and shows its sources.