| Official Name: | Nelson, New York |
| Settlement Type: | Town |
| Pushpin Map: | New York#USA |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location within the state of New York |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | New York |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Madison |
| Government Type: | Town Council |
| Leader Title: | Town Supervisor |
| Leader Name: | Jim Cunningham (R)[1] |
| Leader Title1: | Town Council |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Area Footnotes: | [2] |
| Area Total Km2: | 114.10 |
| Area Land Km2: | 111.52 |
| Area Water Km2: | 2.58 |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 44.06 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 43.06 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 1.00 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Footnotes: | [3] |
| Population Total: | 1890 |
| Population Density Km2: | 16.95 |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | 43.89 |
| Timezone: | Eastern (EST) |
| Utc Offset: | -5 |
| Timezone Dst: | EDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -4 |
| Elevation M: | 458 |
| Elevation Ft: | 1503 |
| Coordinates: | 42.8747°N -75.7481°W |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP code |
| Postal Code: | 13035 |
| Area Code: | 315 |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank Info: | 36-053-49770 |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
| Blank1 Info: | 0979251 |
Nelson is a town in Madison County, New York, United States. It is an interior town, located in the southwestern part of the county. The population was 1,890 at the 2020 census.[3] The town was named after Horatio Nelson, the English naval hero.
The town was formed in 1807 from the Town of Cazenovia, the year after Madison County was established.
The Nelson Welsh Congregational Church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.
US Route 20 passes across the town.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 44.1sqmi, of which 43.1sqmi is land and 1sqmi (2.26%) is water.
As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 1,964 people, 731 households, and 549 families residing in the town. The population density was 45.6sp=usNaNsp=us. There were 1,020 housing units at an average density of 23.7sp=usNaNsp=us. The racial makeup of the town was 98.27% White, 0.20% African American, 0.10% Native American, 0.56% from other races, and 0.87% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.22% of the population.
There were 731 households, out of which 38.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.6% were married couples living together, 6.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.8% were non-families. 18.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.07.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 28.3% under the age of 18, 5.6% from 18 to 24, 29.0% from 25 to 44, 27.5% from 45 to 64, and 9.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.6 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $49,022, and the median income for a family was $55,458. Males had a median income of $37,083 versus $24,653 for females. The per capita income for the town was $21,378. About 2.8% of families and 5.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.9% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 65 or over.