Peru is a very small town located in the state of New York. With a population of 1,843 people and two associated neighborhoods, Peru is the 623rd largest community in New York. Peru has an unusually large stock of pre-World War II architecture, making it one of the older and more historic towns.

Of important note, Peru is also a town of artists. Peru has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Peru’s character.

One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 15.99% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

As is often the case in a small town, Peru doesn't have a public transportation system that people use for their commute.

The citizens of Peru are among the most well-educated in the nation: 42.87% of adults in Peru have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree, whereas the average US city has 21.84% holding at least a bachelor's degree.

The per capita income in Peru in 2022 was $36,189, which is middle income relative to New York, and upper middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $144,756 for a family of four. However, Peru contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

The people who call Peru home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Peru residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Peru include Irish, English, Scottish, French, and Italian.

The most common language spoken in Peru is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Polish.