Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The best of Athens’ subject grades are an A− for health and walkability and an A+ for history; the weakest is a C− for cost of living. 15% of residents are under 18 in Athens, below both New York’s towns (20%) and U.S. towns (22%). 12% of the land in Athens is conserved, where New York’s towns sit at 5.2% and U.S. towns at 4.3%. Only 63 of New York’s 1,216 towns score higher on history. The biggest park or preserve is Middle Ground Flats Unique Area, at 318 acres. Athens has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Athens beats most towns.
Where Athens’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Athens is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 2,030 in 1820, 3,916 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1889 and 4 maps from 1893 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Athens, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Aug 3, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Athens.
Athens beats the New York average on 10 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 14% of Athens adults report frequent mental distress.
| Athens | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 16% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 13% | 14% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 82% | 81% | 79% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 9.7% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Athens | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9.7% | 17.2% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 8.6% | 14.5% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.8% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Most working residents leave Athens for work: only 4% work in town. The average trip to work in Athens is 29 minutes. The top destinations are Catskill (12%), Coxsackie (8%) and New York (8%).
| Athens | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.7% | 10% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Adults 18 to 34 are 12% of residents (23% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 48% of residents (39% statewide). 25% of residents are 65 or older in Athens. 40% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 40% across New York.
| Athens | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 25% | 20% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 40% | 32% | 29% |
| Median age | 45.4 years | 43 years | 40.5 years |
53% women, 47% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±6.5 points. Across New York, 51.2% of residents are women. Among residents 45 to 54, 78% are men (NY 49%).
| Athens | NY | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 7.1% | 11% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.4% | 9.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 4.3% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 8% | 14.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 22.1% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 9.4% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 16% | 13.3% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 15.3% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9.5% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 8.8% | 12% | 10.4% |
| High school | 27.1% | 24.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 14.4% | 14.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.4% | 8.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 17% | 22.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 23.4% | 17.9% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,600, single groups can be off by several points
Athens has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 17° and about 31 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Middle Ground Flats Unique Area | — | 318 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 51% of U.S. communities. Since 1996, 19 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Athens.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Athens. Close and well known come first.
4 mi MuseumOlana State Historic Site
35 mi National Historic SiteHome of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site102K visitors a year
14 mi WaterfallKaaterskill Falls
26 mi TheatreTanglewood
33 mi National Historic SiteVanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site295K visitors a year
25 mi MuseumNorman Rockwell MuseumOlana State Historic Site: Netniks, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site: Crunch, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Kaaterskill Falls: Mwanner, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Tanglewood: Daderot., CC BY-SA 3.0 · Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site: Daderot, Public domain · Norman Rockwell Museum: User:Rmrfstar, CC BY 2.5
1 within 15 miles of the center of Athens
About 3 of every 100 Athens residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
4 notable people were born in Athens.
Town in New York, United States
Athens is a town in Greene County, New York, United States. The population was 3,916 at the 2020 census. The town of Athens has a village also called Athens. The town is near the eastern edge of the county.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Athens.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Athens | — | — | C− | — | C | A− |
| Athens | #642 | C− | C− | — | C | B |
| Greenport | #703 | D | D | — | C− | B− |
| Hudson | #719 | D | D | C+ | C− | C+ |
| Sleepy Hollow Lake | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Athens has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Athens, Athens and Greenport report no FBI crime data of their own. Sleepy Hollow Lake isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Athens with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
4 notable people were born here, including Crane Wilbur and Dernell Every.
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