Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Bethlehem does the important things well, at a cost. Health is its strong suit: CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 95% of the country. With an A overall, Bethlehem sits 77th of 745 in New York. On that grade it does better than 91% of U.S. towns. Add incomes to its strengths: the median household earns $124K. The trade-off is cost of living — the typical home is worth about $370K, 4.2 years of the Albany metro’s $88K median household income. Its National Register listings include US Post Office-Delmar and Bethlehem House. On civic life, just 116 of New York’s 1,187 towns do better.
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · home values, Zillow · National Register of Historic Places.
Where Bethlehem beats most towns.
Census counts: 4,430 in 1810, a low of 3,238 in 1840, 35,034 in 2020. The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 1840 and 6 maps from 1893 on.
14 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Bethlehem is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Bethlehem. Close and well known come first.
5 mi MuseumUSS Slater
6 mi Stadium & arenaMVP Arena
34 mi MountainMount Greylock
6 mi Ancient siteFort Orange
5 mi MuseumSchuyler Mansion
6 mi TheatreThe EggUSS Slater: UpstateNYer, CC BY-SA 3.0 · MVP Arena: This image or media was taken or created by Matt H. Wade. To see his entire port, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Mount Greylock: Jstergis, CC BY 3.0 · Fort Orange: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain · Schuyler Mansion: This image or media was taken or created by Matt H. Wade. To see his entire port, CC BY-SA 3.0 · The Egg: Nitant23, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Bethlehem, 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 Bethlehem.
Bethlehem has less food insecurity than most of New York, pairs an A− for schools with high home prices and is safe by national standards but not by New York’s.
Bethlehem’s trail density stands at 1.0 miles per square mile, where New York’s towns sit at 0.4 and U.S. towns at 0.4. Trails total 48 miles in 26 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Normans Kill Ravines Park, 282 acres with 8.6 miles of trail.
| Bethlehem | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.0 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.9% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Normans Kill Ravines Park | 8.6 mi | 282 |
| 2. North Bethlehem Park | 4.2 mi | 21 |
| 3. Hollyhock Hollow Sanctuary | 3.4 mi | 136 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its A− for schools comes with a C− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $370K.
Below: Three of its 11 schools, each with why it was picked. The public schools here belong to the Bethlehem Central School District. Public school enrollment here: 2,194 students across 6 schools.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bethlehem Central Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 5–8 | Grades 5–8 | 950 | B− |
| Bethlehem Central Senior High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,322 | A+ |
| Elsmere Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 236 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with New York is food insecurity: 8% of its 6,914 adults worry about having enough food, against 17.2% statewide.
Among adults in Bethlehem, 8% worry about having enough food, against 13% in New York’s towns and 14% across U.S. towns. Bethlehem: 12% of adults say their health is fair or poor. CDC measures, 32 in all: Bethlehem beats New York on 16 and trails on 2. Just over one in ten adults in Bethlehem report frequent physical distress; 18% get no exercise outside work.
| Bethlehem | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 16% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 14% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 25% | 25% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 9.2% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Bethlehem | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8% | 17.2% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 4% | 7.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
64% of Bethlehem’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by tornadoes at 12%. Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 89% of U.S. communities. Households here have drawn federal disaster aid in 8 declared disasters, most recently in 2017.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The average commute for its 16,363 working residents takes 22 minutes, against 32.6 across New York.
Commuting out is the norm in Bethlehem: 13% of working residents work locally. The share of residents in Bethlehem who live below the poverty line: 5%. Half the trips to work are shorter than 6 miles. For Bethlehem, the average trip to work is 22 minutes.
| Bethlehem | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $124,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 20% | 12% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 5% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 11.2 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 55% of New York’s graded towns. Violent crime is rare: 17 reported in 2025, 0.5 per 1,000 residents.
For Bethlehem, the level of violent crime is 0.5 per 1,000 residents. The property offense rate locally is 9.8 per 1,000 residents.
| Bethlehem | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.5 per 1,000 residents | 0.8 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 9.8 per 1,000 residents | 7.5 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The July high for Bethlehem comes to 84°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
A home in Bethlehem typically sold within 7 days of listing. The town’s going rate for rent is $1,721 a month. 57% of the homes sold in Bethlehem went for more than their asking price.
| Bethlehem | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,721 a month | $1,098 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 73% | 75% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
13 within 15 miles of the center of Bethlehem
About 4 of every 100 Bethlehem residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
Where Bethlehem’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
14 places in Bethlehem on the National Register of Historic Places.
6 notable people were born in Bethlehem.
Town in New York, United States
Bethlehem is a town in Albany County, New York, United States. The town's population was 35,034 at the 2020 census. Bethlehem is located immediately to the south of the city of Albany and includes the following hamlets: Delmar, Elsmere, Glenmont, North Bethlehem, Selkirk, Slingerlands, and South Bethlehem. U.S. Route 9W passes through the town. The town is named after the biblical Bethlehem.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Bethlehem.
Coeymans next door grades lower for schools (C to Bethlehem’s A−) and higher for cost of living (B to C−).
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bethlehem | #77 | A | C− | B+ | A− | A+ |
| Albany | #669 | D | C | D | C− | B+ |
| New Scotland | #75 | A | C+ | — | A | A |
| Coeymans | #256 | B+ | B | — | C | A− |
| Schodack | #78 | A | C+ | A | A− | A |
| Guilderland | #166 | A− | C− | B− | A− | A |
| East Greenbush | #132 | A | C− | B− | A− | A |
New Scotland and Coeymans report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Bethlehem with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Bethlehem grades A overall, better than 91% of U.S. towns and #77 of 745 in New York. It grades A+ for health, B+ for safety and A− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes. The typical home is worth about $370,000, 29% below the New York typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
6 notable people were born here, including James Charles and Ephraim George Squier.
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