Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Charleston’s best subject grade is an A for the outdoors; its weakest is a C for cost of living. Charleston’s average trip to work is 34 minutes, against 25 minutes in New York’s towns and 25 minutes across U.S. towns. Charleston's schools rank ahead of 73% of New York towns. 23% of the land in Charleston is conserved, against 5.2% in New York’s towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns. The biggest place to walk is Charleston State Forest, 3,929 acres with 26.9 miles of trail. Charleston has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Charleston beats most towns.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Charleston is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 5,365 in 1820, a low of 546 in 1960, 1,355 in 2020. The archive holds 2 old photos and papers going back to 1860 and 3 maps from 1896 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Charleston, 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 Charleston.
2.5% of Charleston working residents work locally. Since 2013, Charleston has lost 64 jobs, to 67 in 2023. 4.1% of Charleston residents live below the poverty line.
| Charleston | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 4.1% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.5% | 10% | 8% |
| Median household income | $91,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
37 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. The trail density in Charleston is 0.9 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Charleston State Forest | 26.9 mi | 3,929 |
| 2. Schoharie Creek Preserve | 1.4 mi | 191 |
| 3. Rural Grove State Forest | — | 816 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Charleston has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Charleston’s July high is 80°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 62% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 12 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Charleston.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Charleston beats the New York average on 3 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 7. 41% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Charleston.
| Charleston | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 37% | 36% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 16% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 33% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Charleston | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6.4% | 7.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 14.2% | 17.2% |
| More smokers | 15% | 11.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Charleston. Close and well known come first.
Big draw30 mi MuseumNational Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum315K visitors a year9 mi CaveHowe Caverns
34 mi MuseumNational Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
33 mi Stadium & arenaMVP Arena
33 mi MuseumUSS Slater35 mi LandmarkFort DaytonNational Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum: Beyond My Ken, CC BY-SA 4.0 · National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame: Peter Flass, CC BY 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 · USS Slater: UpstateNYer, CC BY-SA 3.0
2 within 15 miles of the center of Charleston
About 4 of every 100 Charleston residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
Where Charleston’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
3 notable people were born in Charleston.
Town in Montgomery County, NY
Charleston is a town in Montgomery County, New York, United States. The population was 1,355 at the 2020 census. The town was named for Charles Van Epps, an early settler. Charleston is on the southern border of the county and is southwest of the city of Amsterdam. Charleston is the only town in the county not bordering the Mohawk River.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
3 notable people were born here, including Ira Harris and Jonathan Bowman.
