Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
2.4 times the nonprofits per person than the typical New York town.
The best of Chatham’s subject grades are an A− for health, an A+ for civic life, and an A for history; the weakest is a C for cost of living. 13% of residents are under 18 in Chatham, below both the New York town median (20%) and the median of U.S. towns (22%). Only 42 of New York’s 1,187 towns score higher on civic life. Chatham has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Chatham beats most towns.
Census counts: 3,372 in 1820, 4,104 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1873 and 5 maps from 1903 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Chatham is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Chatham. Close and well known come first.
29 mi MountainMount Greylock
15 mi TheatreTanglewood
15 mi MuseumOlana State Historic Site
14 mi MuseumNorman Rockwell Museum
5 mi National Historic SiteMartin Van Buren National Historic Site16K visitors a year
26 mi WaterfallKaaterskill FallsMount Greylock: Jstergis, CC BY 3.0 · Tanglewood: Daderot., CC BY-SA 3.0 · Olana State Historic Site: Netniks, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Norman Rockwell Museum: User:Rmrfstar, CC BY 2.5 · Martin Van Buren National Historic Site: Rolf Müller, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Kaaterskill Falls: Mwanner, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Chatham, 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 Chatham.
Chatham beats the New York average on 8 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 15% of adults report frequent mental distress in Chatham, below both New York’s towns (16%) and U.S. towns (17%). 30% of Chatham adults have obesity.
| Chatham | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 16% | 17% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 33% | 35% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 32% | 33% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 17% | 19% |
| What stands out | Chatham | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 11% | 17.2% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.1% | 7.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.9% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 69% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Chatham since 2000.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Chatham has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 16° and about 31 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Children under 18 are 13% of residents (21% statewide). 48% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Chatham. Chatham has lost 4.4% of its people since 2020, down to 1,538 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Chatham | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 49.6 years | 43 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 48% | 32% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 21% | 20% | 18% |
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±7.9 points. Across New York, 51.2% of residents are women.
| Chatham | NY | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 5% | 11% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7.5% | 9.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9.3% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 15.5% | 14.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 4.1% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 22.1% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 15.2% | 13.3% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 14.6% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.8% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 7% | 12% | 10.4% |
| High school | 28% | 24.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 10.7% | 14.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 6.1% | 8.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 22.8% | 22.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 25.4% | 17.9% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,500, single groups can be off by several points
Most working residents leave Chatham for work: only 8% work in town. Since 2013, Chatham has lost 204 jobs, to 896 in 2023. The top destinations are Ghent (14%), New York (10%) and Albany (8%).
| Chatham | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The typical Chatham home is worth about $529,000, up 3.7% in a year, close to the New York typical home.
| Chatham | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 54% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,080 a month | $1,101 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
1 within 15 miles of the center of Chatham
About 4 of every 100 Chatham residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
1,770 counted in 2010 and 1,529 in 2020; an estimated 1,538 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
11 notable people were born in Chatham.
Town in New York, United States
Chatham is a town in Columbia County, New York, United States. The population was 4,104 at the 2020 census, a decline from the figure of 4,128 in 2010. The town has a village also called Chatham on its southern town line. The town is at the northern border of Columbia County.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
2.4 times the nonprofits per person than the typical New York town.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
11 notable people were born here, including Amos Eaton and Kristine DeBell.
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