Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Clifton Park is one of the best-graded places in America: an A+, 35th among New York's 745 graded towns. The median household earns $133K, residents are healthier than 95% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates, and its public schools beat 88% of New York towns on state tests and graduation. Its lowest mark, a C, is in cost of living. 59% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Clifton Park, above both New York’s towns (32%) and U.S. towns (29%). On hazard risk, just 43 of New York’s 1,216 towns do better. Its National Register listings include Vischer Ferry Historic District and Vischer Ferry Historic District (Boundary Increase).
Where Clifton Park beats most towns.
Census counts: 2,494 in 1830, a low of 1,983 in 1920, 38,029 in 2020. The archive holds 30 old photos and papers going back to 1789 and 5 maps from 1893 on.
12 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Clifton Park is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Clifton Park. Close and well known come first.
37 mi MountainMount Greylock
39 mi LandmarkFort William Henry
15 mi MuseumNational Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
35 mi Theme parkGreat Escape
15 mi Stadium & arenaMVP Arena
16 mi MuseumUSS SlaterMount Greylock: Jstergis, CC BY 3.0 · Fort William Henry: IrisKawling at en.wikipedia, Public domain · National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame: Peter Flass, CC BY 3.0 · Great Escape: Jared and Corin, CC BY-SA 2.0 · 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
Who provides power, water and the rest in Clifton Park, 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 Clifton Park.
Clifton Park has less food insecurity than most of New York, has better schools than Halfmoon or any other neighbor and has household incomes well above the New York norm.
55 miles of trail in 26 parks and preserves. Clifton Park’s trail density is 1.1 miles per square mile. Vischer Ferry Nature & Historic Preserve, at 887 acres with 13 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Vischer Ferry Nature & Historic Preserve | 13 mi | 887 |
| 2. Garnsey Park | 4.8 mi | 147 |
| 3. Kinns Road Park | 3.4 mi | 67 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its A is the best School Grade on its borders; Halfmoon (A−) is next.
Its public schools are run by the Shenendehowa Central School District. Three of its 14 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Koda Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 765 | B− |
| Shenendehowa High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,968 | A |
| Orenda Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 548 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with New York is food insecurity: 7.4% of its 20,103 adults worry about having enough food, against 17.2% statewide.
30% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Clifton Park. Clifton Park beats the New York average on 18 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 8.7% of adults smoke cigarettes in Clifton Park.
| Clifton Park | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 37% | 36% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 16% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 14% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 8.7% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Clifton Park | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.4% | 17.2% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 3.8% | 7.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 95% of U.S. communities. Since 1980, 20 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Clifton Park.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Clifton Park has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 15° and about 59 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 17,828 working residents takes 26.1 minutes, against 32.6 across New York.
2.3% of Clifton Park residents live below the poverty line. Since 2013, Clifton Park has added 2,511 jobs, to 14,506 in 2023. 20% of Clifton Park workers work from home.
| Clifton Park | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $133,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 20% | 12% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 2.3% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 13% | 10% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The median rent in Clifton Park is $1,388 a month.
| Clifton Park | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 83% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,388 a month | $1,098 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
16 within 15 miles of the center of Clifton Park
About 5 of every 100 Clifton Park residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
11.1% of the town is conserved land, across 26 parks and preserves.
12 places in Clifton Park on the National Register of Historic Places.
8 notable people were born in Clifton Park.
Town in New York, United States
Clifton Park is a suburban town in Saratoga County, New York, United States. It is the largest municipality in the county, with a 2020 population of 38,029, according to the 2020 census. As such, it is the largest municipality in New York state east of Syracuse and north of Schenectady. The town's name is derived from an early land patent. The town is in the southern part of Saratoga County, approximately 12 miles (19 km) north of Albany, 7 miles (11 km) northeast of Schenectady, and 10 miles (16 km) south of Saratoga Springs.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Clifton Park.
At #35 in NY, it grades higher overall than all 5 graded towns on its borders; Ballston (A) comes closest.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clifton Park | #35 | A+ | C | — | A | A |
| Halfmoon | #159 | A− | C− | — | A− | A |
| Niskayuna | #131 | A | C− | C+ | A− | A |
| Ballston | #128 | A | C− | — | B+ | A |
| Malta | #142 | A− | C− | — | A− | A |
| Colonie | #253 | B+ | C | C− | A− | A |
| Country Knolls | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Round Lake | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Clifton Park, Halfmoon, Ballston and Malta report no FBI crime data of their own. Country Knolls and Round Lake aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Clifton Park with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Clifton Park grades A+ overall, better than 96% of U.S. towns and #35 of 745 in New York. It grades A for health and A for schools.
The typical home is worth about $395,000, 25% 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.
8 notable people were born here, including Greg Koubek and Mitzi Johnson.
