Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,603, established in 1790.
Durham's standout: crime is low: it reports less per resident than 99% of U.S. towns. Overall it grades B+, 237th among New York's 745 graded towns. Its weakest subject is schools: its public schools trail 84% of New York towns on state tests and graduation. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 93% of U.S. towns, with 22 places on the National Register. Its National Register listings include Tripp House and Store Complex and Charles Pierce House. Durham’s average trip to work is 33 minutes, against 25 minutes in New York’s towns and 25 minutes across U.S. towns. The biggest place to walk is Mount Hayden State Forest, 541 acres with 4.5 miles of trail.
Where Durham beats most towns.
Census counts: 2,979 in 1820, a low of 1,104 in 1930, 2,627 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1790 and 3 maps from 1893 on.
22 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Durham is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Durham, 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 Durham.
Durham is a second-home town and sees little violent crime, but it is a long drive from an emergency room.
Violent crime is rare: 0 reported in 2025, 0 per 1,000 residents.
Durham’s property crime rate is 0.4 per 1,000 residents.
| Durham | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.4 per 1,000 residents | 7.6 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0 per 1,000 residents | 0.8 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its public schools are run by the Cairo-Durham Central School District. Its two schools are below. The largest public high school is Cairo-Durham High School, with 333 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cairo-Durham Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 272 | C− |
| Cairo-Durham High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 333 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
Jobs based here grew from 485 in 2013 to 655.
Most working residents leave Durham for work: only 13% work in town. 4.1% of residents live below the poverty line in Durham. Since 2013, Durham has added 170 jobs, to 655 in 2023.
| Durham | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 4.1% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 13% | 10% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The nearest emergency room, Columbia Memorial Hospital, is 21.1 miles away in a straight line.
Durham beats the New York average on 5 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 18% of Durham adults binge drink.
| Durham | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 16% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 16% | 17% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 21% | 23% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 81% | 81% | 79% |
| What stands out | Durham | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 11.2% | 17.2% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 9.8% | 14.5% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.3% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
8.7 miles of trail in 7 parks and preserves.
| Durham | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.6% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Mount Hayden State Forest | 4.5 mi | 541 |
| 2. Mount Pisgah State Forest | 0.5 mi | 50 |
| 3. Windham-Blackhead Range Wilderness | — | 218 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Durham has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 82°, January nights drop to 14° and about 46 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 54% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 10 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Durham.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Durham. Close and well known come first.
13 mi WaterfallKaaterskill Falls
20 mi MuseumOlana State Historic Site
12 mi Ski areaHunter Mountain62 runs · 1,532 ft vertical
27 mi MuseumUSS Slater
28 mi Stadium & arenaMVP Arena
27 mi Park & preserveCatskill ParkKaaterskill Falls: Mwanner, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Olana State Historic Site: Netniks, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Hunter Mountain: The original uploader was Daniel Case at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0 · USS 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 · Catskill Park: The original uploader was Daniel Case at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0
None within 15 miles of Durham; the nearest are
About 1 of every 100 Durham residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
Where Durham’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
22 places in Durham on the National Register of Historic Places.
Town in New York, United States
Durham is a town in Greene County, New York, United States. The population was 2,627 at the 2020 census. The town was named after Durham, Connecticut, and is in the northwestern corner of Greene County.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Durham.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Durham | #237 | B+ | B | A+ | C− | B+ |
| Windham | — | — | B | A+ | B+ | B+ |
| Greenville | #361 | B− | C | — | C | A− |
| East Durham | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Cairo | #493 | C+ | C | A+ | C− | B− |
| Rensselaerville | — | — | C+ | — | C+ | A |
| Conesville | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Windham and Rensselaerville have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Greenville and Rensselaerville report no FBI crime data of their own. East Durham and Conesville aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Durham with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Durham grades B+ overall, better than 70% of U.S. towns and #237 of 745 in New York. It grades B+ for health, A+ for safety and C− for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a C−.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
2 notable people were born here, including Lyman Tremain and Alfred Newman.
