Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The everyday basics are strong; the price of a home is the catch. Its standout strength is health: residents are healthier than 91% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. What holds it back is cost of living (C−): the typical home is worth about $292K, 3.3 years of the Albany metro’s $88K median household income. Put together, the subjects come to an A overall, ranking 132nd of 745 in New York. It comes out better than 85% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings include Craver Farmstead and John Jr. Carner House. East Greenbush is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 88% of U.S. towns. 49% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more locally, against 32% in New York’s towns and 29% across U.S. towns.
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · National Register of Historic Places.
Where East Greenbush beats most towns.
Its founding year, 1630, comes before those of 99% of the New York towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 1,607 in 1860, a low of 1,350 in 1910, 16,748 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1911 and 5 maps from 1893 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far East Greenbush is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around East Greenbush. Close and well known come first.
3 mi MuseumUSS Slater
4 mi Stadium & arenaMVP Arena
27 mi MountainMount Greylock
4 mi Ancient siteFort Orange
4 mi MuseumSchuyler Mansion
4 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 East Greenbush, 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 East Greenbush.
East Greenbush draws workers from Colonie and beyond and has less food insecurity than most of New York, but it reports more crime than North Greenbush and its other graded neighbors.
13,064 jobs are based in East Greenbush, 1.5 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 21.1 minutes, against 32.6 across New York.
14% of East Greenbush working residents work locally. Employers in East Greenbush added 5,060 jobs between 2013 and 2023, to 13,064. Its middle household income is $105,000. The median commute is under 7 miles.
| East Greenbush | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $105,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 5% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 14% | 10% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its A− for schools comes with a C− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $292K.
The largest public high school is Columbia High School, with 1,272 students. The East Greenbush Central School District runs its public schools. Two of its 5 schools are shown below, with the reason for each.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Howard L Goff SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 948 | B |
| Columbia High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,272 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with New York is food insecurity: 9.6% of its 11,209 adults worry about having enough food, against 17.2% statewide.
The share of adults in East Greenbush who have been diagnosed with depression: 19%. This New York town beats the New York average on 14 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. In East Greenbush, 13% of adults say their health is fair or poor, and 10% smoke cigarettes.
| East Greenbush | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 14% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 17% | 19% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 13% | 14% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 21% | 23% |
| What stands out | East Greenbush | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9.6% | 17.2% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 4.6% | 7.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.6% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
There are 11 miles of trail across 5 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is East Greenbush Town Park, 84 acres with 2.8 miles of trail. For East Greenbush, the trail network density is 0.5 miles per square mile.
| East Greenbush | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 3.4% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. East Greenbush Town Park | 2.8 mi | 84 |
| 2. Hampton Manor Park | — | 2 |
| 3. Eckman Park | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Federal disaster aid has reached households in East Greenbush after 8 declared disasters, most recently in 2017. Expected damage from storms and floods is lower here than in 77% of U.S. communities. 66% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by tornadoes at 10%. This New York town has had 6 paid flood insurance claims since 1980.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Summer afternoons peak near 83° in July, and January nights bottom out around 16°; snowfall runs to about 53 inches a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
For East Greenbush, the median age is 44.4 years. Adults 18 to 34 are 16% of residents (23% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 45% of residents (39% statewide). 19% of residents are under 18 locally. Here, nearly half of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree, against 40% in New York as a whole.
| East Greenbush | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 49% | 32% | 29% |
| Median age | 44.4 years | 42.9 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 19% | 20% | 22% |
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.4 points. Across New York, 51.2% of residents are women.
| East Greenbush | NY | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.7% | 11% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.4% | 9.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 4.5% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.9% | 14.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 15.1% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.6% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 17% | 13.3% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 12.6% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.2% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.7% | 12% | 10.4% |
| High school | 18.1% | 24.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 14.8% | 14.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 13.4% | 8.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 25.5% | 22.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 23.5% | 17.9% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Each of the 4 graded towns on its borders reports less crime per resident, from North Greenbush (B−) to Schodack (A). Reported crimes fell from 334 to 249 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The rate of thefts and burglaries in East Greenbush is 14.7 per 1,000 residents. The violent crime rate locally is 0.3 per 1,000 residents.
| East Greenbush | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 14.7 per 1,000 residents | 7.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.3 per 1,000 residents | 0.8 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The rent at the middle of the market for East Greenbush comes to $1,643 a month. In East Greenbush, three quarters of households are owner-occupiers.
| East Greenbush | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,643 a month | $1,098 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 75% | 75% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
13 within 15 miles of the center of East Greenbush
About 3 of every 100 East Greenbush residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
Where East Greenbush’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
2 places in East Greenbush on the National Register of Historic Places.
Town in New York, United States
East Greenbush is a town in Rensselaer County, New York, United States. It is a suburb of Albany. The population was 16,748 at the 2020 census. The word Greenbush is derived from the Dutch het groen bosch, referring to the pine woods that originally covered the land. The first settlement of the land now known as East Greenbush was made by tenants under patroon Kiliaen van Rensselaer circa 1630. The town was established in 1855 as Clinton, and was renamed in 1858. It is mostly suburban along its major highways and rural in the southwestern and northeastern corners. I-90 traverses the town. It contains the western (or southern) terminus of US 4 and the northern terminus of NY 9J; as well as U…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with East Greenbush.
Rensselaer next door grades lower for schools (D to East Greenbush’s A−) and higher for cost of living (B− to C−).
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Greenbush | #132 | A | C− | B− | A− | A |
| North Greenbush | #151 | A− | C− | B− | A− | A |
| Rensselaer | #494 | C+ | B− | B− | D | B |
| Schodack | #78 | A | C+ | A | A− | A |
| Sand Lake | #80 | A | B− | — | A− | A |
| Bethlehem | #77 | A | C− | B+ | A− | A+ |
| Hampton Manor | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Sand Lake reports no FBI crime data of its own. Hampton Manor isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare East Greenbush with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. East Greenbush grades A overall, better than 85% of U.S. towns and #132 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 $292,000, 44% 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−.
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