Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The picture is mixed. Overall, Galway earns a C+, better than 45% of U.S. towns. In the ranking it comes 436th of 745 in New York. Cost of living is its weak spot: the typical home is worth about $365K, 4.1 years of the Albany metro’s $88K median household income. Walkability is weaker too. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than just over four fifths of U.S. towns. It does especially well on incomes: the median household earns $110K. Health is another plus (B+) — CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 71% of the country.
Figures: incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · health, CDC PLACES · home values, Zillow.
Where Galway beats most towns.
Census counts: 2,310 in 1800, a low of 1,101 in 1920, 3,525 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 2010 and 4 maps from 1899 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Galway is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Galway. Close and well known come first.
31 mi LandmarkFort William Henry
28 mi Theme parkGreat Escape
13 mi MuseumNational Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
19 mi State parkGrant Cottage State Historic Site
12 mi TheatreSaratoga Performing Arts Center
30 mi Stadium & arenaMVP ArenaFort William Henry: IrisKawling at en.wikipedia, Public domain · Great Escape: Jared and Corin, CC BY-SA 2.0 · National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame: Peter Flass, CC BY 3.0 · Grant Cottage State Historic Site: Coingeek at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Saratoga Performing Arts Center: 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
Who provides power, water and the rest in Galway, 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 Galway.
Galway is a second-home town, sends most of its workers to Saratoga Springs and beyond and owes part of its health edge to its incomes.
Expected losses in Galway break down as 72% from inland flooding and 8% from tornadoes. The FEMA hazard score for Galway comes to 17 of 100, below both New York’s towns (31 of 100) and U.S. towns (44 of 100). Households locally have drawn federal disaster aid in 4 declared disasters, most recently in 2017.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its two schools are below. The largest public high school is Galway Junior/Senior High School, with 419 students. Public school enrollment locally: 832 students across 2 schools.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joseph Henry Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 413 | B− |
| Galway Junior/Senior High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 6–12 | Grades 6–12 | 419 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
Galway has 462 jobs for its 1,612 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. The average commute takes 25.9 minutes, against 32.6 across New York.
The median commute is under 17 miles. The top destinations are Saratoga Springs (9%), Albany (9%) and Schenectady (6%). Since 2013, Galway has added 24 jobs, to 462 in 2023.
| Galway | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $110,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 6.3% | 10% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 26 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 10% | 12% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 7,120 U.S. towns with household incomes like Galway’s, it is less healthy than 52%: its national edge comes with its incomes.
In Galway, 16% of adults report frequent mental distress. 34% of Galway adults sleep under 7 hours, against 37% in New York’s towns and 36% across U.S. towns. Against the New York average, Galway comes out ahead on 7 CDC measures out of 32, and behind on 5.
| Galway | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 37% | 36% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 16% | 17% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 32% | 33% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 81% | 81% | 79% |
| What stands out | Galway | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 11.3% | 17.2% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.4% | 7.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.2% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Count the trails in 8 parks and preserves and they come to 10 miles. The biggest park or preserve is Consaulis Vly County Forest, at 97 acres. In Galway, the concentration of trails is 0.2 miles per square mile.
| Galway | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 9.3% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Galway Nature Preserve | 1.8 mi | 51 |
| 2. Glowegee Creek Preserve South | 1.6 mi | 96 |
| 3. Barkersville Trails | 1.5 mi | 84 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
22.2% of homes are seasonal or vacation homes, against 3.5% statewide, which helps explain the older median age.
People 65 and older are 24% of residents (18% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 19% of residents (23% statewide). The share of adults 25 and older in Galway who hold a bachelor’s degree or more: 41%. For Galway, the midpoint age is 49.4 years.
| Galway | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 49.4 years | 42.9 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 24% | 20% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 18% | 20% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 41% | 32% | 29% |
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4.3 points. Across New York, 51.2% of residents are women. Among residents 18 to 24, 82% are men (NY 50%).
| Galway | NY | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.1% | 11% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.4% | 9.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.3% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10.6% | 14.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 7.6% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 14.8% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 17.6% | 13.3% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 13% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 10.6% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.9% | 12% | 10.4% |
| High school | 20.7% | 24.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 24% | 14.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.7% | 8.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 22.4% | 22.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 18.2% | 17.9% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 3,500, single groups can be off by several points
Just over nine in ten households are owner-occupiers in Galway. The midpoint rent for Galway comes to $1,526 a month.
| Galway | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 91% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,526 a month | $1,098 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
3 within 15 miles of the center of Galway
About 5 of every 100 Galway residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
Where Galway’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
4 notable people were born in Galway.
Town in New York, United States
Galway (US: ) is a town located in Saratoga County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town had a total population of 3,525. The town contains a village also named Galway. Both the town and village are located in the western part of the county, north of Schenectady. Galway is a rural community with a mixture of small business, farming, and residential homes. The town is home to both year-round and seasonal residents. It was originally named New Galloway after Galloway in Scotland. When the town was incorporated, however, it was incorrectly recorded as Galway. Although the spelling is the same as Galway, Ireland, it is not pronounced the same.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Galway.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Galway | #436 | C+ | C− | — | B− | B+ |
| Charlton | #164 | A− | C+ | — | A− | A− |
| Providence | — | — | C+ | — | B− | B+ |
| Milton | #184 | A− | C+ | — | B+ | A− |
| Broadalbin | #606 | C− | C+ | — | C+ | B |
Providence has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Galway, Charlton, Providence, Milton and Broadalbin report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Galway with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Galway grades C+ overall, better than 45% of U.S. towns and #436 of 745 in New York. It grades B+ for health and B− for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes. The typical home is worth about $365,000, 30% 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−.
4 notable people were born here, including Allen Potter and Chauncey Vibbard.
