Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Glens Falls is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades B− overall, 393rd among New York's 745 graded towns, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is safety: it reports less crime per resident than 65% of U.S. towns. Expect to pay for it: homes are expensive, about $274K for a typical one and 3.6 times the Glens Falls metro’s $76K median household income. Its National Register listings include Sherman House and Argent Apartments. Glens Falls is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 90% of U.S. towns. On civic life, just 12 of New York’s 1,187 towns do better.
Where Glens Falls beats most towns.
Sherman House
Its 41 National Register listings are more than in 97% of New York towns with a listing.
Census counts: 2,717 in 1850, 15,830 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1821 and 5 maps from 1895 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Glens Falls is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Glens Falls. Close and well known come first.
4 mi Theme parkGreat Escape
8 mi LandmarkFort William Henry
Big draw39 mi LandmarkFort Ticonderoga
22 mi LakeLake George
9 mi State parkGrant Cottage State Historic Site
in town Stadium & arenaCool Insuring ArenaGreat Escape: Jared and Corin, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Fort William Henry: IrisKawling at en.wikipedia, Public domain · Fort Ticonderoga: Mwanner, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lake George: Sixlocal, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Grant Cottage State Historic Site: Coingeek at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Cool Insuring Arena: Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, United States, CC BY-SA 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Glens Falls, 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 Glens Falls.
Glens Falls draws workers from Queensbury and beyond, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and is safe by national standards but not by New York’s.
11,818 jobs are based in Glens Falls, 1.8 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 19.3 minutes, against 32.6 across New York.
The share of working residents in Glens Falls who work locally is 23%, against 10% in New York’s towns and 8% across U.S. towns. Glens Falls’ average commute comes in at 19 minutes. Employers in Glens Falls shed 2,780 jobs between 2013 and 2023, to 11,818. The top destinations are Queensbury (18%), Saratoga Springs (6%) and Wilton (4%).
| Glens Falls | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 23% | 10% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $68,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 8.7% | 12% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Each of its 3 graded neighbors has a higher School Grade than its C, Queensbury highest at B+.
Of its 7 schools, three are listed below, each with the reason. The public schools here belong to the Glens Falls City School District. Public school enrollment in the town: 1,483 students across 5 schools.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glens Falls Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 5–8 | Grades 5–8 | 610 | C− |
| Glens Falls Senior High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 628 | A− |
| Kensington Road SchoolTop results in townGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 263 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
Homes sold in Glens Falls spent a median 11 days on the market. The share of households in Glens Falls who are owner-occupiers is 52%, below both New York’s towns (75%) and U.S. towns (73%). Zillow values the typical Glens Falls home at about $274,000, up 3.3% in a year, 48% below the New York typical home.
| Glens Falls | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 52% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,077 a month | $1,103 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Compared with 87% of U.S. communities, expected storm and flood damage in Glens Falls is lower. FEMA puts 42% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 28% to cold waves. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Glens Falls after 2 declared disasters, most recently in 2011.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The biggest park or preserve is Crandall Park, at 55 acres. Trails total 1.6 miles in 7 parks and preserves. Parks and preserves in Glens Falls: 7, covering 92 acres.
| Glens Falls | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 5.3% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Crandall Park | 0.2 mi | 55 |
| 2. Haviland's Cove Park | 0.2 mi | 25 |
| 3. Murray Street Park | — | 5 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The range runs from 11° on a January night to 83° on a July afternoon, with about 60 inches of snow a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
At 13 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 51% of New York’s graded towns.
Glens Falls’ level of violent crime stands at 1.7 per 1,000 residents. In Glens Falls, the property offense rate is 6.7 per 1,000 residents.
| Glens Falls | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.7 per 1,000 residents | 0.8 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 6.7 per 1,000 residents | 7.6 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Against the 10,303 U.S. towns with household incomes like Glens Falls’s, it is healthier than 82%, so its B isn’t only a matter of income.
Among adults in Glens Falls, 10% have diabetes. Of 32 CDC measures, Glens Falls beats the New York average on 4 and trails it on 5.
| Glens Falls | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 16% | 17% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 34% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 11% | 12% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 21% | 23% |
| What stands out | Glens Falls | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6.2% | 7.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 14.1% | 17.2% |
| More adults with depression | 23.1% | 17.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Glens Falls has lost 3% of its people since 2020, down to 14,383 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. Adults 18 to 34 are 28% of residents (23% statewide). In Glens Falls, the median age is 36.9 years. A bachelor’s degree or higher: just over a third of adults 25 and older, vs 40% across New York.
| Glens Falls | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 36.9 years | 43 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 16% | 20% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 19% | 20% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 34% | 32% | 29% |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.1 points. Across New York, 51.2% of residents are women. Median age: women 37.2, men 36.7.
| Glens Falls | NY | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.7% | 11% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7.9% | 9.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 19% | 14.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.5% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.5% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14.2% | 13.3% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11.1% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 4.9% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 7.9% | 12% | 10.4% |
| High school | 27.9% | 24.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 17.1% | 14.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 13.4% | 8.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 19% | 22.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 14.7% | 17.9% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
1 within 15 miles of the center of Glens Falls
About 5 of every 100 Glens Falls residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
Where Glens Falls’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
41 places in Glens Falls on the National Register of Historic Places.
20 notable people were born in Glens Falls.
City in New York, United States
Glens Falls is a city in Warren County, New York, United States, and is the central city of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 14,830 at the 2020 census. The name was given by Colonel Johannes Glen, the falls referring to a large waterfall in the Hudson River at the southern end of the city. Glens Falls is a city in the southeastern corner of Warren County, surrounded by the town of Queensbury to the north, east, and west, and by the Hudson River and Saratoga County to the south. Glens Falls is known as "Hometown U.S.A.," a title Look magazine gave it in 1944. The city has also referred to itself as the "Empire City."
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Glens Falls.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glens Falls | #393 | B− | C | B+ | C | B |
| Queensbury | #257 | B+ | C− | — | B+ | A− |
| West Glens Falls | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Moreau | #340 | B | B− | — | B− | A− |
| South Glens Falls | #402 | B− | C+ | B | B− | B− |
| Glens Falls North | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Queensbury and Moreau report no FBI crime data of their own. West Glens Falls and Glens Falls North aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Glens Falls with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Glens Falls grades B− overall, better than 50% of U.S. towns and #393 of 745 in New York. It grades B for health, B+ for safety and C for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
20 notable people were born here, including Edward C. Prescott and Charles Evans Hughes.
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