Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 26,658, settled in 1788.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Halfmoon grades A− overall, ranked 159th of 745 in New York. Residents are healthier than 86% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. The median household earns $101K and its schools outperform 84% of the state's. What holds it back is price: the typical home is worth about $388K, 4.4 years of the Albany metro’s $88K median household income. Halfmoon has 6 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Mechanicville Hydroelectric Plant and Oakcliff. 47% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Halfmoon, where New York’s towns sit at 32% and U.S. towns at 29%. The biggest park or preserve is Vosburgh Road Preserve, at 189 acres.
Where Halfmoon beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Mechanicville Elementary School | PK–5 | 598 |
| Mother Teresa Academy | PK–K | 124 |
| Mechanicville Junior/Senior High School | 6–12 | 717 |
Census counts: 4,024 in 1820, a low of 1,534 in 1920, 25,662 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1850 and 6 maps from 1893 on.
6 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Halfmoon is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Halfmoon. Close and well known come first.
33 mi MountainMount Greylock
39 mi LandmarkFort William Henry
15 mi MuseumNational Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
34 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 Halfmoon, 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 Halfmoon.
Halfmoon has less food insecurity than most of New York, pairs an A− for schools with high home prices and has commutes shorter than most of New York.
Its widest gap with New York is food insecurity: 9.8% of its 20,123 adults worry about having enough food, against 17.2% statewide.
20% of Halfmoon adults get no exercise outside work. Halfmoon beats the New York average on 14 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 3. 12% of Halfmoon adults report frequent physical distress.
| Halfmoon | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 25% | 25% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 17% | 19% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 14% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 9.4% | 11% | 12% |
| What stands out | Halfmoon | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9.8% | 17.2% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 4.7% | 7.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.3% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its A− for schools comes with a C− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $388K.
Its public schools are run by the Mechanicville City School District. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Mechanicville Junior/Senior High School, with 717 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mechanicville Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 598 | B− |
| Mechanicville Junior/Senior High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 6–12 | Grades 6–12 | 717 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 81% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 17 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Halfmoon.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
12 miles of trail in 8 parks and preserves.
| Halfmoon | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 2.9% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Halfmoon Town Park | 1 mi | 52 |
| 2. Vosburgh Road Preserve | 0.9 mi | 189 |
| 3. Vischer Ferry Nature & Historic Preserve | 0.3 mi | 65 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The average commute for its 11,707 working residents takes 23.7 minutes, against 32.6 across New York.
Most working residents leave Halfmoon for work: only 7% work in town. Jobs based in Halfmoon grew to 7,917 in 2023, 1,476 more than in 2013. 4.3% of residents live below the poverty line in Halfmoon.
| Halfmoon | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 4.3% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 16% | 12% | 11% |
| Median household income | $101,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 6.5% | 10% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Halfmoon 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
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the New York average. Halfmoon has grown 3.9% since 2020, to 26,658 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 47% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 40% across New York.
| Halfmoon | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 20% | 20% | 22% |
| Median age | 42.1 years | 43 years | 40.5 years |
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±1.9 points). Across New York, 51.2% of residents are women. Median age: women 42.1, men 42.2.
| Halfmoon | NY | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.2% | 11% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.6% | 9.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.7% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.7% | 14.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.9% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.5% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14.6% | 13.3% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11.6% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.2% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.5% | 12% | 10.4% |
| High school | 19.6% | 24.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 18% | 14.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 11.4% | 8.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 27.8% | 22.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 18.7% | 17.9% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
The median rent in Halfmoon is $1,559 a month.
| Halfmoon | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,559 a month | $1,098 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 67% | 75% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
16 within 15 miles of the center of Halfmoon
About 4 of every 100 Halfmoon residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
21,535 counted in 2010 and 25,662 in 2020; an estimated 26,658 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
6 places in Halfmoon on the National Register of Historic Places.
3 notable people were born in Halfmoon.
Town in New York, United States
Halfmoon is a town in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 25,662 at the 2020 census. The town is named for the shape of the lower elevation land north of the junction of the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers. It is also said to be named for Henry Hudson's ship, the Halve Maen. Halfmoon is in the southeastern part of the county and is north of Albany.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Halfmoon.
Schaghticoke next door grades lower for schools (B− to Halfmoon’s A−) and higher for cost of living (B to C−).
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Halfmoon | #159 | A− | C− | — | A− | A |
| Stillwater | #153 | A− | C+ | A | A− | A− |
| Schaghticoke | #222 | B+ | B | — | B− | B+ |
| Mechanicville | #553 | C | B− | — | C | C+ |
| Clifton Park | #35 | A+ | C | — | A | A |
| Malta | #142 | A− | C− | — | A− | A |
| Waterford | #19 | A+ | B | A | A | A− |
| Colonie | #253 | B+ | C | C− | A− | A |
Halfmoon, Schaghticoke, Mechanicville, Clifton Park and Malta report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Halfmoon with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Halfmoon grades A− overall, better than 81% of U.S. towns and #159 of 745 in New York. It grades A for health and A− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes. The typical home is worth about $388,000, 26% 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−.
3 notable people were born here, including John Farmer, cartographer and Kathleen A. Marchione.
