Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Hamilton grades C+ overall, better than 42% of U.S. towns, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. It is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns. On the other side, homes are expensive, about $241K for a typical one and 3.2 times the Syracuse metro’s $75K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 98% of U.S. towns, with 5 places on the National Register. Hamilton is a college campus (most residents are students), so it isn’t ranked among New York’s towns. 37% of working residents work locally in Hamilton, above both New York’s towns (10%) and U.S. towns (8%). On history, just 91 of New York’s 1,216 towns do better. The biggest park or preserve is Charles E. Baker State Forest, at 277 acres.
Where Hamilton beats most towns.
Old Biology HallCensus counts: 2,681 in 1820, 6,379 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1858 and 2 maps from 1902 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Hamilton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Hamilton, 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 Hamilton.
Hamilton is shaped by its college students and draws workers from Madison and beyond.
50.3% of residents are enrolled in college, against 7% statewide, which pulls the median age down.
Hamilton’s median age is 21.3 years. Adults 18 to 34 are 57% of residents (23% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 21% of residents (39% statewide). 8.9% of residents are 65 or older in Hamilton.
| Hamilton | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 21.3 years | 43 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 12% | 20% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 8.9% | 20% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 50% | 32% | 29% |
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.3 points. Across New York, 51.2% of residents are women. Median age: women 21.0, men 21.7.
| Hamilton | NY | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 6.7% | 11% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 5.7% | 9.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 49.3% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 8.1% | 14.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 5.5% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 8.9% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 6.9% | 13.3% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 4.5% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 4.4% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 9.1% | 12% | 10.4% |
| High school | 20.8% | 24.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 13.3% | 14.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.2% | 8.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 16.5% | 22.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 33.1% | 17.9% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Its public schools are run by the Hamilton Central School District. Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hamilton Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 256 | B |
| Hamilton Junior-Senior High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 6–12 | Grades 6–12 | 286 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
3,597 jobs are based in Hamilton, 1.8 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 18.1 minutes, against 32.6 across New York.
About one in 3 of Hamilton’s working residents works in town. The average trip to work in Hamilton is 18 minutes. Since 2013, Hamilton has added 649 jobs, to 3,597 in 2023.
| Hamilton | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 7.4% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $75,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Hamilton beats the New York average on 5 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 7. 34% of Hamilton adults feel lonely.
| Hamilton | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 34% | 35% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 32% | 33% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 9.8% | 11% | 12% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 16% | 17% |
| What stands out | Hamilton | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.5% | 7.9% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 10.9% | 14.5% |
| More adults with depression | 22% | 17.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Hamilton has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 79°, January nights drop to 13° and about 77 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
6.8 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Charles E. Baker State Forest, at 277 acres.
| Hamilton | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.2% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Charles E. Baker State Forest | 0.8 mi | 277 |
| 2. Hamilton Village Green | 0.4 mi | 2 |
| 3. The Schapiro Reserve | — | 40 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 58% of U.S. communities. Since 1992, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Hamilton.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Hamilton. Close and well known come first.
Big draw29 mi MuseumNational Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum315K visitors a year
37 mi Stadium & arenaJMA Wireless Dome30 mi LandmarkFort Dayton
29 mi National MonumentFort Stanwix National Monument78K visitors a year
25 mi Stadium & arenaUtica Memorial Auditorium
30 mi State parkGreen Lakes State ParkNational Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum: Beyond My Ken, CC BY-SA 4.0 · JMA Wireless Dome: Jimhoward03, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Fort Stanwix National Monument: NPS photo, Public domain · Utica Memorial Auditorium: Doug Kerr, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Green Lakes State Park: Ebedgert at English Wikipedia, Public domain
2 within 15 miles of the center of Hamilton
College town 50 of every 100 Hamilton residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
Where Hamilton’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
5 places in Hamilton on the National Register of Historic Places.
14 notable people were born in Hamilton.
Town in Madison County, New York, US
Hamilton is a town in Madison County, New York, United States. The population was 6,379 at the 2020 census. The town is named after American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton and is a college town, with Colgate University dominating the town's employment, culture and population. The town of Hamilton contains a village also named Hamilton.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Hamilton.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hamilton | – | C+ | C− | — | B− | B+ |
| Sherburne | #600 | C− | B− | — | C+ | C+ |
| Madison | #595 | C− | C+ | — | D | B+ |
| Lebanon | — | — | B+ | — | B− | B+ |
| Brookfield | — | — | A− | — | D | C |
| Hamilton | – | A | C− | A+ | A− | A |
Lebanon and Brookfield have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Hamilton, Sherburne, Madison, Lebanon and Brookfield report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Hamilton with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Hamilton grades C+ overall, better than 42% of U.S. towns. Hamilton is a college campus (most residents are students), so it isn’t ranked among New York’s towns. It grades B+ for health and B− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
14 notable people were born here, including John Vincent Atanasoff and Henry B. Payne.
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