Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,811.
The best of Hillsdale’s subject grades are an A− for health and an A+ for history; the weakest is a C− for cost of living. 30% of residents are 65 or older in Hillsdale, where New York’s towns sit at 20% and U.S. towns at 18%. Only 44 of New York’s 1,216 towns score higher on history. The biggest park or preserve is Harlem Valley Rail Trail, at 41 acres. Hillsdale has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Hillsdale beats most towns.
Hillsdale Hamlet Historic DistrictWhere Hillsdale’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Hillsdale is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 2,511 in 1820, 1,831 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1799 and 3 maps from 1902 on.
6 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Hillsdale. Close and well known come first.
10 mi MuseumNorman Rockwell Museum
14 mi TheatreTanglewood
37 mi National Historic SiteHome of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site102K visitors a year
16 mi MuseumOlana State Historic Site
34 mi MountainMount Greylock
36 mi National Historic SiteVanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site295K visitors a yearNorman Rockwell Museum: User:Rmrfstar, CC BY 2.5 · Tanglewood: Daderot., CC BY-SA 3.0 · Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site: Crunch, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Olana State Historic Site: Netniks, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Mount Greylock: Jstergis, CC BY 3.0 · Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site: Daderot, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Hillsdale, 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 Hillsdale.
Hillsdale beats the New York average on 9 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 6. 14% of adults report frequent mental distress in Hillsdale, against 16% in New York’s towns and 17% across U.S. towns. 29% of Hillsdale adults feel lonely.
| Hillsdale | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 16% | 17% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 32% | 33% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 21% | 23% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 37% | 36% |
| What stands out | Hillsdale | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 8.6% | 14.5% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 10.4% | 17.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.9% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hawthorne Valley School PrivateLargest high schoolGrades PK–12 | Grades PK–12 | 307 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
Most working residents leave Hillsdale for work: only 11% work in town. Hillsdale’s average trip to work is 19 minutes. Since 2013, Hillsdale has lost 135 jobs, to 391 in 2023.
| Hillsdale | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 19% | 12% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
People 65 and older are 30% of residents (18% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 13% of residents (23% statewide). The median age in Hillsdale is 53.6 years. 48% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 40% across New York.
| Hillsdale | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 53.6 years | 43 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 14% | 20% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 48% | 32% | 29% |
47% women, 53% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±6.8 points. Across New York, 51.2% of residents are women.
| Hillsdale | NY | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 7.2% | 11% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7.1% | 9.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 3.6% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 9.2% | 14.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.9% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 15.3% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 16.2% | 13.3% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 16.3% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 13.3% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.2% | 12% | 10.4% |
| High school | 26.9% | 24.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 12.6% | 14.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.5% | 8.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 22.6% | 22.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 25.2% | 17.9% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,800, single groups can be off by several points
Hillsdale has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 82°, January nights drop to 15° and about 50 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The typical Hillsdale home is worth about $605,000, up 7.7% in a year, 15% above the New York typical home.
| Hillsdale | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,341 a month | $1,101 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 76% | 75% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
| Hillsdale | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 7% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Berkshire Hills Sculpture Garden | 0.5 mi | 15 |
| 2. Harlem Valley Rail Trail | — | 41 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 55% of U.S. communities. Since 1995, 5 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Hillsdale.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Hillsdale
About 3 of every 100 Hillsdale residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
6 places in Hillsdale on the National Register of Historic Places.
10 notable people were born in Hillsdale.
Town in New York, United States
Hillsdale is a town in eastern Columbia County, New York, near the New York - Massachusetts border and Great Barrington, Massachusetts. New York state routes 22 and 23 intersect near the town center, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The town has several restaurants and a general store, among other businesses. Hillsdale is known for its hilly landscape and is near Bash Bish Falls, Taconic State Park, and the Catamount Ski Area. The Harlem Valley Rail Trail, a 26-mile bike path in two sections, is located not far from the intersection of routes 22 and 23.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Hillsdale.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hillsdale | — | — | C− | — | C+ | A− |
| Copake | #491 | C+ | C+ | — | C+ | B+ |
| Austerlitz | — | — | C− | — | C+ | A |
| Ghent | #530 | C | C− | — | C+ | B+ |
| Claverack | #602 | C− | C | — | C− | B |
Hillsdale and Austerlitz have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Hillsdale, Copake, Austerlitz, Ghent and Claverack report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Hillsdale with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes. That is 7.4 years of the area's median household income ($81,528 across the Hudson, NY area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
10 notable people were born here, including Ambrose L. Jordan and Ezra Dean.
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