Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The best of Jackson’s subject grades are an A+ for civic life and an A for history; the weakest is a C− for walkability. Only 6 of New York’s 1,187 towns score higher on civic life. 12% of the land in Jackson is conserved, against 5.2% in New York’s towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns. Jackson has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Shushan Covered Bridge and Maxwell Farm. Jackson has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Jackson beats most towns.
Shushan Covered BridgeWhere Jackson’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 Jackson is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 2,004 in 1820, a low of 795 in 1960, 1,717 in 2020. The archive holds 3 maps from 1895 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Jackson, 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 Jackson.
Jackson: 15% of residents are under 18. The age of the median resident for Jackson comes to 56.9 years, where New York’s towns sit at 43 years and U.S. towns at 40.5 years. Among adults 25 and older, 33% have a four-year degree or more, against 40% across New York.
| Jackson | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 56.9 years | 43 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 33% | 20% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 15% | 20% | 22% |
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4.5 points. Across New York, 51.2% of residents are women. Among residents 75 and older, 60% are men (NY 40%).
| Jackson | NY | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 6.4% | 11% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.3% | 9.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 8% | 14.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 8.1% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 9.9% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 21.1% | 13.3% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 21.6% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 11.8% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 7% | 12% | 10.4% |
| High school | 30.4% | 24.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 18.6% | 14.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 11.4% | 8.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 16.5% | 22.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 16.1% | 17.9% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,700, single groups can be off by several points
Most working residents leave Jackson for work: only 4% work in town. The average trip to work for Jackson comes to 34 minutes. Employers in Jackson shed 142 jobs between 2013 and 2023, to 78. Half of commuters travel less than 19 miles.
| Jackson | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 34 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 4.1% | 10% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 7.5% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
16% of adults binge drink in Jackson. On the CDC’s 32 measures, Jackson is ahead of New York on 8 and behind on 7. In Jackson, 33% of adults sleep under 7 hours, and 30% feel lonely.
| Jackson | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 83% | 81% | 79% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 37% | 36% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 32% | 33% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 33% | 35% |
| What stands out | Jackson | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 10.6% | 17.2% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 9.2% | 14.5% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.3% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Jackson’s peak summer temperature is 81°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
For Jackson, the concentration of trails is 0.1 miles per square mile. Trails run 2.6 miles in 3 parks and preserves. Also worth knowing: the biggest park or preserve is Eldridge Swamp State Forest, at 525 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Batten Kill State Forest | 1.8 mi | 517 |
| 2. Eldridge Swamp State Forest | — | 525 |
| 3. Goose Egg State Forest | 0.1 mi | 8 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
FEMA puts three quarters of the town’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 6% to cold waves. For Jackson, the FEMA risk score is 53 of 100. Paid flood insurance claims here since 1982: one.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Jackson. Close and well known come first.
38 mi LakeLake George
33 mi MountainMount Greylock
29 mi LandmarkFort William Henry
24 mi Theme parkGreat Escape
27 mi MuseumClark Art Institute
20 mi MuseumNational Museum of Racing and Hall of FameLake George: Sixlocal, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Mount Greylock: Jstergis, CC BY 3.0 · Fort William Henry: IrisKawling at en.wikipedia, Public domain · Great Escape: Jared and Corin, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Clark Art Institute: Daderot, Public domain · National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame: Peter Flass, CC BY 3.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Jackson
About 2 of every 100 Jackson residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
Town in New York, United States
Jackson is a town in southeastern Washington County, New York, United States. It is part of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Jackson.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jackson | — | — | C | — | B− | B+ |
| Salem | #580 | C | B− | — | C+ | B |
| Greenwich | #312 | B | C+ | — | B | A− |
| White Creek | #566 | C | C+ | — | C+ | B+ |
| Cambridge · Cambridge | — | — | C− | A | B | B+ |
| Easton | — | — | C | — | B | A− |
Jackson, Cambridge and Easton have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Jackson, Salem, Greenwich, White Creek and Easton report no FBI crime data of their own. Cambridge and Cambridge are one community, graded once. Compare Jackson with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
2 times the nonprofits per person than the typical New York town.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
