Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Johnstown grades C overall, 585th of 745 graded towns in New York, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. It has 43 miles of trail and natural-hazard risk is low. On the other side, its schools rank behind 85% of the state's. 17% of the land in Johnstown is conserved, above both the New York town median (5.2%) and the median of U.S. towns (4.3%). On civic life, just 28 of New York’s 1,187 towns do worse. The biggest place to walk is Peck Hill State Forest, 2,851 acres with 14.9 miles of trail.
Where Johnstown beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Johnstown is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 3,282 in 1870, 8,204 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1763 and 4 maps from 1903 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Johnstown, 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 Johnstown.
Johnstown trails even towns with similar incomes on health, but it has lost a quarter or more of its jobs in ten years.
The density of trails for Johnstown comes to 0.6 miles per square mile, above New York’s towns (0.4) and close to U.S. towns (0.4). This New York town has 3 parks and preserves, 3,550 acres in all.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Peck Hill State Forest | 14.9 mi | 2,851 |
| 2. Rockwood State Forest | 5.6 mi | 694 |
| 3. Shaker Mountain Wild Forest | 0.2 mi | 5 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Johnstown’s FEMA risk score stands at 20 of 100. Federal aid has come to Johnstown households in 2 declared disasters; the latest was in 2019. 67% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by cold waves at 10%. One claim on flood insurance has been paid out here since 2024.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Jobs based here fell from 3,033 in 2013 to 2,104. The average commute for its 2,837 working residents takes 21.9 minutes, against 32.6 across New York.
Johnstown’s average commute comes in at 22 minutes. Just 7% of the town’s working residents have a job in town. Between 2013 and 2023, jobs in Johnstown dropped by 929, to 2,104. The top destinations are Johnstown (18%), Gloversville (12%) and Amsterdam (5%).
| Johnstown | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $97,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 6.6% | 10% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
In Johnstown, the typical July afternoon high is 80°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Against the 8,964 U.S. towns with household incomes like Johnstown’s, it is less healthy than 81%, so it trails even them.
Among adults in Johnstown, 16% worry about having enough food. In Johnstown, 16% of adults smoke cigarettes, and 39% sleep under 7 hours.
| Johnstown | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 14% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 37% | 36% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 25% | 25% |
| What stands out | Johnstown | NY |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 8.9% | 6% |
| More smokers | 15.9% | 11.3% |
| More adults with arthritis | 31% | 24% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Johnstown
About 6 of every 100 Johnstown residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New York.
Where Johnstown’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
10 notable people were born in Johnstown.
City in New York, United States
Johnstown is a city in and the county seat of Fulton County in the U.S. state of New York. The city was named after its colonial founder, Sir William Johnson, Superintendent of Indian Affairs for Britain in the Province of New York and a major general during the Seven Years' War in North America. It is located approximately 45 miles (72 km) northwest of Albany, about one-third of the way between Albany and the Finger Lakes region to the west, in the Mohawk Valley region, within the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains. The city of Johnstown is mostly surrounded by the town of Johnstown; it separated from the town when it converted from a village to a city in 1895. Adjacent to Johnstown is …
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
8 towns share a border with Johnstown.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Johnstown | #585 | C | B− | — | C− | C+ |
| Gloversville | #691 | D | B− | C+ | D− | D |
| Johnstown | #352 | B | C+ | C+ | B | B |
| Bleecker | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Mayfield | #605 | C− | C+ | — | B | C |
| Mohawk | #372 | B− | C+ | — | B+ | B− |
| Caroga | — | — | A− | — | C | C+ |
| Ephratah | — | — | B | — | C+ | C |
Caroga and Ephratah have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Johnstown, Mayfield, Mohawk, Caroga and Ephratah report no FBI crime data of their own. Bleecker isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Johnstown with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Johnstown grades C overall, better than 26% of U.S. towns and #585 of 745 in New York. It grades C+ for health and C− for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a C−.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
10 notable people were born here, including Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Richard Russo.