Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 12,895, settled in 1818.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Kent grades A− overall, ranked 141st of 745 in New York. It has 69 miles of trail and 37% conserved land. Residents are healthier than 89% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates and crime is low: it reports less per resident than 89% of U.S. towns. The catch is cost: homes are expensive, about $390K for a typical one and 3.9 times the New York metro’s $99K median household income. Kent’s average trip to work is 39 minutes, against 25 minutes in New York’s towns and 25 minutes across U.S. towns. On hazard risk, just 95 of New York’s 1,216 towns do better. The biggest place to walk is Clarence Fahnestock Memorial State Park, 1,632 acres with 10.2 miles of trail.
Where Kent beats most towns.
37.1% of the town is conserved land, across 29 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Kent is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for hazard risk (better than 96% of comparable towns) to D for cost of living (better than 15%), so the A− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,801 in 1820, a low of 696 in 1920, 13,507 in 2010. The archive holds 9 old photos and papers going back to 1868 and 4 maps from 1892 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Kent. Close and well known come first.
Big draw13 mi MuseumUnited States Military Academy
30 mi LandmarkFerncliff Cemetery
23 mi National Historic SiteHome of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site102K visitors a year
14 mi LakeCandlewood Lake
13 mi Stadium & arenaMichie Stadium
5 mi State parkWonder Lake State ParkUnited States Military Academy: USMA Public Affairs Office, Public domain · Ferncliff Cemetery: Anthony22 at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site: Crunch, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Candlewood Lake: Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain · Michie Stadium: John Pellino, Public domain · Wonder Lake State Park: Anthony22 (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Kent, 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 Kent.
Kent keeps more of its land conserved than most of New York and has less food insecurity than most of New York, but it has seen reported crime rise by about half.
Its 10,220 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in 98% of New York towns.
69 miles of trail in 29 parks and preserves. The trail density in Kent is 1.6 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Nimham Mountain Multiple Use Area | 20 mi | 1,009 |
| 2. Horse Pound Brook Unit | 10.3 mi | 1,014 |
| 3. Clarence Fahnestock Memorial State Park | 10.2 mi | 1,632 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Carmel Central School District. One of its 2 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kent Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–4 | Grades K–4 | 384 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with New York is food insecurity: 10.4% of its 18,675 adults worry about having enough food, against 17.2% statewide. Against the 4,662 U.S. towns with household incomes like Kent’s, it is healthier than 71%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
28% of adults have obesity in Kent. Kent beats the New York average on 13 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 18% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Kent.
| Kent | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 33% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 21% | 23% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 16% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Kent | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 10.4% | 17.2% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 5.5% | 8.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.4% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Reported crimes rose from 33 to 62 over the last three FBI years, a rise beyond ordinary year-to-year swings. Violent crime is rare: 11 reported in 2025, 0.9 per 1,000 residents.
Kent’s property crime rate is 4 per 1,000 residents.
| Kent | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4 per 1,000 residents | 7.6 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.9 per 1,000 residents | 0.8 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 92% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 17 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Kent.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Kent has 1,564 jobs for its 6,040 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
Most working residents leave Kent for work: only 6% work in town. Jobs based in Kent fell to 1,564 in 2023, 201 fewer than in 2013. 6.6% of Kent residents live below the poverty line.
| Kent | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $129,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 6.6% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 6.1% | 10% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Kent has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 18° and about 58 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The median household earns $129,012, against $85,974 across New York, one input to its A− for jobs and income.
43% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 40% across New York.
| Kent | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 43% | 32% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 17% | 20% | 18% |
| Median age | 43.4 years | 42.9 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 21% | 20% | 22% |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.1 points. Across New York, 51.2% of residents are women. Median age: women 42.4, men 43.9.
| Kent | NY | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.3% | 11% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.9% | 9.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.9% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.1% | 14.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.5% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 14.8% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 15.2% | 13.3% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 12% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5.2% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.5% | 12% | 10.4% |
| High school | 26.8% | 24.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 15.3% | 14.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.9% | 8.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 24% | 22.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 18.6% | 17.9% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
2 within 15 miles of the center of Kent
About 6 of every 100 Kent residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New York.
Where Kent’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Town in New York, United States
Town of Kent is a town in Putnam County, New York, United States. The population was 12,900 at the 2020 census. The name is that of an early settler family. The town is in the north-central part of the Putnam County. Many of the lakes are reservoirs for New York City.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Kent.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kent | #141 | A− | D | A | B− | A |
| Putnam Valley | #125 | A | D | — | A | A+ |
| Lake Carmel | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Carmel | #79 | A | D | A | B+ | A |
| Patterson | #505 | C+ | D− | — | B− | B+ |
| East Fishkill | #168 | A− | D | A | B+ | A |
| Philipstown | #130 | A | D | — | A | A |
| Pawling | #193 | A− | C− | — | B | A |
Putnam Valley, Patterson, Philipstown and Pawling report no FBI crime data of their own. Lake Carmel isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Kent with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Kent grades A− overall, better than 84% of U.S. towns and #141 of 745 in New York. It grades A for health, A for safety and B− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. The typical home is worth about $390,000, 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 D.
