Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The best of Kinderhook’s subject grades are an A− for health, an A+ for history, and an A for civic life. 32% of residents are 65 or older in Kinderhook, where New York’s towns sit at 20% and U.S. towns at 18%. Kinderhook's schools outperform 73% of the state's. Only 12 of New York’s 1,216 towns score higher on history. Kinderhook has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Kinderhook beats most towns.
![Icabod [sic] Crane's schoolhouse](https://images.townratings.com/story/11704/e6dfd5ad0bde1c51d6a1-l.jpg)
Census counts: 3,963 in 1820, a low of 2,706 in 1830, 8,330 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1809 and 5 maps from 1903 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Kinderhook is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Kinderhook. Close and well known come first.
14 mi MuseumOlana State Historic Site
32 mi MountainMount Greylock
in town National Historic SiteMartin Van Buren National Historic Site16K visitors a year
20 mi TheatreTanglewood
20 mi MuseumNorman Rockwell Museum
16 mi MuseumUSS SlaterOlana State Historic Site: Netniks, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Mount Greylock: Jstergis, CC BY 3.0 · Martin Van Buren National Historic Site: Rolf Müller, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Tanglewood: Daderot., CC BY-SA 3.0 · Norman Rockwell Museum: User:Rmrfstar, CC BY 2.5 · USS Slater: UpstateNYer, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Kinderhook, 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 Kinderhook.
For Kinderhook, that is below both New York’s towns (16%) and U.S. towns (17%). Kinderhook beats the New York average on 13 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 5. 29% of Kinderhook adults feel lonely.
| Kinderhook | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 16% | 17% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 32% | 33% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 84% | 81% | 79% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 17% | 16% |
| What stands out | Kinderhook | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9% | 17.2% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 7.7% | 14.5% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 12.7% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
People 65 and older are 32% of residents (18% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 12% of residents (23% statewide). 11% of residents are under 18 in Kinderhook. Kinderhook has lost 3.4% of its people since 2020, down to 1,134 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Kinderhook | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 11% | 20% | 22% |
| Median age | 53.5 years | 43 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 49% | 32% | 29% |
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±6.2 points. Across New York, 51.2% of residents are women.
| Kinderhook | NY | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 5.4% | 11% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 5.9% | 9.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.1% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 6.3% | 14.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 10.1% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 19.2% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14.9% | 13.3% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 17.1% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 15.1% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.1% | 12% | 10.4% |
| High school | 19.5% | 24.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 12.3% | 14.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 14.1% | 8.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 20.9% | 22.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 28.1% | 17.9% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,100, single groups can be off by several points
Most working residents leave Kinderhook for work: only 4% work in town. Kinderhook’s average trip to work is 21 minutes. Since 2013, Kinderhook has lost 28 jobs, to 157 in 2023.
| Kinderhook | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 4% | 10% | 8% |
| Median household income | $93,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 7.6% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Kinderhook has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 16° and about 31 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 55% of U.S. communities. Since 1996, 5 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Kinderhook.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
| Kinderhook | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.4% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Rothermel Park | — | 9 |
| 2. Creekside Park | — | 2 |
| 3. Mills Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The median rent in Kinderhook is $990 a month.
| Kinderhook | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $990 a month | $1,101 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 78% | 75% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
1 within 15 miles of the center of Kinderhook
About 5 of every 100 Kinderhook residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
19 notable people were born in Kinderhook.
Town in New York, United States
Kinderhook is a town in the northern part of Columbia County, New York, United States. The population was 8,330 at the 2020 census, making it the most populous municipality in Columbia County. The eighth president of the United States, Martin Van Buren, was born in Kinderhook and retired to it. The town of Kinderhook contains two villages, one of which is also named Kinderhook; the other is the village of Valatie. In addition, the town contains the hamlet of Niverville, next to Kinderhook Lake.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
The typical home is worth about $372,000, 29% 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 B−.
19 notable people were born here, including Hannah Van Buren and Benjamin Franklin Butler.
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