Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Mechanicville is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C overall, 553rd of 745 graded towns in New York, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is cost of living: homes are within reach, about $496K for a typical one, or 5.6 years of the Albany metro’s $88K median household income. Its lowest everyday mark is in schools: its public schools trail 67% of New York towns on state tests and graduation. On hazard risk, just 31 of New York’s 1,216 towns do worse. Mechanicville has 1 place on the National Register. Mechanicville is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns.
Where Mechanicville beats most towns.
Census counts: 1,075 in 1870, a peak of 8,166 in 1920, 5,163 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1846 and 5 maps from 1893 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Mechanicville is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Mechanicville. Close and well known come first.
32 mi MountainMount Greylock
36 mi LandmarkFort William Henry
13 mi MuseumNational Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
31 mi Theme parkGreat Escape
28 mi MuseumClark Art Institute
18 mi Stadium & arenaMVP ArenaMount Greylock: Jstergis, CC BY 3.0 · Fort William Henry: IrisKawling at en.wikipedia, Public domain · National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame: Peter Flass, CC BY 3.0 · Great Escape: Jared and Corin, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Clark Art Institute: Daderot, Public domain · MVP Arena: This image or media was taken or created by Matt H. Wade. To see his entire port, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Mechanicville, 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 Mechanicville.
Mechanicville is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of New York (mostly inland flooding) and has household incomes well below the New York norm.
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 98% of New York towns, with expected losses of about $356 per resident a year; that rating is what its D for hazard risk is built on.
At 82 of 100, Mechanicville’s FEMA risk score is against 31 of 100 in New York’s towns and 44 of 100 across U.S. towns. Since 1993, 16 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Mechanicville.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Most working residents leave Mechanicville for work: only 10% work in town. 18% of Mechanicville residents live below the poverty line, above both the New York town median (9.5%) and the median of U.S. towns (9.6%). Mechanicville’s median household income is $51,000.
| Mechanicville | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 18% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $51,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Mechanicville has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 15° and about 64 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Mechanicville's reported crime rate is below New York's. The violent crime rate in Mechanicville is 4.1 per 1,000 residents.
| Mechanicville | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.1 per 1,000 residents | 0.8 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 7.3 per 1,000 residents | 7.6 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Against the 6,024 U.S. towns with household incomes like Mechanicville’s, it is healthier than 82%, so its C+ isn’t only a matter of income. All 3 graded neighbors score healthier than its C+, from Schaghticoke (B+) to Halfmoon (A).
Mechanicville beats the New York average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 8. 19% of Mechanicville adults report frequent mental distress.
| Mechanicville | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 16% | 17% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 33% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 14% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 32% | 33% |
| What stands out | Mechanicville | NY |
|---|---|---|
| More smokers | 16.1% | 11.3% |
| More adults with depression | 23.8% | 17.5% |
| More adults with COPD | 7.9% | 6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
| Mechanicville | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 5% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Tallmadge Park | 0.2 mi | 6 |
| 2. Paul Luther Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
40% of households own their home in Mechanicville. Typical home values rose 4.9% in the year to September 2026.
| Mechanicville | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 40% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,070 a month | $1,103 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
10 within 15 miles of the center of Mechanicville
About 7 of every 100 Mechanicville residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New York.
Where Mechanicville’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
7 notable people were born in Mechanicville.
City in New York, United States
Mechanicville is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 5,163 at the 2020 census, a small decrease from 5,196 in 2010. It is the smallest city by area in the state. The name is derived from the occupations of early residents. The city is located on the eastern border of Saratoga County and is north of Albany, the state capital. Mechanicville borders the towns of Stillwater (of which it was once a part) and Halfmoon in the county, and the town of Schaghticoke, Rensselaer County.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Mechanicville.
All 3 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its C; Schaghticoke (B+) is closest. Halfmoon next door grades higher for schools (A− to Mechanicville’s C) and lower for cost of living (C− to B−).
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mechanicville | #553 | C | B− | — | C | C+ |
| Halfmoon | #159 | A− | C− | — | A− | A |
| Stillwater | #153 | A− | C+ | A | A− | A− |
| Schaghticoke | #222 | B+ | B | — | B− | B+ |
Mechanicville, Halfmoon and Schaghticoke report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Mechanicville with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Mechanicville grades C overall, better than 30% of U.S. towns and #553 of 745 in New York. It grades C+ for health and C for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
7 notable people were born here, including Ray Eberle and Harrison B. Tordoff.
