Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 23,425, established in 1772.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Montgomery grades B+ overall, ranked 236th of 745 in New York. It has 38 miles of trail. Crime is low: it reports less per resident than 86% of U.S. towns and CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 76% of the country. What holds it back is price: homes are expensive, about $502K for a typical one and 5.1 times the Kiryas Joel metro’s $98K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 96% of U.S. towns, with 35 places on the National Register. Its National Register listings include Peale's Barber Farm Mastodon Exhumation Site and Colden Mansion Ruins. Montgomery’s average trip to work is 34 minutes, above both the New York town median (25 minutes) and the median of U.S. towns (25 minutes). Stewart State Forest, at 1,131 acres with 11.6 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
Where Montgomery beats most towns.
Its 35 National Register listings are more than in 95% of New York towns with a listing.
Census counts: 3,563 in 1790, 23,332 in 2020. The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 1750 and 3 maps from 1903 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Montgomery is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Montgomery. Close and well known come first.
Big draw17 mi MuseumUnited States Military Academy
21 mi National Historic SiteHome of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site102K visitors a year
17 mi Stadium & arenaMichie Stadium
22 mi National Historic SiteVanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site295K visitors a year
11 mi MuseumStorm King Art Center
12 mi Theme parkLegoland New YorkUnited States Military Academy: USMA Public Affairs Office, Public domain · Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site: Crunch, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Michie Stadium: John Pellino, Public domain · Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site: Daderot, Public domain · Storm King Art Center: Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, United States, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Legoland New York: MattCC716, CC BY-SA 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Montgomery, 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 Montgomery.
Montgomery trades workers with New York City and other neighbors and is safe by national standards but not by New York’s.
The trail density in Montgomery is 0.7 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Stewart State Forest | 11.6 mi | 1,131 |
| 2. James W. Olley Park | 1.3 mi | 86 |
| 3. Pleasure Ground Park | 0.4 mi | 36 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Valley Central School District. Two of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Valley Central High School, with 1,385 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Valley Central Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 945 | C− |
| Valley Central High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,385 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
At 6.7 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 74% of New York’s graded towns. Violent crime is rare: 11 reported in 2025, 1.2 per 1,000 residents.
Montgomery’s property crime rate is 4.2 per 1,000 residents.
| Montgomery | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.2 per 1,000 residents | 7.6 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.2 per 1,000 residents | 0.8 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
19% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Montgomery. Montgomery beats the New York average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 31% of adults have high blood pressure in Montgomery.
| Montgomery | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 21% | 23% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 34% | 35% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 32% | 33% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 33% | 35% |
| What stands out | Montgomery | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 13.5% | 17.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 71% of U.S. communities. Since 2007, 6 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Montgomery.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Montgomery has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 18° and about 44 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Montgomery has about as many jobs (9,646) as working residents, but only 1,918 people both live and work here.
Most working residents leave Montgomery for work: only 18% work in town. Jobs based in Montgomery grew to 9,646 in 2023, 1,992 more than in 2013. The top destinations are New York (14%), Wallkill (7%) and Newburgh (5%).
| Montgomery | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 18% | 10% | 8% |
| Work from home | 8% | 12% | 11% |
| Median household income | $93,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the New York average. 15% of Montgomery residents are 65 or older. 30% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 40% across New York.
| Montgomery | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 15% | 20% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 24% | 20% | 22% |
| Median age | 39.2 years | 43 years | 40.5 years |
52% women, 48% men
About 91 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±1.9 points). Across New York, 51.2% of residents are women. Median age: women 38.8, men 39.4.
| Montgomery | NY | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.6% | 11% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 12.5% | 9.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.6% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.8% | 14.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14.5% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.8% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 15.5% | 13.3% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.7% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.1% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 10.4% | 12% | 10.4% |
| High school | 27.5% | 24.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 21% | 14.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.8% | 8.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 18.3% | 22.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 12% | 17.9% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Typical home values rose 4.4% in the year to September 2026.
| Montgomery | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,610 a month | $1,098 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 67% | 75% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
5 within 15 miles of the center of Montgomery
About 6 of every 100 Montgomery residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New York.
35 places in Montgomery on the National Register of Historic Places.
6 notable people were born in Montgomery.
Town in Orange County, New York, US
Montgomery is a town in Orange County, New York, United States. Located roughly 60 miles (97 km) northwest of New York City, the town of Montgomery is a historical and cultural hub of the Hudson Valley region and has been a steadily growing outer-ring commuter suburb within the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population was listed as 23,322. The town was named in the honor of Richard Montgomery, an American Revolutionary War general killed in 1775 at the Battle of Quebec. The northern town line is contiguous with the Ulster County border. Montgomery is immediately west of the town of Newburgh. Within its borders are three villages, one eponymous, as well as Walden and…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Montgomery.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montgomery | #236 | B+ | D | A | B | A− |
| Crawford | #268 | B+ | C− | A | B− | A− |
| Newburgh | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Hamptonburgh | #325 | B | D | — | B | A |
| Shawangunk | #328 | B | D | A+ | B | A− |
| New Windsor | #454 | C+ | D | B | C− | A− |
| Maybrook | #98 | A | C− | A+ | B | A− |
| Wallkill | #412 | B− | D | B+ | C+ | B |
Hamptonburgh reports no FBI crime data of its own. Newburgh isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Montgomery with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Montgomery grades B+ overall, better than 71% of U.S. towns and #236 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. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
6 notable people were born here, including Nathaniel P. Hill and P. J. Jacobsen.
