Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Palatine gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $142K, 2.2 years of the Amsterdam area’s $65K median household income. It grades C overall, 520th among New York's 745 graded towns. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 96% of U.S. towns, with 17 places on the National Register. 30% of residents are 65 or older in Palatine, where New York’s towns sit at 20% and U.S. towns at 18%. Its National Register listings include Palatine Church and Webster Wagner House. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 83% of U.S. towns.
Where Palatine beats most towns.
Census counts: 3,936 in 1820, 3,189 in 2020. The archive holds 3 old photos and papers going back to 1868 and 3 maps from 1898 on.
17 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Palatine is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Palatine, 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 Palatine.
Palatine trades lower home prices for longer drives to work, has fewer 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns and has commutes shorter than most of New York.
The average commute for its 1,018 working residents takes 24.7 minutes, against 32.6 across New York.
Most working residents leave Palatine for work: only 7% work in town. 14% of Palatine residents live below the poverty line. Jobs based in Palatine fell to 529 in 2023, 68 fewer than in 2013.
| Palatine | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 14% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $70,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 6.9% | 10% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
One of its 3 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meadow Brook PrivateLargest elementary schoolGrades 1–8 | Grades 1–8 | 27 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
The Cobleskill 2 Ese weather station, 20 miles away, records that about 4 days a year reach 90°, fewer than in 98% of U.S. towns.
Palatine has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 82°, January nights drop to 13° and about 54 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Palatine beats the New York average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 14. 42% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Palatine.
| Palatine | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 37% | 36% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 33% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Palatine | NY |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 79.9% | 77.2% |
| More adults with COPD | 9.3% | 6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
2.4 miles of trail in 0 parks and preserves. Palatine’s trail density is 0.1 miles per square mile.
| Palatine | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.3% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 54% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Palatine.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Homes are within reach (B+ for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 21 miles. At 2.2 years of the Amsterdam area’s $65K median household income, the typical home costs less against local pay than in 83% of New York towns; that ratio is one input to its B+ for cost of living.
The median rent in Palatine is $633 a month.
| Palatine | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $633 a month | $1,103 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 74% | 75% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Palatine. Close and well known come first.
Big draw26 mi MuseumNational Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum315K visitors a year24 mi LandmarkFort Dayton19 mi CaveHowe Caverns
40 mi MuseumNational Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
38 mi TheatreSaratoga Performing Arts Center
37 mi Stadium & arenaUtica Memorial AuditoriumNational Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum: Beyond My Ken, CC BY-SA 4.0 · National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame: Peter Flass, CC BY 3.0 · Saratoga Performing Arts Center: UpstateNYer., CC BY-SA 3.0 · Utica Memorial Auditorium: Doug Kerr, CC BY-SA 2.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Palatine
About 2 of every 100 Palatine residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
Where Palatine’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
17 places in Palatine on the National Register of Historic Places.
5 notable people were born in Palatine.
Town in New York, United States
Palatine is a town in Montgomery County, New York, United States. It is located on the north side of the Mohawk River in the northwestern part of the county. The population was 3,189 at the 2020 census. The name is derived from the Palatinate region in the Rhineland, the homeland of the Germans who were the earliest European settlers of this region. Administrative offices of the town are located in Palatine Bridge.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
10 towns share a border with Palatine.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palatine | #520 | C | B+ | — | B− | C |
| Canajoharie | #619 | C− | C+ | — | C+ | C− |
| Minden | #599 | C− | B | — | B− | C |
| Nelliston | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Root | — | — | B+ | — | C+ | C+ |
| Fort Plain | — | — | B | — | B− | C− |
| Palatine Bridge | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Ephratah | — | — | B | — | C+ | C |
Root, Fort Plain and Ephratah have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Palatine, Canajoharie, Minden, Root, Fort Plain and Ephratah report no FBI crime data of their own. Nelliston and Palatine Bridge aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Palatine with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Palatine grades C overall, better than 33% of U.S. towns and #520 of 745 in New York. It grades C for health and B− for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a C−.
Not for the area. The typical home is worth about $143,000, 73% 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+.
5 notable people were born here, including John Cochrane and Peter Joseph Wagner.
