Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Philipstown grades A overall, 130th of 745 graded towns in New York. It has 105 miles of trail and 52% conserved land. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 94% of the country and its public schools beat 89% of New York towns on state tests and graduation. The catch is cost: homes are expensive, about $615K for a typical one and 6.2 times the New York metro’s $99K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 98% of U.S. towns, with 39 places on the National Register. Philipstown’s average trip to work is 40 minutes, above both the New York town median (25 minutes) and the median of U.S. towns (25 minutes). Its National Register listings include Manitoga and St. Philip's Church in the Highlands. Philipstown is more walkable than 91% of U.S. towns.
Where Philipstown beats most towns.
Manitoga is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier. Its 39 National Register listings are more than in 96% of New York towns with a listing.
Census counts: 3,733 in 1820, a low of 3,272 in 1920, 9,831 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1831 and 6 maps from 1892 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Philipstown is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Philipstown. Close and well known come first.
Big draw2 mi MuseumUnited States Military Academy
3 mi Stadium & arenaMichie Stadium
Big draw38 mi MuseumThe Cloisters
27 mi LandmarkFerncliff Cemetery
3 mi LandmarkWest Point Cemetery
24 mi National Historic SiteHome of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site102K visitors a yearUnited States Military Academy: USMA Public Affairs Office, Public domain · Michie Stadium: John Pellino, Public domain · The Cloisters: Paweł Drozd on Wiki Drozdpl cropped by Beyond My Ken (talk) 17:05, 27 December 2, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ferncliff Cemetery: Anthony22 at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · West Point Cemetery: Ahodges7, Public domain · Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site: Crunch, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Philipstown, 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 Philipstown.
Philipstown keeps more of its land conserved than most of New York and has less food insecurity than most of New York, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of New York.
Its 17,149 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in 99% of New York towns. Its A+ for the outdoors ranks #3 of 758 in New York.
105 miles of trail in 10 parks and preserves. The trail density in Philipstown is 2.1 miles per square mile. The biggest place to walk is Clarence Fahnestock Memorial State Park, 6,837 acres with 34.5 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Hudson Highlands State Park | 34.7 mi | 4,787 |
| 2. Clarence Fahnestock Memorial State Park | 34.5 mi | 6,837 |
| 3. Garrison School Forest | 3.5 mi | 186 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its A for schools comes with a D for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $615K.
Its public schools are run by the Haldane Central School District. Two of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Haldane High School, with 318 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Haldane Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 293 | B |
| Haldane High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 318 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with New York is food insecurity: 8% of its 4,035 adults worry about having enough food, against 17.2% statewide. Against the 3,510 U.S. towns with household incomes like Philipstown’s, it is healthier than 78%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
13% of Philipstown adults report frequent mental distress. Philipstown beats the New York average on 16 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 27% of Philipstown adults have obesity.
| Philipstown | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 16% | 17% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 33% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 21% | 23% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 8.9% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Philipstown | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8% | 17.2% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 7.6% | 14.5% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.9% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The average commute for its 3,981 working residents takes 40.2 minutes, against 32.6 across New York.
Most working residents leave Philipstown for work: only 13% work in town. Philipstown’s median household income is $141,000. Jobs based in Philipstown grew to 2,452 in 2023, 347 more than in 2013.
| Philipstown | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $141,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 22% | 12% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 6.5% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 13% | 10% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Philipstown has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 19° and about 36 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 60% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 41 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Philipstown.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
At 6.2 years of the New York metro’s $99K median household income, the typical home costs more against local pay than in 83% of New York towns; that ratio is one input to its D for cost of living.
The median sale price was $875,000 in May 2026.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
6 within 15 miles of the center of Philipstown
About 4 of every 100 Philipstown residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
52.3% of the town is conserved land, across 10 parks and preserves.
39 places in Philipstown on the National Register of Historic Places.
Town in New York, United States
Philipstown is a town located in the western part of Putnam County, New York, United States. The population was 9,831 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Philipstown.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philipstown | #130 | A | D | — | A | A |
| Highlands | #173 | A− | D | A+ | B | — |
| Putnam Valley | #125 | A | D | — | A | A+ |
| Fishkill | #335 | B | D | — | B | A |
| Kent | #141 | A− | D | A | B− | A |
| Cortlandt | #155 | A− | D | — | A− | A |
| Cornwall | #59 | A | D | A+ | A | A |
| Stony Point | #280 | B | D | A | C | A |
Philipstown, Putnam Valley, Fishkill and Cortlandt report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Philipstown with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Philipstown grades A overall, better than 85% of U.S. towns and #130 of 745 in New York. It grades A for health and A for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. The typical home is worth about $615,000, 17% above 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.
