Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Root’s best subject grades are a B+ for history and cost of living. The biggest park or preserve is Yatesville Falls State Forest, at 704 acres. Root has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Root beats most towns.
1,715 counted in 2010 and 2,013 in 2020; an estimated 2,002 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Root is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 2,750 in 1830, 2,013 in 2020. The archive holds 1 old photo or paper going back to 2023 and 3 maps from 1896 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Root, 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 Root.
Root’s mean commuting time stands at 29 minutes. Between 2013 and 2023, jobs in Root dropped by 30, to 133. In Root, 6.5% of residents live below the poverty line, against 9.5% in New York’s towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. The top destinations are Mohawk (9%), Amsterdam (8%) and Glen (8%).
| Root | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.2% | 10% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 6.5% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 13% | 12% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Faith Bible Academy PrivateLargest high schoolGrades PK–11 | Grades PK–11 | 35 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
Root’s July high stands at 82°F, where New York’s towns sit at 81°F and U.S. towns at 85°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Among adults in Root, 34% feel lonely. Two figures for adults locally: 38% have obesity, 16% smoke cigarettes.
| Root | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 37% | 36% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 33% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 14% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 16% |
| What stands out | Root | NY |
|---|---|---|
| More smokers | 16.3% | 11.3% |
| More adults with COPD | 8.5% | 6% |
| More adults with obesity | 38.1% | 28.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
On expected storm and flood damage, Root sits above 57% of U.S. communities. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Root after 6 declared disasters, most recently in 2017. Expected losses in Root break down as 80% from inland flooding and 6% from cold waves. Since 1979, 5 flood insurance claims have been paid out locally.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
3.1 miles of trail wind through 2 parks and preserves. Root’s concentration of trails is 0.1 miles per square mile.
| Root | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.2% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Yatesville Falls State Forest | — | 704 |
| 2. Rural Grove State Forest | — | 367 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The median rent for Root comes to $742 a month. For households locally, the share who own their home is 89%.
| Root | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 89% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $742 a month | $1,101 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Root. Close and well known come first.
Big draw24 mi MuseumNational Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum315K visitors a year11 mi CaveHowe Caverns29 mi LandmarkFort Dayton
40 mi MuseumNational Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
40 mi Stadium & arenaMVP Arena
40 mi MuseumUSS SlaterNational 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 · MVP Arena: This image or media was taken or created by Matt H. Wade. To see his entire port, CC BY-SA 3.0 · USS Slater: UpstateNYer, CC BY-SA 3.0
2 within 15 miles of the center of Root
About 4 of every 100 Root residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
Where Root’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
4 notable people were born in Root.
Town in New York, United States
Root is a town in Montgomery County, New York, United States. The population was 2,013 at the 2020 census, up from 1,715 in 2010. The town was named for Erastus Root, a legislator in the early Federal period.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Root.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Root | — | — | B+ | — | C+ | C+ |
| Mohawk | #372 | B− | C+ | — | B+ | B− |
| Canajoharie | #619 | C− | C+ | — | C+ | C− |
| Palatine | #520 | C | B+ | — | B− | C |
| Charleston | — | — | C | — | B+ | B |
| Glen | #300 | B | B | — | B+ | B− |
| Carlisle | — | — | A− | — | C+ | B |
| Sharon | — | — | B | — | C− | B− |
Root, Charleston, Carlisle and Sharon have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Root, Mohawk, Canajoharie, Palatine, Charleston, Glen, Carlisle and Sharon report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Root with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Not for the area. The typical home is worth about $209,000, 60% 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+.
4 notable people were born here, including William Mitchell and John Daniel Runkle.
