Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Schenectady grades D− overall, ranked 729th of 745 in New York, mostly because of schools and safety. Its schools rank behind 94% of the state's. Its crime rate is higher than 93% of U.S. towns, with 489 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. One bright spot: it is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 99% of U.S. towns, with 37 places on the National Register. Schenectady’s violent crime rate is 7 per 1,000 residents, where New York’s towns sit at 0.8 and U.S. towns at 1.6. Its National Register listings include Nott Memorial Hall and General Electric Research Laboratory. On health, just 93 of New York’s 1,213 towns do worse.
Where Schenectady beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Nott Memorial Hall| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Woodlawn Elementary School | PK–5 | 502 |
| Paige Elementary School | PK–5 | 468 |
| Hamilton Elementary School | PK–5 | 440 |
Nott Memorial Hall is one of 3 National Historic Landmarks here, the National Register’s top tier. Its 37 National Register listings are more than in 96% of New York towns with a listing.
Census counts: 4,228 in 1790, a peak of 95,692 in 1930, 67,047 in 2020. The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 1690 and 5 maps from 1893 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Schenectady is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Schenectady. Close and well known come first.
14 mi Stadium & arenaMVP Arena
15 mi MuseumUSS Slater
40 mi Theme parkGreat Escape
20 mi MuseumNational Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
14 mi Ancient siteFort Orange
14 mi MuseumSchuyler MansionMVP 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 · Great Escape: Jared and Corin, CC BY-SA 2.0 · National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame: Peter Flass, CC BY 3.0 · Fort Orange: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain · Schuyler Mansion: 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 Schenectady, 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 Schenectady.
Schenectady is healthier than towns with similar incomes and trades workers with Colonie and other neighbors, but it reports more crime than Niskayuna and its other graded neighbors.
12 miles of trail in 28 parks and preserves. Schenectady’s trail density is 1.1 miles per square mile. The biggest place to walk is Central Park, 260 acres with 7.6 miles of trail.
| Schenectady | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.1 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 11% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Central Park | 7.6 mi | 260 |
| 2. Woodlawn Preserve | 2.2 mi | 116 |
| 3. Steinmetz Park | 0.3 mi | 31 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Each of its 3 graded neighbors has a higher School Grade than its D, Niskayuna highest at A−.
Its public schools are run by the Schenectady City School District. Two of its 19 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oneida Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 657 | D |
| Schenectady High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,885 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
Each of the 3 graded towns on its borders reports less crime per resident, from Niskayuna (C+) to Glenville (B). Reported crimes fell from 2,661 to 2,421 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The property crime rate in Schenectady is 27.7 per 1,000 residents. Schenectady reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 93% report less.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The typical Schenectady home is worth about $332,000, up 5.2% in a year, 37% below the New York typical home. 46% of Schenectady households own their home.
| Schenectady | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 46% | 75% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 59% | 49% | 48% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Against the 8,485 U.S. towns with household incomes like Schenectady’s, it is less healthy than 58%, so its C isn’t only a matter of income. All 3 graded neighbors score healthier than its C, from Rotterdam (A−) to Niskayuna (A).
44% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Schenectady. Schenectady beats the New York average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 17. 29% of adults get no exercise outside work in Schenectady.
| Schenectady | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 37% | 36% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 13% | 14% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 32% | 33% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 16% | 17% |
| What stands out | Schenectady | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6.7% | 7.7% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 13.8% | 8.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Schenectady has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 14° and about 56 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Schenectady has about as many jobs (25,945) as working residents, but only 5,487 people both live and work here. The average commute takes 22 minutes, against 32.6 across New York.
About one in 5 of Schenectady’s working residents works in town. Since 2013, Schenectady has lost 2,344 jobs, to 25,945 in 2023. The top destinations are Colonie (15%), Albany (14%) and New York (6%).
| Schenectady | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 24% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 20% | 10% | 8% |
| Median household income | $58,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
128 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 15 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 56% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 128 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Schenectady.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
16 within 15 miles of the center of Schenectady
About 10 of every 100 Schenectady residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
3 colleges in town.
37 places in Schenectady on the National Register of Historic Places.
35 notable people were born in Schenectady.
City in New York, United States
Schenectady ( skə-NEKT-ə-dee) is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-most populous city and the 25th-most populous municipality. The city is in eastern New York, near the confluence of the Mohawk and Hudson Rivers. It is in the same metropolitan area as the state capital, Albany, which is about 15 mi (24 km) southeast. Schenectady was founded on the south side of the Mohawk River by Dutch colonists in the 17th century, many of whom came from the Albany area. The name "Schenectady" is derived from the Mohawk word skahnéhtati, meaning "beyond the pines" and used …
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Schenectady.
All 3 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its D−; Rotterdam (B+) is closest.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Schenectady | #729 | D− | C+ | D | D | C |
| Rotterdam | #271 | B+ | C+ | C+ | B | A− |
| Niskayuna | #131 | A | C− | C+ | A− | A |
| Glenville | #162 | A− | C+ | B | B | A |
| East Glenville | — | — | — | — | — | — |
East Glenville isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Schenectady with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Schenectady grades D− overall, better than 4% of U.S. towns and #729 of 745 in New York. It grades C for health, D for safety and D for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a D.
That is 3.8 years of the area's median household income ($88,074 across the Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
35 notable people were born here, including Mickey Rourke and Mary Daly.
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