Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Shandaken's standout: it has 118 miles of trail and 70% conserved land. Overall it grades C+, ranked 453rd of 745 in New York. Crime is low: it reports less per resident than 87% of U.S. towns. Its weakest subject is hazard risk: FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 86% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 97% of U.S. towns, with 9 places on the National Register. 70% of the land in Shandaken is conserved, where New York’s towns sit at 5.2% and U.S. towns at 4.3%. Slide Mountain Wilderness, at 32,593 acres with 47.9 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. On history, just 117 of New York’s 1,216 towns do better.
Where Shandaken beats most towns.
Census counts: 1,043 in 1820, 2,866 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1875 and 4 maps from 1900 on.
9 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Shandaken is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Shandaken, 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 Shandaken.
Shandaken is a second-home town and keeps more of its land conserved than most of New York, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of New York (mostly inland flooding).
Its 53,283 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in 99% of New York towns.
118 miles of trail in 36 parks and preserves. Shandaken’s trail density is 1.0 miles per square mile, against 0.4 in New York’s towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Slide Mountain Wilderness | 47.9 mi | 32,593 |
| 2. Shandaken Wild Forest | 21.8 mi | 4,756 |
| 3. Big Indian Wilderness | 6 mi | 7,116 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
At 6.4 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 75% of New York’s graded towns. Violent crime is rare: 1 reported in 2025, 0.4 per 1,000 residents.
The violent crime rate in Shandaken is 0.4 per 1,000 residents.
| Shandaken | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.4 per 1,000 residents | 0.8 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 5 per 1,000 residents | 7.6 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 99% of New York towns, with expected losses of about $1,258 per resident a year; that rating is what its D for hazard risk is built on. 214 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 32 properties have flooded more than once.
Since 1980, 214 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Shandaken. Among 758 New York towns, just 6 have a higher FEMA risk score than Shandaken.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Jobs based here grew from 437 in 2013 to 604. 24.1% of workers work from home, against 14.9% across New York.
Most working residents leave Shandaken for work: only 17% work in town. 20% of residents live below the poverty line in Shandaken. Since 2013, Shandaken has added 167 jobs, to 604 in 2023.
| Shandaken | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 20% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 31 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 17% | 10% | 8% |
| Median household income | $66,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The Slide Mtn weather station, 5 miles away, records that 105 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 97% of U.S. towns.
Shandaken has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. Shandaken’s July high is 80°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Against the 10,095 U.S. towns with household incomes like Shandaken’s, it is healthier than 83%, so its B isn’t only a matter of income.
13% of Shandaken adults binge drink. No town among the 755 in New York we compare has a higher share of adults who have high blood pressure than Shandaken. 12% of Shandaken adults smoke cigarettes.
| Shandaken | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 43% | 34% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 17% | 16% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 32% | 33% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 84% | 81% | 79% |
| What stands out | Shandaken | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 10.2% | 14.5% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 12.2% | 17.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 12% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Shandaken. Close and well known come first.
29 mi National Historic SiteHome of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site102K visitors a year
8 mi Park & preserveCatskill Park
27 mi National Historic SiteVanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site295K visitors a year
17 mi WaterfallKaaterskill Falls
29 mi MuseumOlana State Historic Site
12 mi Ski areaHunter Mountain62 runs · 1,532 ft verticalHome of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site: Crunch, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Catskill Park: The original uploader was Daniel Case at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0 · Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site: Daderot, Public domain · Kaaterskill Falls: Mwanner, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Olana State Historic Site: Netniks, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Hunter Mountain: The original uploader was Daniel Case at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0
None within 15 miles of Shandaken; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Shandaken residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
69.9% of the town is conserved land, across 36 parks and preserves.
9 places in Shandaken on the National Register of Historic Places.
Town in New York, United States
Shandaken is a town on the northern border of Ulster County, New York, United States, northwest of Kingston, New York. As of the 2020 census, the town had a total population of 2,866. The name is believed to be from an Esopus phrase for "land of rapid waters."
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Shandaken.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shandaken | #453 | C+ | C− | A | B | B |
| Olive | #475 | C+ | C− | — | B | A− |
| Middletown | #633 | C− | C+ | — | C+ | B− |
| Hardenburgh | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Woodstock | #278 | B+ | D− | A+ | B | A |
| Lexington | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Denning | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Hunter | #419 | B− | C | A− | B− | B− |
Olive and Middletown report no FBI crime data of their own. Hardenburgh, Lexington and Denning aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Shandaken with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Shandaken grades C+ overall, better than 42% of U.S. towns and #453 of 745 in New York. It grades B for health, A for safety and B for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. The typical home is worth about $346,000, 34% 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 C−.
2 notable people were born here, including John W. Longyear and James P. Riseley.
