Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
The best of Stamford’s subject grades are an A for history and the outdoors; the weakest is a D for incomes. On incomes, just 81 of New York’s 1,216 towns do worse. Stamford's schools rank behind 87% of the state's. 26% of the land in Stamford is conserved, above both New York’s towns (5.2%) and U.S. towns (4.3%). The biggest park or preserve is Relay State Forest, at 1,166 acres. Stamford has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Stamford beats most towns.
Census counts: 1,495 in 1820, 2,000 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1869 and 3 maps from 1904 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Stamford is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Stamford, 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 Stamford.
16 miles of trail in 20 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Plattekill State Forest | 1.2 mi | 295 |
| 2. Duggan Hill Unit | 0.5 mi | 44 |
| 3. Relay State Forest | — | 1,166 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 68% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Stamford since 2006.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Stamford has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. At 78°F, Stamford’s July high is below both the New York town median (81°F) and the median of U.S. towns (85°F).
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Most working residents leave Stamford for work: only 17% work in town. Stamford’s average trip to work is 29 minutes. Since 2013, Stamford has added 433 jobs, to 926 in 2023.
| Stamford | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 17% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 17% | 10% | 8% |
| Median household income | $62,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
People 65 and older are 23% of residents (18% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 18% of residents (23% statewide). The median age in Stamford is 46.9 years. 34% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 40% across New York.
| Stamford | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 46.9 years | 43 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 18% | 20% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 23% | 20% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 34% | 32% | 29% |
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±1.7 points. Across New York, 51.2% of residents are women. Among residents 45 to 54, 67% are men (NY 49%).
| Stamford | NY | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 7.9% | 11% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.1% | 9.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.5% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.6% | 14.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 10.9% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 16% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14% | 13.3% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.3% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 12.7% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 8.4% | 12% | 10.4% |
| High school | 29.5% | 24.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 16.1% | 14.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 12.3% | 8.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 16.3% | 22.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 17.3% | 17.9% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 2,000, single groups can be off by several points
Stamford beats the New York average on 6 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 9. 41% of Stamford adults have high blood pressure.
| Stamford | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 34% | 35% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 37% | 36% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 32% | 33% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 83% | 81% | 79% |
| What stands out | Stamford | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.7% | 7.9% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 10.6% | 14.5% |
| More adults with COPD | 8.9% | 6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Stamford. Close and well known come first.
Big draw28 mi MuseumNational Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum315K visitors a year
20 mi Park & preserveCatskill Park
32 mi WaterfallKaaterskill Falls
25 mi Ski areaHunter Mountain62 runs · 1,532 ft vertical28 mi CaveHowe Caverns34 mi Zoo & aquariumCatskill Game FarmNational Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum: Beyond My Ken, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Catskill Park: The original uploader was Daniel Case at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0 · Kaaterskill Falls: Mwanner, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Hunter Mountain: The original uploader was Daniel Case at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Stamford
About 3 of every 100 Stamford residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
2,267 counted in 2010 and 2,000 in 2020; an estimated 1,974 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
5 notable people were born in Stamford.
7 towns share a border with Stamford.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stamford | — | — | B− | — | D | B− |
| Kortright | — | — | B− | — | D | B+ |
| Harpersfield | — | — | C | — | C− | B− |
| Roxbury | — | — | C | — | B+ | B+ |
| Bovina | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Bloomville | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Stamford | — | — | C | — | D | B− |
| Delhi | #357 | B− | C | — | B+ | A− |
Stamford, Kortright, Harpersfield, Roxbury and Stamford have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Stamford, Kortright, Harpersfield, Roxbury, Stamford and Delhi report no FBI crime data of their own. Bovina and Bloomville aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Stamford with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Home to 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
The typical home is worth about $188,000. 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 Alfred Newton Richards and Alfred William Lamb.
