Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 12,646.
Ulster grades C− overall, 643rd of 745 graded towns in New York, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. It has 15 miles of trail. On the other side, homes are expensive, about $301K for a typical one and 3.5 times the Kingston metro’s $86K median household income. On history, just 62 of New York’s 1,216 towns do worse. Ulster’s property crime rate is 18.6 per 1,000 residents, where New York’s towns sit at 7.5 and U.S. towns at 9.9. The biggest park or preserve is Sojourner Truth State Park, at 169 acres.
Where Ulster beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Ulster is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 2,806 in 1880, 12,660 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1770 and 2 maps from 1964 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Ulster. Close and well known come first.
Big draw40 mi MuseumUnited States Military Academy
14 mi National Historic SiteHome of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site102K visitors a year
12 mi National Historic SiteVanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site295K visitors a year
19 mi MuseumOlana State Historic Site
16 mi WaterfallKaaterskill Falls14 mi MuseumFranklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and MuseumUnited States Military Academy: USMA Public Affairs Office, Public domain · Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site: Crunch, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site: Daderot, Public domain · Olana State Historic Site: Netniks, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Kaaterskill Falls: Mwanner, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Ulster, 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 Ulster.
Ulster has a long record of flood insurance claims, but it has lost a quarter or more of its jobs in ten years.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Israel Wittman Sanctuary | 2.3 mi | 121 |
| 2. Ulster Landing Park | 0.8 mi | 92 |
| 3. Bluestone Wild Forest | 0.6 mi | 86 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Kingston City School District. One of its 5 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| M Clifford Miller Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 5–8 | Grades 5–8 | 826 | D |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
178 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 37 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 78% of U.S. communities. Since 1980, 178 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Ulster.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Ulster beats the New York average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 5. 15% of Ulster adults binge drink.
| Ulster | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 17% | 16% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 21% | 23% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 34% | 35% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 32% | 33% |
| What stands out | Ulster | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 14.4% | 17.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.5% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Ulster has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 17° and about 59 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Jobs based here fell from 9,415 in 2013 to 7,122. The average commute for its 5,698 working residents takes 21.2 minutes, against 32.6 across New York.
Most working residents leave Ulster for work: only 14% work in town. Jobs based in Ulster fell to 7,122 in 2023, 2,293 fewer than in 2013. Ulster’s average trip to work is 21 minutes.
| Ulster | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 14% | 10% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
2 within 15 miles of the center of Ulster
About 4 of every 100 Ulster residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
Town in New York, United States
Ulster is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 12,660 at the 2020 census. The town of Ulster is in the northeastern part of the county. The town is directly north of the city of Kingston. Ulster is partially situated inside Catskill Park. The New York State Thruway (Interstate 87) and U.S. Route 9W pass through the western part of the town. U.S. Route 209 crosses the Hudson River from the eastern side of the town.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
10 towns share a border with Ulster.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ulster | #643 | C− | C− | C+ | C− | B+ |
| Kingston · Kingston | #693 | D | D | C | C− | B− |
| Esopus | #590 | C− | C− | — | C | B+ |
| Hillside | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Saugerties | #299 | B | C− | A− | B− | A− |
| Hurley | #488 | C+ | C− | — | C | A− |
| Red Hook | #188 | A− | D | — | B+ | A |
| Rhinebeck | #243 | B+ | D | — | A− | A |
Esopus, Hurley, Red Hook and Rhinebeck report no FBI crime data of their own. Hillside isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Kingston and Kingston are one community, graded once. Compare Ulster with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Ulster grades C− overall, better than 18% of U.S. towns and #643 of 745 in New York. It grades B+ for health, C+ for safety and C− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
