Mohawk Towpath Byway - Gold and Green, 2003
Waterford’s story
Waterford in pictures
The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1801.
Explore the history →WaterfordNY
A town of 1,999.
Population
1,999
2025 Census estimate · −1.4% since 2020
Median home value
$158K
Census ACS
Household income
$73K
median
Median age
42.4
years
Jobs based here
219
A commuter town
Is Waterford a good place to live?
The best of Waterford’s subject grades are an A+ for walkability, history, and the outdoors; the weakest is a D for hazard risk. Waterford’s concentration of trails is 2.3 miles per square mile, above both New York’s towns (0.4) and U.S. towns (0.4). No town in New York scores higher than Waterford on history. Waterford has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Waterford stand out
Where Waterford beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
A commuter town
96% of working residents leave Waterford for work
Where Waterford’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
219jobs based in Waterford
4%of working residents work in town
10 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
How Waterford grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Waterford is from typical.
WalkabilityEPA walkability 17.5 of 20; 12.8% of households have no car; 5.5% of workers walk, bike or ride transitA+Open →Hazard riskinland flooding tops the listDOpen →HealthSamaritan Hospital of Troy, New York 4 miles awayB+Open →Cost of livingTypical home $158K, 1.8 years of the Albany metro’s $88K median household incomeB+Open →Jobs & income$73K median household income; 219 jobs based hereB+Open →SchoolsBeat 53% of New York districts on tests and graduationB−Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Outdoors1 mile of trail; 13% conserved landA+Open →History8 notable people born hereA+Open →Civic life2.8 community nonprofits per 1,000 residentsC−Open →
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Nearby attractions
All 85 attractions →Mount Greylock and 53 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Waterford. Close and well known come first.
28 mi MountainMount Greylock
11 mi Stadium & arenaMVP Arena
12 mi MuseumUSS Slater
11 mi Ancient siteFort Orange
24 mi MuseumClark Art Institute
2 mi WaterfallCohoes FallsSources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons
Photo credits
Mount Greylock: Jstergis, 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 · Fort Orange: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain · Clark Art Institute: Daderot, Public domain · Cohoes Falls: bobistraveling, CC BY 2.0
Getting set up
The full setup list →Moving to Waterford: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Waterford, and how to reach them.
PowerNational Grid19.9¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterWaterford Water Works (Purchase Troy)No health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet4 providers100% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & dumpNearest public drop-offTown of Brunswick Recycling Center, 4 miOpenStreetMap
Register to voteOnlineIn New York you can register online until 10 days before Election Day, in person until 10 days before Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 15 days before and received 10 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereSaratoga County Board of ElectionsSaratoga County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Oct 2022
ZIP code1218812188 100%Census 2020
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Aug 3, 2026.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Waterford.
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade D
The FEMA risk score in Waterford is higher than in most of New York or the rest of the country
Since 1978, Waterford has seen 185 flood insurance claims paid out. FEMA puts 88% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding. Also worth knowing: households locally have drawn federal disaster aid in 5 declared disasters, most recently in 2017.
86risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland flooding
185
paid flood claims since 1978
5
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Work & commuteJobs & income grade B+
With only 0.3 jobs per working resident, most people in Waterford work out of town
Among working residents in Waterford, 4.2% work locally. Half of commuters travel less than 10 miles. The typical journey to work for Waterford comes to 23 minutes. The top destinations are Albany (16%), Colonie (15%) and Waterford (8%).
4%work in town
| Waterford | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 4.2% | 10% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $73,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
Where working residents work
In Waterford4%
Albany16%
Colonie15%
Waterford8%
Troy7%
10 mi
median commute distance
219
jobs based in Waterford
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
A+
Walkability grade: more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
HealthB+
Waterford ranks healthier than 73% of the country’s towns
The share of adults in Waterford who report frequent physical distress is 13%, below both the New York town median (14%) and the median of U.S. towns (14%). The town does better than the New York average on 8 of 32 CDC measures and worse on 3. Nearly a third of adults sleep under 7 hours locally.
73%healthier than U.S. townsB+Health Grade
| Waterford | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 37% | 36% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 34% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 9.6% | 11% | 12% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 16% |
32 measures vs. New York
8 better21 too close to call3 worse
| What stands out | Waterford | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.2% | 7.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 11.6% | 17.2% |
| More adults with depression | 22.1% | 17.5% |
Samaritan Hospital of Troy, New York
4 mi away · emergency room
None
primary care, dental or mental-health shortage
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
59″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter18–35°
Spring36–58°
Summer59–81°
Fall42–61°
Oct 15
typical first frost
Apr 27
typical last frost
+1.6°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
OutdoorsA+
Conservation land takes up 13.1% of Waterford
0.9 miles of trail wind through 4 parks and preserves. Parks and preserves in Waterford: 4, covering 6 acres.
13.1%conserved
13.1%
conserved · 30 of 228 acres
0.9 mi
of trails · 2.3 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. 4th Street Park | — | 3 |
| 2. Memorial Park | — | 1 |
| 3. 8th Street Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
HousingCost of living grade B+
Homes in Waterford sell for about $355K
For Waterford, the going rate for rent is $1,082 a month. The share of households in Waterford who live in a home they own: 54%.
$355Kmedian sale price
| Waterford | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 54% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,082 a month | $1,101 a month | $1,185 a month |
4
homes sold in May
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Waterford
19pages on Waterford
The big questions
Out and about
The story
Day to day
After high school
Colleges nearby
16 within 15 miles of the center of Waterford
Samaritan Hospital School of NursingCommunity college · Private nonprofit · Troy3.4 mi$15,358 tuitionHudson Valley Community CollegeCommunity college · Public · Troy6.6 mi$6,796 in-state tuitionUniversity at AlbanyUniversity or college · Public · Albany10.4 mi$10,866 in-state tuition
About 4 of every 100 Waterford residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
Famous people from Waterford
8 notable people were born in Waterford.
.png){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
About Waterford
Town in New York, United States
Waterford is a town in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 8,106 at the 2023 census. The name of the town is derived from its principal village, also called Waterford. The town is located in the southeast corner of Saratoga County and north-northwest of Troy at the junction of the Erie Canal and the Hudson River.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Waterford’s neighbors
2 towns share a border with Waterford.
WaterfordTroyWaterford
How the neighbors grade
Waterford has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Waterford reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Waterford with a neighbor →
Questions about Waterford
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Waterford, NY expensive?
Not for the area. The typical home is worth about $158,000, 70% 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+.