Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 8,032.
Yes, by almost any measure. Waterford earns an A+, ranked 19th of 745 in New York. Crime is low: it reports less per resident than 94% of U.S. towns, its schools outperform 87% of the state's, and residents are healthier than 80% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Its lowest mark, a B, is in cost of living. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 100% of U.S. towns, with 6 places on the National Register. Waterford’s trail density is 1.5 miles per square mile, above both the New York town median (0.4) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4). On history, just 19 of New York’s 1,216 towns do better. Peebles Island State Park, at 150 acres with 3.9 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
Where Waterford beats most towns.
12.5% of the town is conserved land, across 11 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Waterford is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,184 in 1820, 8,208 in 2020. The archive holds 3 old photos and papers and 6 maps from 1893 on.
6 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Waterford. Close and well known come first.
29 mi MountainMount Greylock
11 mi Stadium & arenaMVP Arena
in town WaterfallCohoes Falls
13 mi MuseumUSS Slater
12 mi Ancient siteFort Orange
25 mi MuseumClark Art InstituteMount 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 · Cohoes Falls: bobistraveling, CC BY 2.0 · USS Slater: UpstateNYer, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fort Orange: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain · Clark Art Institute: Daderot, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Waterford, 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 Waterford.
Waterford reports less crime than Cohoes or any other graded neighbor and has better schools than Halfmoon or any other neighbor, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of New York (mostly inland flooding).
11 miles of trail in 11 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Peebles Island State Park | 3.9 mi | 150 |
| 2. Lock 6 Canal State Park | 0.4 mi | 81 |
| 3. Sugarloaf Pond Park | — | 11 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its A is the best School Grade on its borders; Halfmoon (A−) is next.
Its public schools are run by the Waterford-Halfmoon Union Free School District. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Waterford-Halfmoon Junior-Senior High School, with 330 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waterford-Halfmoon Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 388 | C+ |
| Waterford-Halfmoon Junior-Senior High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 330 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
Its A tops all 3 graded towns on its borders; Cohoes (C+) comes closest. Violent crime is rare: 4 reported in 2025, 0.5 per 1,000 residents.
At 1.9 per 1,000 residents, Waterford’s property crime rate is where New York’s towns sit at 7.6 and U.S. towns at 9.9. The violent crime rate in Waterford is 0.5 per 1,000 residents.
| Waterford | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.9 per 1,000 residents | 7.6 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.5 per 1,000 residents | 0.8 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its widest gap with New York is food insecurity: 10.3% of its 8,873 adults worry about having enough food, against 17.2% statewide.
32% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Waterford. Waterford beats the New York average on 12 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 4. 21% of adults get no exercise outside work in Waterford.
| Waterford | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 37% | 36% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 25% | 25% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 17% | 19% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 9.6% | 11% | 12% |
| What stands out | Waterford | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 10.3% | 17.2% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 4.8% | 7.9% |
| More adults with depression | 21.2% | 17.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Jobs based here fell from 2,660 in 2013 to 2,073. The average commute for its 3,710 working residents takes 23.5 minutes, against 32.6 across New York.
Most working residents leave Waterford for work: only 6% work in town. Since 2013, Waterford has lost 587 jobs, to 2,073 in 2023. 18% of Waterford workers work from home.
| Waterford | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 18% | 12% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 6.3% | 10% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $87,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Waterford has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 15° and about 59 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 85% of New York towns, with expected losses of about $349 per resident a year; that rating is what its C for hazard risk is built on. 116 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 14 properties have flooded more than once.
Waterford’s FEMA risk score is 63 of 100. Since 1979, 116 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Waterford.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
16 within 15 miles of the center of Waterford
About 5 of every 100 Waterford residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
Where Waterford’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
6 places in Waterford on the National Register of Historic Places.
8 notable people were born in 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)
6 towns share a border with Waterford.
At #19 in NY, it grades higher overall than all 5 graded towns on its borders; Halfmoon (A−) comes closest.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waterford | #19 | A+ | B | A | A | A− |
| Cohoes | #644 | C− | C | C+ | C− | C+ |
| Halfmoon | #159 | A− | C− | — | A− | A |
| Colonie | #253 | B+ | C | C− | A− | A |
| Schaghticoke | #222 | B+ | B | — | B− | B+ |
| Waterford | — | — | B+ | — | B− | B+ |
| Troy | #699 | D | C+ | D | C− | B− |
Waterford has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Halfmoon, Schaghticoke and Waterford report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Waterford with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Waterford grades A+ overall, better than 98% of U.S. towns and #19 of 745 in New York. It grades A− for health, A for safety and A for schools.
The typical home is worth about $270,000, 49% 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.
8 notable people were born here, including Ethelda Bleibtrey and Charles Waldron.
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