Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,716, settled in 1926.
The best of Watkins Glen’s subject grades are an A for walkability and civic life and an A+ for the outdoors; the weakest is a C− for incomes. 34% of residents are 65 or older in Watkins Glen, against 20% in New York’s towns and 18% across U.S. towns. Watkins Glen’s trail density is 2.1 miles per square mile, above both the New York town median (0.4) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4). Only 15 of New York’s 1,216 towns score higher on the outdoors. The biggest park or preserve is Catharine Creek Wildlife Management Area, at 98 acres. Watkins Glen has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Watkins Glen beats most towns.
Where Watkins Glen’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Watkins Glen is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 2,039 in 1870, a peak of 3,052 in 1950, 1,829 in 2020. The archive holds 10 old photos and papers going back to 1860 and 3 maps from 1898 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Watkins Glen. Close and well known come first.
in town State parkWatkins Glen State Park
19 mi LakeSeneca Lake
23 mi LakeCayuga Lake
19 mi MuseumCorning Museum of Glass400K visitors a year
18 mi State parkTaughannock Falls State Park
20 mi Stadium & arenaSchoellkopf FieldWatkins Glen State Park: Flickr user: Peter Rivera Stamford, Connecticut https://www.flickr.com/people/ri, CC BY 2.0 · Seneca Lake: RochesterNY, Public domain · Cayuga Lake: The original uploader was Cornellrockey at English Wikipedia. Later versions we, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Corning Museum of Glass: User:Stilfehler, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Taughannock Falls State Park: Michael C. Rygel, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Schoellkopf Field: Alex Sergeev, (www.asergeev.com) Originally uploaded by en:User:Cornell010, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Watkins Glen, 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 Watkins Glen.
Half of commuters travel less than 18 miles. Watkins Glen’s average trip to work comes in at 19 minutes. It had 1,674 jobs in 2023, down 120 from 2013. The top destinations are Dix (24%), Corning (6%) and Horseheads (5%).
| Watkins Glen | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $50,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 19% | 10% | 8% |
| Work from home | 8.4% | 12% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
In the year to September 2026, typical home values climbed 2.2%. The share of households in Watkins Glen who own their home: 50%. Also worth knowing: its midpoint rent is $741 a month.
| Watkins Glen | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 50% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $741 a month | $1,101 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
There are 4.0 miles of trail across 4 parks and preserves. Parks and preserves in Watkins Glen: 4, covering 178 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Watkins Glen State Park | 1.4 mi | 77 |
| 2. Catharine Creek Wildlife Management Area | — | 98 |
| 3. LaFayette Park | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Federal disaster aid has reached households in Watkins Glen after 2 declared disasters, most recently in 2018. Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 71% of U.S. communities. 8 flood insurance claims have been paid locally since 1993. Of the losses FEMA expects here, 75% come from inland flooding and 5% from tornadoes.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
A winter brings about 42 inches of snow, with January nights at 17° and July afternoons at 83°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
In Watkins Glen, 16% of adults smoke cigarettes, and 28% get no exercise outside work. For adults locally, the share who have diabetes is 13%.
| Watkins Glen | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 25% | 25% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 34% | 35% |
| What stands out | Watkins Glen | NY |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 9.5% | 6% |
| More smokers | 16.1% | 11.3% |
| More adults with heart disease | 8.2% | 6.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
None within 15 miles of Watkins Glen; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Watkins Glen residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
5 notable people were born in Watkins Glen.
Village and CDP in New York, US
Watkins Glen is a village in and the county seat of Schuyler County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,829. Watkins Glen lies between the towns of Dix and Reading. To the southwest of the village is the Watkins Glen International race track, which hosts annual NASCAR Cup Series and WeatherTech SportsCar Championship races, and formerly hosted the United States Grand Prix and various IndyCar races.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Watkins Glen.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Watkins Glen | — | — | C+ | — | C+ | C+ |
| Dix | #509 | C | B | — | C+ | B− |
| Hector | #594 | C− | C | — | B− | B+ |
| Montour | — | — | B | — | C+ | B− |
| Reading | — | — | C+ | — | C+ | B |
Watkins Glen, Montour and Reading have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Watkins Glen, Dix, Hector, Montour and Reading report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Watkins Glen with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
That is 3.5 years of the area's median household income ($67,663 across the county). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
5 notable people were born here, including Willie Watson and Samuel Arza Davenport.
