Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Westerlo is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades B overall, 327th among New York's 745 graded towns, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is incomes: the median household earns $99K. It also does better than most on health: CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 71% of the country. A typical home there costs about $316K, 3.6 years of the Albany metro’s $88K median household income. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 93% of U.S. towns. The biggest place to walk is Bear Swamp, 307 acres with 1.7 miles of trail.
Where Westerlo beats most towns.
Where Westerlo’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 Westerlo is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 3,458 in 1820, a low of 1,220 in 1930, 3,194 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1866 and 3 maps from 1900 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Westerlo. Close and well known come first.
23 mi MuseumOlana State Historic Site
21 mi WaterfallKaaterskill Falls
17 mi MuseumUSS Slater
18 mi Stadium & arenaMVP Arena
39 mi TheatreTanglewood
18 mi Ancient siteFort OrangeOlana State Historic Site: Netniks, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Kaaterskill Falls: Mwanner, CC BY-SA 3.0 · USS Slater: UpstateNYer, CC BY-SA 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 · Tanglewood: Daderot., CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fort Orange: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Westerlo, 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 Westerlo.
Westerlo has less no health insurance than most of New York and sends most of its workers to Albany and beyond.
Westerlo has 265 jobs for its 1,362 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. Jobs based here fell from 593 in 2013 to 265.
Most working residents leave Westerlo for work: only 4% work in town. Westerlo’s average trip to work is 29 minutes, against 25 minutes in New York’s towns and 25 minutes across U.S. towns. Jobs based in Westerlo fell to 265 in 2023, 328 fewer than in 2013.
| Westerlo | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $99,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 4.3% | 10% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 7.7% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its widest gap with New York is no health insurance: 5% of those 18–64 have no health insurance, against 7.9% statewide.
18% of adults binge drink in Westerlo, where New York’s towns sit at 17% and U.S. towns at 16%. Westerlo beats the New York average on 7 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 6. 34% of adults feel lonely in Westerlo.
| Westerlo | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 16% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 32% | 33% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 5% | 5.9% | 8.1% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 16% | 17% |
| What stands out | Westerlo | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5% | 7.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 11.5% | 17.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.3% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Adults 18 to 34 are 13% of residents (23% statewide); people 65 and older are 23% of residents (18% statewide). 37% of Westerlo adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more.
| Westerlo | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 23% | 20% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 37% | 32% | 29% |
| Median age | 44.2 years | 42.9 years | 40.5 years |
46% women, 54% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4.5 points. Across New York, 51.2% of residents are women.
| Westerlo | NY | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.6% | 11% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 12.7% | 9.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.6% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 7.1% | 14.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 15.6% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.3% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.8% | 13.3% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 15.1% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 3.5% | 12% | 10.4% |
| High school | 31.4% | 24.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 13.5% | 14.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 14.6% | 8.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 20.3% | 22.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 16.8% | 17.9% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 3,300, single groups can be off by several points
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 71% of U.S. communities. Since 1996, 3 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Westerlo.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Westerlo has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Westerlo’s July high is 80°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
4.6 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. The trail density in Westerlo is 0.1 miles per square mile.
| Westerlo | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 7.9% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Bear Swamp | 1.7 mi | 307 |
| 2. Westerlo Veterans Memorial Town Park | 1.2 mi | 62 |
| 3. Restifo Sanctuary | — | 55 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
None within 15 miles of Westerlo; the nearest are
About 5 of every 100 Westerlo residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
Town in New York, United States
Westerlo is a town in Albany County, New York, United States. The population was 3,194 at the 2020 census. The town is on the southern border of Albany County and is served by New York State Route 143.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Westerlo.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Westerlo | #327 | B | B | — | B− | B+ |
| Rensselaerville | — | — | C+ | — | C+ | A |
| Coeymans | #256 | B+ | B | — | C | A− |
| New Scotland | #75 | A | C+ | — | A | A |
| Greenville | #361 | B− | C | — | C | A− |
| Berne | #343 | B | B− | — | B | A− |
Rensselaerville has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Westerlo, Rensselaerville, Coeymans, New Scotland, Greenville and Berne report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Westerlo with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Westerlo grades B overall, better than 59% of U.S. towns and #327 of 745 in New York. It grades B+ for health and B− for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a D.
The typical home is worth about $316,000, 40% 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.
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