The Town Files

The 25 Best Small Towns to Retire in New York

Ranked on The Town Files lifestyle rankings among 707 towns of 2,500–10,000 people in New York. #1 is Rhinebeck, NY.

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Numbers match the ranking.
The 25 Best Small Towns to Retire in New York1. Rhinebeck100th pct2. Woodstock100th pct3. Caroline100th pct4. Rhinebeck100th pct5. Woodstock100th pct6. Piermont100th pct7. Skaneateles99th pct8. Washington99th pct9. Otsego99th pct10. North East99th pct11. Sag Harbor99th pct12. Coxsackie99th pct13. Skaneateles99th pct14. North Hills98th pct15. Northwest Harbor98th pct16. Livingston98th pct17. Cutchogue98th pct18. Copake98th pct19. Bedford Hills98th pct20. Clarence98th pct21. Philipstown97th pct22. Highland97th pct23. North Salem97th pct24. Ulysses97th pct25. Heritage Hills97th pct
  1. 25Heritage Hills, New York

    Better for retirees than 97% of New York towns

    4,511 people · Westchester County · median home $524,800 · income $105,546 · Jan low 17°F · 40 in snow

  2. 24Ulysses, New York

    Better for retirees than 97% of New York towns

    4,890 people · Tompkins County · median home $274,500 · income $71,400 · Jan low 14°F · 62 in snow

  3. 23North Salem, New York

    Better for retirees than 97% of New York towns

    5,243 people · Westchester County · median home $670,600 · income $178,750 · Jan low 18°F · 45 in snow

  4. 22Highland, New York

    Better for retirees than 97% of New York towns

    6,385 people · Ulster County · median home $415,900 · income $101,917 · Jan low 19°F · 53 in snow

  5. 21Philipstown, New York

    Better for retirees than 97% of New York towns

    9,831 people · Putnam County · median home $615,000 · income $140,557 · Jan low 21°F · 36 in snow

  6. 20Clarence, New York

    Better for retirees than 98% of New York towns

    2,733 people · Erie County · median home $338,800 · income $88,269 · Jan low 19°F · 95 in snow

  7. 19Bedford Hills, New York

    Better for retirees than 98% of New York towns

    3,239 people · Westchester County · median home $487,300 · income $94,024 · Jan low 17°F · 40 in snow

  8. 18Copake, New York

    Better for retirees than 98% of New York towns

    3,346 people · Columbia County · median home $325,000 · income $113,611 · Jan low 14°F · 50 in snow

  9. 17Cutchogue, New York

    Better for retirees than 98% of New York towns

    3,437 people · Suffolk County · median home $917,800 · income $143,472 · Jan low 23°F · 27 in snow

  10. 16Livingston, New York

    Better for retirees than 98% of New York towns

    3,628 people · Columbia County · median home $309,100 · income $54,024 · Jan low 18°F · 31 in snow

  11. 15Northwest Harbor, New York

    Better for retirees than 98% of New York towns

    4,637 people · Suffolk County · median home $1,573,300 · income $160,375 · Jan low 23°F · 27 in snow

  12. 14North Hills, New York

    Better for retirees than 98% of New York towns

    5,464 people · Nassau County · median home $1,228,800 · income $173,315 · Jan low 27°F · 19 in snow

  13. 13Skaneateles, New York

    Better for retirees than 99% of New York towns

    2,533 people · Onondaga County · median home $647,100 · income $125,625 · Jan low 15°F · 106 in snow

  14. 12Coxsackie, New York

    Better for retirees than 99% of New York towns

    2,746 people · Greene County · median home $300,300 · income $70,500 · Jan low 18°F · 31 in snow

  15. 11Sag Harbor, New York

    Better for retirees than 99% of New York towns

    2,772 people · Suffolk County · median home $1,615,900 · income $129,821 · Jan low 23°F · 27 in snow

  16. 10North East, New York

    Better for retirees than 99% of New York towns

    2,971 people · Dutchess County · median home $334,000 · income $84,757 · Jan low 14°F · 54 in snow

  17. 9Otsego, New York

    Better for retirees than 99% of New York towns

    3,641 people · Otsego County · median home $352,600 · income $72,891 · Jan low 14°F · 86 in snow

  18. 8Washington, New York

    Better for retirees than 99% of New York towns

    4,522 people · Dutchess County · median home $532,300 · income $102,303 · Jan low 16°F · 56 in snow

  19. 7Skaneateles, New York

    Better for retirees than 99% of New York towns

    7,112 people · Onondaga County · median home $457,800 · income $103,545 · Jan low 15°F · 106 in snow

  20. 6Piermont, New York

    Better for retirees than 100% of New York towns

    2,517 people · Rockland County · median home $652,900 · income $140,450 · Jan low 23°F · 33 in snow

  21. 5Woodstock, New York

    Better for retirees than 100% of New York towns

    2,521 people · Ulster County · median home $675,600 · income $52,091 · Jan low 12°F · 86 in snow

  22. 4Rhinebeck, New York

    Better for retirees than 100% of New York towns

    2,697 people · Dutchess County · median home $492,600 · income $70,496 · Jan low 11°F · 61 in snow

  23. 3Caroline, New York

    Better for retirees than 100% of New York towns

    3,334 people · Tompkins County · median home $234,200 · income $80,855 · Jan low 13°F · 63 in snow

  24. 2Woodstock, New York

    Better for retirees than 100% of New York towns

    6,287 people · Ulster County · median home $604,700 · income $92,118 · Jan low 12°F · 86 in snow

  25. 1Rhinebeck, New York

    Better for retirees than 100% of New York towns

    7,596 people · Dutchess County · median home $521,800 · income $93,284 · Jan low 11°F · 60 in snow

Price vs ranking

Median home value vs ranking, New York towns0255075100$81K$426K$771K$1116K$1462KMedian home valuePercentile
Orange squares are the 25 towns on this list; green dots are other towns on The Town Files in New York.

More New York rankings

Same ranking, other places

Methodology. We ranked 707 towns of 2,500–10,000 people in New York (2020 Census population; towns with 2,500+ people have pages so far). Lifestyle measures are The Town Files lifestyle rankings, built from federal demographic, school, crime and housing data (2025), shown as percentiles. Only towns better than 60% of their peers on this measure qualify, so lists can be shorter than 25. Sources: