Census-designated place · Orange County, New York
Scotchtown, New York
Scotchtown is a census-designated place in Orange County, New York, part of the Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY metro area. It has 10,252 residents. Scotchtown, New York has a quality-of-life score of 68 out of 100 (high), ranking #5,045 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within New York it ranks #536 of 859 cities and towns. It ranks best on median Air Quality Index (low), depression (low) and suicide rate (low). It ranks worst on average commute time (high), effective property tax rate (high) and preventable hospital stays (high).
- Quality-of-life score
- #5,045 of 15,651 cities and towns
- New York
- #536 of 859 in NY
- Population
- 10,252 (2020-2024)
- Land area
- 5 mi²
- Density
- 2,119.4 /mi²
- FIPS code
- 3665882
Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.
Scores by category
Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.
- Safety85#2,326/15,637
- Economy53#7,362/15,631
- Housing32#10,173/14,977
- Health85#2,400/15,609
- Healthcare47#8,334/15,650
- Environment90#1,500/15,453
- Education56#6,848/15,649
- Infrastructure55#7,111/15,650
- Community36#10,046/15,651
- Leisure & amenities65#5,520/15,651
Strengths · Weaknesses
Indicators where Scotchtown, New York ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Orange County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.
Strengths
- Median Air Quality Index · low27
- Depression · low16.5%95/100New York 18.0%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
- Suicide rate · low7.6 /100k93/100New York 8.5 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataOrange County value
- Public transit commuters · high3.8%
- Firearm deaths · low4.7 /100k89/100New York 4.2 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataOrange County value
- Dental care shortage · low0.084/100New York 3.7United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationOrange County value
Weaknesses
- Average commute time · high28.7 min
- Effective property tax rate · high2.03%
- Preventable hospital stays · high3,605 /100k17/100New York 2,733 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteOrange County value
- Unemployment rate · high7.2%
- High school diploma or higher · low92.5%
- Social associations · low7.1 /10k24/100New York 7.9 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteOrange County value
Trends
The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.
- Broadband subscriptionsImproving
79.5% (2015-2019) → 94.4% (2020-2024)
+15 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
- Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
21.1% (2015-2019) → 31.5% (2020-2024)
+10 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
- Median household incomeImproving
$72,824 (2015-2019) → $96,689 (2020-2024)
+33%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
- Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
42.4% (2015-2019) → 45.4% (2020-2024)
+3.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
- Unemployment rateWorsening
4.3% (2015-2019) → 7.2% (2020-2024)
+2.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%
- Child poverty rateImproving
14.0% (2015-2019) → 11.2% (2020-2024)
−2.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
What changed in five years
How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.
Cities and towns like Scotchtown, New York five years ago that improved
The places whose measures looked most like those of Scotchtown, New York in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.
Who lives here
Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).
Income
How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.
Homes
Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.
Getting to work
How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.
Jobs and pay
What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.
Pay in the Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NYLocal businesses
Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.
Federal contracts performed here
Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Scotchtown is mostly in Orange County.
See federal money in Orange CountyRepresentation in Congress
Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.
County
A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.
Metro area
The metro or micro area the city belongs to.
Other cities and towns in Orange County
Largest first.
Similar cities and towns
Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).
- Avenel, NJ72Alike on Property tax, Commute, Mental distress
- Hackettstown, NJ74Alike on Commute, Depression, Population
- Woodbridge, NJ80Alike on Commute, Property tax, Depression
- Carteret, NJ67Alike on Commute, Mental distress, Household income
- Ridgefield Park, NJ89Alike on Mental distress, Depression, Property tax
Data and sources
Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.
- PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
- Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
- American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
- Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
- Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
- Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
- County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement