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Cold Spring, New York

Cold Spring is a small town of about 2,000 people in Putnam County, New York. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 5.1 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Bridgeport, is about 43 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
1,998
up 0.7% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$600,100
Putnam County prices up 19% since 2022
Household income
$117,292
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, New York area
112.6
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
7 miles
Newburgh, NY
To Bridgeport
43 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 12.6% above the U.S. average in the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 5.1 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood0 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 1 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town3 public schools: 1 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byMontefiore St. Luke's Cornwall in Newburgh, about 7 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityBridgeport is about 43 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Cold Spring meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$600,100U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 19%Putnam County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,777 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$117,292U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
65%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$10,000 or more a yearNew York: $6,582
Homes built before 1940
41%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
8%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
6%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
112.6U.S. average = 100 (the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 19% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro area, not Cold Spring alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
1,9982020: 1,984
Median age
43 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
23%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
16%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
69%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
6%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Professional and business services (20%); schools, health care and social services (18%)
Unemployment rate
6%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
51 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
20%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
5%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Montefiore St. Luke's Cornwall, Newburgh, NY, about 7 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 2 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

3 public schools in Cold Spring, run by Haldane Central School District.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on New York's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
86%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
94%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
21°F
July average high
85°F
Days 90°F or hotter
18 a year
Nights at or below freezing
110 a year
Rain and melted snow
51.5 inches a year
Snow
36 inches a year
Elevation
117 feet

Weather station: West Point (2 miles away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Montefiore St. Luke's Cornwall, Danbury, Bridgeport.

Putnam County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

5 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Cold Spring Historic District, the Valhalla Highlands Historic District and West Point Foundry.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Appalachian National Scenic Trail4 miles
  • Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site23 miles
  • Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site23 miles
  • Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site25 miles
  • Weir Farm National Historical Park28 miles

Read about Cold Spring's history on Wikipedia.

Know Cold Spring?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Nelsonville, NY635 people, 1 mile
  • Fort Montgomery, NY (unincorporated)2,422 people, 6 miles
  • Salisbury Mills, NY (unincorporated)293 people, 8 miles
  • Shrub Oak, NY (unincorporated)2,498 people, 9 miles
  • Merritt Park, NY (unincorporated)1,685 people, 9 miles
  • Mountain Lodge Park, NY (unincorporated)1,669 people, 10 miles
  • Crompond, NY (unincorporated)2,418 people, 10 miles
  • Verplanck, NY (unincorporated)650 people, 11 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.