The book's checklist
- Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 9.4% above the U.S. average in the Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh metro area.
- More house for the moneyA typical home costs 15.2 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
- A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Kiryas Joel itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
- Schools in town3 public schools. No public high school in town: the nearest is Monroe-Woodbury High School, about 2 miles away.
- A hospital close byGarnet Health Medical Center in Middletown, about 12 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
- Within reach of a big cityNew York is about 48 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 Kiryas Joel 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.
What kind of town
Boom town. The population is up 41% since 2020. Growing fast, with rising home values. Watch for chain stores and big apartment complexes: the small-town feel may not last.
The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.
For a lifetime
Homes and money
- Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
- $758,800U.S.: $332,700
- Home prices since then
- Up 21%Orange County, 2022 to 2025
- Typical rent, with utilities
- $1,604 a monthU.S.: $1,413
- Typical household income
- $50,032U.S.: $80,734
- Homes owned by the people living in them
- 33%U.S.: 65%
- Typical property tax bill
- $3,663 a yearNew York: $6,582
- Homes built before 1940
- 2%U.S.: 12%
- Homes built since 2010
- 39%U.S.: 11%
- Vacation and seasonal homes
- 2%U.S.: 3%
- Everyday prices
- 109.4U.S. average = 100 (the Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh 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 21% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh metro area, not Kiryas Joel 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
- 47,1472020: 33,507
- Median age
- 15.7 yearsU.S.: 38.9
- Age 65 and older
- 2%U.S.: 17%
- Under 18
- 55%U.S.: 22%
- Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
- 6%U.S.: 36%
- Moved here from another county or state in the past year
- 1%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
- Schools, health care and social services (32%); retail (15%); professional and business services (11%)
- Unemployment rate
- 2%U.S.: 5%
- Average commute
- 19 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
- Work from home
- 14%U.S.: 15%
- Below the poverty line
- 38%U.S.: 12%
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.
Health care
Nearest emergency room: Garnet Health Medical Center, Middletown, NY, about 12 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 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 Kiryas Joel, run by Kiryas Joel Village Union Free School District and Monroe-Woodbury Central School District. The nearest public high school is Monroe-Woodbury High School, about 2 miles away.
Colleges in or next to town: Uta Mesivta of Kiryas Joel (1,000 to 4,999 students).
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
- 9%U.S.: 76%
- Homes with any internet subscription
- 23%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
- 682 feet
Weather station: West Point (11 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: Garnet Health Medical Center, Paterson, New York.
Orange County is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).
For a day
National Park Service sites within about an hour:
- Appalachian National Scenic Trail5 miles
- Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park29 miles
- Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area30 miles
- Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River30 miles
- Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site31 miles
Campus life. Check Uta Mesivta of Kiryas Joel's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.
Read about Kiryas Joel's history on Wikipedia.
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
- Monroe, NY9,500 people, 2 miles
- South Blooming Grove, NY3,800 people, 2 miles
- Harriman, NY2,600 people, 2 miles
- Woodbury, NY11,600 people, 4 miles
- Walton Park, NY3,900 people, 4 miles
- Chester, NY4,000 people, 6 miles
Smaller places
- Mountain Lodge Park, NY (unincorporated)1,669 people, 3 miles
- Salisbury Mills, NY (unincorporated)293 people, 7 miles
- Fort Montgomery, NY (unincorporated)2,422 people, 9 miles
- Tuxedo Park, NY619 people, 10 miles
- Verplanck, NY (unincorporated)650 people, 12 miles
- Nelsonville, NY635 people, 13 miles
- Hewitt, NJ (unincorporated)2,417 people, 14 miles
- Crugers, NY (unincorporated)1,634 people, 15 miles
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
- 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
- FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
- 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
- NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
- U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
- National Park Service, park unit boundaries
- USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
- 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.