Hudson Valley
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a town in Ulster County, in New York's Hudson Valley region, home to about 7,300 people as of the 2020 census.
Historic estates, farm-to-table towns, and Hudson River art and mountains. Rochester sits in that part of the state.
- Type
- Town
- County
- Ulster
- Region
- Hudson Valley
- Population (2020)
- 7,272
Local Almanac
Notes in and around Rochester
Short, sourced notes tied to this place, its county, or nearby communities.
This place · History & Culture
Rochester's Accord and Kerhonkson Story Runs from Canal to O&W Rail
In Ulster County's Town of Rochester, the D&H Canal and later O&W Railway explain Accord, Kerhonkson, and Alligerville's historic pattern.
Read this note ->This place · Home & Property
Rochester Permit Questions Start With Code Enforcement
In the Ulster County Town of Rochester, home projects and land-use questions should start with Code Enforcement, even when another board later reviews them.
Read this note ->This place · History & Culture
Rochester In Ulster Is Old Stone House Country
Rochester's identity in Ulster County is built from Accord, Kerhonkson, hamlets, and a dense layer of old stone houses.
Read this note ->Nearby · History & Culture
Marbletown's Stone Ridge and High Falls Story Starts in 1669
Marbletown's official history connects early settlement, hilly uplands, Esopus and Rondout waterways, Stone Ridge, High Falls, and Revolutionary-era government movement.
Read this note ->Nearby · History & Culture
Gardiner's Tuthilltown Mill Shows Why the Shawangunk Kill Mattered
Gardiner's early settlement story begins at Tuthilltown, where waterpower on the Shawangunk Kill helped anchor a mill community below the ridge.
Read this note ->Nearby · History & Culture
Wawarsing Climbs to Sam's Point
Wawarsing's Shawangunk edge links Cragsmoor, ice caves, pine barrens, and Rondout Valley canal memory.
Read this note ->Nearby · The Outdoors
Gardiner Carries the Shawangunk Ridge Through Minnewaska
Minnewaska State Park Preserve gives Gardiner Shawangunk cliffs, carriage roads, lakes, waterfalls, and public trail culture.
Read this note ->Nearby · History & Culture
Marbletown's Stone Ridge Story Is Built Into Main Street
Marbletown's story runs through Stone Ridge, early stone houses, old farms, and the Catskill-Shawangunk edge of Ulster County.
Read this note ->Nearby · History & Culture
Olive Keeps Ashokan Reservoir Memory Beside the Meeting House
Olive’s Meeting House history places old church memory, Esopus Creek settlement, and Ashokan Reservoir change in the same town archive.
Read this note ->Property tax snapshot
Roughly $15–$20 per $1,000
Combined full-value rate — county + town/city + school district, per $1,000 of market value (FY2025). On a $300,000 home that's about $4,351–$6,005 a year before the STAR break.
A planning estimate, not a bill. Your exact rate depends on your school district and any village. Confirm with the assessor.
Statewide links
Statewide starting points.
Good to know
- • Your assessed value usually isn't your market value — ask for the equalization rate.
- • Register for STAR; new applicants generally receive a credit instead of an automatic exemption on the bill.
- • Outside the cities, check the well, the septic, and the FEMA flood map before you buy.
Nearby
Nearby places
Tax rates: NYS Dept of Taxation & Finance (ORPTS), Real Property Tax Rates and Levy Data by Municipality, data.ny.gov dataset iq85-sdzs. (FY2025). Population: U.S. Census 2020. Reviewed June 2026. Source data ->
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