Poestenkill
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The Poestenkill album
Outdoors in Poestenkill
Parks & trails →Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
About Poestenkill
Town in Rensselaer County, New YorkPoestenkill is a town in Rensselaer County, New York, United States. The population was 4,322 at the 2020 census. The town is southeast of Troy and is centrally located in the county. The town is named after the Poesten Kill, an important stream in the area. The phrase poesten kil (with only one l) is traditionally said to be Dutch for "foaming water" or "foaming creek". While kil is, indeed, Dutch for "water" or "creek", Dutch dictionaries do not support the claim of poest meaning "foam". It seems more likely that the creek was named after the nickname Poest for the 17th-century local farmer and miller Jan Barentsen Wemp, who had a pimple (poest) or had difficulty breathing (poesten = to b…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
How Poestenkill ranks
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Housing in Poestenkill
The median sale price was $425,000 in March 2026.
Work & commute in Poestenkill
Full picture →Most working residents leave Poestenkill for work: only 4% work in town. The top destinations are Albany (21%), Colonie (12%) and Troy (8%). Half commute less than 11 miles.
Health in Poestenkill
Health Grade A
Healthier than 87% of U.S. towns on seven CDC estimates.
Compared with New York
of 32 measures CDC estimates. The other 17 are too close to call.
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Natural hazards in Poestenkill
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 56% of U.S. communities.
Climate in Poestenkill
Full climate →Poestenkill has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. A typical July afternoon reaches 80°, a January night drops to 14°, and about 53 inches of snow falls in a normal winter.
Schools in Poestenkill
All Poestenkill schools →School Grade B+
The public schools Poestenkill’s kids attend, from kindergarten through graduation, outperform 65% of New York’s districts on state tests and graduation. Among towns with similar incomes, they sit near the middle.
School data from the U.S. Department of Education (NCES, EDFacts). The School Grade is our own summary of state test results and graduation rates, graded within NY. Ratings are from neighbors.
Poestenkill’s library
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