182,977 people (2024 Census estimate, +0.9% since 2020)
1,124 square miles of land · 163 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
112 active community water systems list Ulster County in the area they serve, reporting 97,291 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| KINGSTON (CITY) WATER DISTRICT surface water · local government · NY5503374 | 24,000 served |
| NEW PALTZ (VILLAGE) WATER DIST surface water · local government · NY5503379 | 7,523 served |
| ULSTER WATER DISTRICT buys surface water · local government · NY5503390 | 5,500 served |
| PORT EWEN WATER DISTRICT surface water · local government · NY5503382 | 4,500 served |
| ELLENVILLE (VILLAGE) WATER DIS groundwater · local government · NY5503366 | 4,300 served |
| SAUGERTIES (VILLAGE) WATER DIS surface water · local government · NY5503386 | 4,200 served |
| GLASCO WATER DISTRICT buys surface water · local government · NY5503367 | 4,071 served |
| HIGHLAND WATER DISTRICT surface water · local government · NY5503368 | 4,000 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 157 people were held in Ulster County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2026). In 2021 it was about 162.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
10 school districts have their office in Ulster County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $221.5 million — $205.7 million to run schools, about $32,582 per student, plus $7.2 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $115.9 million local (mostly property tax), $96.3 million state, $17.8 million federal. Long-term debt: $105.7 million.
Spent $93.5 million — $78.6 million to run schools, about $28,238 per student, plus $3.7 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $45.3 million local (mostly property tax), $36.1 million state, $4.7 million federal. Long-term debt: $8.4 million.
Spent $75.8 million — $68.6 million to run schools, about $29,903 per student, plus $6.1 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $43.3 million local (mostly property tax), $26.5 million state, $5.3 million federal.
Spent $68.6 million — $55.5 million to run schools, about $29,746 per student, plus $7.1 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $35.4 million local (mostly property tax), $23.9 million state, $2.7 million federal. Long-term debt: $38.4 million.
Spent $71.2 million — $66.9 million to run schools, about $36,692 per student, plus $795,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $48.1 million local (mostly property tax), $22.1 million state, $2.9 million federal. Long-term debt: $40.9 million.
Spent $87.5 million — $66.1 million to run schools, about $39,499 per student, plus $18.5 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $43.8 million local (mostly property tax), $27.8 million state, $3.7 million federal. Long-term debt: $5.2 million.
Spent $51.6 million — $47.8 million to run schools, about $30,557 per student, plus $428,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $30.8 million local (mostly property tax), $18.3 million state, $4 million federal. Long-term debt: $20.6 million.
Spent $61.6 million — $57.6 million to run schools, about $39,047 per student, plus $2.6 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $27.2 million local (mostly property tax), $28.3 million state, $6.6 million federal. Long-term debt: $9.8 million.
And 2 more.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Relatively Moderate compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Ulster County about $67.2 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Very High; social vulnerability: Relatively Moderate.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
392 bridges in Ulster County: 89 in good condition, 222 fair, and 81 poor (20.7%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| RTE I87 over RTE 213 WALLKILL RIVER · built 1955 | 35,755 vehicles a day |
| RTE I87 over HURLEY AVE · built 1953 | 35,755 vehicles a day |
| RTE 9W over ESOPUS CREEK · built 1932 | 12,282 vehicles a day |
| RTE 28 over 209 209 86031315 RTE 20 · built 1962 | 11,535 vehicles a day |
| RTE 28 over 209 209 86031315 RTE 20 · built 1962 | 11,535 vehicles a day |
| RTE 32 over RONDOUT CREEK · built 1934 | 9,045 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $25.4 million of work in Ulster County in fiscal 2025, about $140 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
Registration deadlines, early voting and polling places for New York are on the federal site vote.gov, which links to the state's official election office.
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Ulster County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Ulster County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of New York: the state government and every county in New York.
Nearby counties: Greene County (24 mi) · Dutchess County (30 mi) · Sullivan County (30 mi) · Orange County (38 mi) · Columbia County (39 mi) · Delaware County (40 mi).