The Rivertowns is an informal name for a group of Hudson River villages in Westchester County, New York, not a government, a town, a school district or a ZIP code. Every local definition we found includes Hastings-on-Hudson, Dobbs Ferry and Irvington; the chamber of commerce adds Ardsley, and the two local news outlets add Ardsley, Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow.

All six are incorporated villages with their own village governments. Five sit in the Town of Greenburgh and Sleepy Hollow sits in the Town of Mount Pleasant. Taxes and school districts follow those lines, not the regional name.

Village lists from the Town of Greenburgh and the Town of Mount Pleasant, accessed October 20, 2026. Home counts from 2020 Census block data.

Definitions differ, mostly over Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow. The Rivertowns Chamber of Commerce names four villages, as did the Rivertowns Enterprise. The Rivertowns Dispatch, launched in 2024 after the Enterprise suspended publication, and The Hudson Independent now cover six.

Ardsley is on the chamber’s and both news outlets’ lists although it has no Hudson River shoreline: its Census water area is zero, and state park maps show it inland. It does share a school district with part of Dobbs Ferry. Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow, which reach the river, are not on the chamber’s list.

No government we found defines the Rivertowns as a jurisdiction. The Village of Dobbs Ferry calls itself “a rivertown community,” and the Dobbs Ferry and Irvington village websites both link to the chamber.

The Rivertowns Enterprise homepage, archived August 1, 2024. The Hudson Independent, August 21, 2026. Other organizations’ and Village of Dobbs Ferry websites, accessed October 20, 2026. US Census Bureau 2025 Gazetteer. NYS Parks aqueduct maps, August 25, 2016.

Ardsley, Dobbs Ferry, Hastings-on-Hudson, Irvington and Tarrytown are villages in the Town of Greenburgh, whose sixth village, Elmsford, appears in none of the definitions above. Sleepy Hollow is one of three villages in the Town of Mount Pleasant. All are in Westchester County.

A village does not leave its town. In the New York Department of State’s words, a village’s area “still remains a part of the town where it is located, and its residents continue to be residents and taxpayers of that town.” Sleepy Hollow was incorporated as North Tarrytown and voted to rename itself in 1996.

ZIP codes cross these lines both ways. Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow share 10591 with 710 homes in unincorporated Greenburgh and Mount Pleasant. Of the 3,030 homes in the Irvington ZIP, 10533, 305 are in unincorporated Greenburgh and 76 in Tarrytown. Greenburgh lists East Irvington and South Ardsley among its unincorporated neighborhoods: names with no village government behind them.

2020 Census block data by village and ZIP Code Tabulation Area. Stations placed from MTA station coordinates (October 20, 2026) using the Census Bureau geocoder. NYS Department of State, Local Government Handbook. Village of Sleepy Hollow history page.

The Ardsley-on-Hudson Metro-North station and the 10503 ZIP code are in the Village of Irvington, not the Village of Ardsley. The Village of Ardsley says as much about the station on its own website: “there is no Ardsley train station,” and the stop on the schedule “has to do with a small neighborhood in Irvington.”

The MTA’s station coordinates, run through the Census Bureau’s geocoder, place Ardsley-on-Hudson inside the Village of Irvington and its school district. In 2020 Census block data, all 85 homes in the 10503 area are in Irvington; none is in the Village of Ardsley. Irvington issues the resident parking permits for the station’s lots, and non-residents are not eligible. It is a fare Zone 4 station.

Village of Ardsley FAQ and Village of Irvington Parking Permits page, accessed October 20, 2026. MTA station coordinates and Census Bureau geocoder. 2020 Census block data. MTA fares effective January 4, 2026.

In 2020 Census block data, four of the six villages have homes in a district other than their main one. Only Hastings-on-Hudson and Ardsley sit entirely in their own district.

Two crossings are large. About one in six Dobbs Ferry homes, 765, is in the Ardsley district; counted by assessment parcels, the measure our Dobbs Ferry guide uses, the share is slightly higher. About one in six Tarrytown homes, 859, is in the Irvington district, and Tarrytown’s website points residents of its south end to Irvington school enrollment.

The Ardsley district also serves 1,366 homes in unincorporated Greenburgh. This guide states only which district serves which area; confirm any address with the district registrar before contract.

US Census Bureau 2020 Block Assignment Files (unified school districts) joined to 2020 block housing unit counts. Village of Tarrytown website, accessed October 20, 2026.

The Old Croton Aqueduct State Historic Park is the physical thread through the river villages: the state’s park maps draw the trail through Hastings-on-Hudson, Dobbs Ferry, Irvington, Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow. Ardsley is not on the route.

New York State Parks bought 26.2 miles of the original 41-mile aqueduct from New York City in 1968. The linear park runs from Van Cortlandt Park, at the Bronx County and City of Yonkers border, to the Croton Dam in Cortlandt.

The park’s visitor center is the Keeper’s House in Dobbs Ferry. The trail is primarily for walking and running, with parts suitable for biking, and it is free and open from sunrise to sunset.

NYS Parks, Old Croton Aqueduct State Historic Park pages and management plan maps (August 25, 2016), accessed October 20, 2026.

No village is the right one in general. Compare station and train time, fare zone, the school district for the specific parcel, the town and its assessment roll, and density, starting with the feature you will not trade away.

Train Time and Fare

Tarrytown’s fastest train beats Irvington’s even though Tarrytown is the next stop up the line. Its monthly ticket costs $41.50 more, or $498 a year. Ardsley-on-Hudson, in Zone 4, runs 41 minutes fastest and 45 median on 15 trains; Philipse Manor, in Zone 5, runs 42 and 51 on 16.

Town and Tax Structure

Tax structure splits at the town line: the five Greenburgh villages are assessed by the Town of Greenburgh at 100 percent of market value, while Sleepy Hollow’s village assessor and the Town of Mount Pleasant assess at a fraction of it (2025 state equalization rates of 15.57 and 1.07 percent), so their rates cannot be compared with Tarrytown’s as printed. Our Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow guide works through the conversion, and our Westchester County property tax guide explains the layers.

How Densely Each Village Is Built

This is a rough measure, not a lot size: it counts houses and apartments alike, and land area includes parks. This guide does not compare house types; the village guides below cover the housing stock.

Metro-North Hudson Line timetable effective October 4, 2026, weekday trains arriving at Grand Central 6 to 10 AM, Monday to Thursday. MTA fares effective January 4, 2026. NYS equalization rates, rate year 2025. Town of Greenburgh 2026 assessment guidance. Density calculated from 2020 Census homes and 2025 Census Gazetteer land area. General information, not tax or legal advice; confirm with a real estate attorney or the assessor.

The ZIP code and the town name on a listing are mailing labels. The tax bills, the assessment roll and the school district answer the question for a specific parcel.

• Ask for every tax bill. A home inside a village receives a village tax bill. In Hastings-on-Hudson and Irvington, for example, the village collects its own tax and the Town of Greenburgh collects town, county and school taxes.
• Check the assessment roll. The Town of Greenburgh posts its 2026 final assessment roll online, covering every Greenburgh village. In Sleepy Hollow the village has its own assessor, and the Town of Mount Pleasant answers town, county and school tax questions.
• Run the address through the Census geocoder. The Census Bureau’s free geocoder returns the village, town and school district for an address. Treat it as a first check, not the final word.
• Call the school district. Registrars decide enrollment on the physical address. The Public Schools of the Tarrytowns state that “a post office box is never an acceptable address for the purpose of determining residency.”

Hastings-on-Hudson and Irvington village tax pages, Town of Greenburgh Assessment Rolls page, Village of Sleepy Hollow Assessor and FAQ pages, Tarrytowns district registration page, accessed October 20, 2026.