In New York State a town is a political subdivision of a county, similar to what are called townships in some other states. Towns cover the entire area of a county, except those areas covered by a city or an Indian reservation. Each town generally contains any number of unincorporated communities (called hamlets in New York State) and provides services such as road maintenance to those communities. A town also often contains one or more villages, each of which has its own government, which often shares with the town in providing services to its residents. Villages and hamlets may also lie in two (or more?) towns or counties.

Informally though, in New York State, as elsewhere, town is often used to refer to any type of settlement, including:

• hamlets — "...a one-horse town way out in the sticks...",
• villages — "...going into town to get some milk...", or "...lives in town..." and
• cities — "...going to a show in New York Town...", or just "...hit the town...".

Some communities that have "town" in their names are not actual towns:

• Allentown is a hamlet in the Town of Alma in Allegany County.
• Allentown is also a hamlet in the Town of Hadley in Saratoga County.
• Allentown is also a neighborhood in the City of Buffalo.
• Cokertown is a hamelet in the Town of Red Hook in Dutchess County
• Cooperstown is a village in the Town of Otsego, which is in Otsego County.
• Danielstown is a hamlet in the Town of Lake Luzerne in Warren County.
• Elizabethtown is a hamlet in the Town of Elizabethtown, and it's the county seat of Essex County.