Watkins Glen is a very small village located in the state of New York. With a population of 1,746 people and two associated neighborhoods, Watkins Glen is the 617th largest community in New York. Watkins Glen has an unusually large stock of pre-World War II architecture, making it one of the older and more historic villages.

A relatively large number of people in Watkins Glen telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 8.37% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

The percentage of people in Watkins Glen who are college-educated is somewhat higher than the average US community of 21.84%: 28.82% of adults in Watkins Glen have at least a bachelor's degree.

The per capita income in Watkins Glen in 2022 was $40,993, which is middle income relative to New York, and upper middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $163,972 for a family of four. However, Watkins Glen contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

The people who call Watkins Glen home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Watkins Glen residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Watkins Glen include English, Irish, German, Italian, and Polish.

The most common language spoken in Watkins Glen is English. Other important languages spoken here include Italian and Polish.