Bethlehem is a town in Albany County, New York, United States. The town's population was 35,034 at the 2020 census. Bethlehem is located immediately to the south of the city of Albany and includes the following hamlets: Delmar, Elsmere, Glenmont, North Bethlehem, Selkirk, Slingerlands, and South Bethlehem. U.S. Route 9W passes through the town. The town is named after the biblical Bethlehem.

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When Henry Hudson sailed up the river that would eventually bear his name, he is thought to have landed at what is now the town of Bethlehem. The spot where he is presumed to have landed is commemorated at the town's Henry Hudson Park. The town was established on March 12, 1793, from the town of Watervliet. In 1832, part of the town was used to form the town of New Scotland.

The town's earliest growth took place in Normansville, named for its location along the Normans Kill, a creek, which forms the town's border with Albany. Normansville still exists today, though it is unnoticed by most living in Bethlehem since it is accessible only by one downhill road. In the mid-19th century, the Delaware and Hudson railroad initiated Albany - Binghamton service (Susquehanna Division) through the hamlet then called Adamsville, renaming the hamlet Delmar. Delmar has become the most populous hamlet and its Delaware Avenue is the site of the present day town hall, police station, justice court, and public library, as well as numerous businesses.

The Delaware and Hudson discontinued passenger service in 1963, and its tracks started being removed in the year 2000, with the last of the track removed in 2005. The track right-of-way is now the Albany County Rail trail, a bike and pedestrian path, that runs from downtown Albany to Voorheesville. The town has continued to grow, and is today considered to be an affluent suburb of the city of Albany.

The town includes several historic buildings and landmarks.

• Four Corners: This Delmar intersection of Delaware and Kenwood avenues has served as the town's traditional center. It is the location of several stores, banks, restaurants and the post office. It is within walking distance of most Delmar residents.
• Adams House: In 1838 Nathaniel Adams built a hotel on Delaware Avenue. This stately building later served as the town hall. In 1980, the Town Hall moved to a larger location, and the volunteer fire department took over the building. Until 2016, Adams House was used as the headquarters of the New York State Association of Retarded Citizens, when it was sold to the Bethlehem Chabad, an Orthodox Jewish assembly. The Delmar Fire Department maintains the fire station to the rear of the structure, at the intersection of Nathaniel and Adams streets.
• Beckers Homestead: Albertus Becker built this house in 1800. His grandson, Albertus Becker II, was elected town supervisor in 1863.
• Bethlehem House: listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1973.
• District School No. 1: listed on the NRHP in 1998.
• Memorial Park: A small pocket park along Delaware Avenue to honor the town's war veterans. The park provides pedestrian access to the old Delaware and Hudson railway bed. The railway bed is being converted to a bike trail (rails to trails program) as funds become available.
• Elm Avenue Park: The town's largest park, it is a popular summertime gathering point. It includes three outdoor swimming pools, a splash zone for toddlers, playground, basketball and tennis courts. Winter activities include ice skating, hockey, cross country skiing, sledding, and snowmobiling. Admission to the pool area is restricted to town residents and their guests under a fee-based system.
• Bethlehem Central Middle School: This was built as the senior high school in the Federal style. Over the years it has had several additions. Its facilities include outdoor tennis courts, basketball courts, softball fields, running track, cross country trails, and soccer fields. These facilities are open to the public when the school is not in session. The high school was moved to a new building and this was adapted as a middle school.
• Delaware Plaza: A shopping plaza built in the 1950s, located on Delaware Avenue in Elsmere. Delaware Plaza is home to a large supermarket (Hannaford) as well as some 30 other shops and restaurants.
• Delmar post office: Built in the late 1930s during the Depression, it is the only one of the 13 Colonial Revival-style New York post offices designed by Louis Simon to lack a cupola.
• Albany County Helderberg-Hudson Rail Trail: Made from the preexisting path of the Delaware and Hudson railroad. The tracks have since been removed and is currently paved from Tollgate in New Scotland to the Port of Albany (roughly the Corner of Lexi Lane and S. Pearl Street).

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Town government had been dominated for over 120 years by the Republican Party. That changed in 2003 with the election of Democrat Theresa Egan as town supervisor. On the town board, Democrat Dan Plummer, along with Independence Party member Tim Gordon, created a new working Democratic majority for the first time in recollection. The Democrats further solidified their majority in 2005. On April 11, 2007, Supervisor Egan resigned her position in favor of a high-level appointment to the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, and Jack Cunningham was appointed supervisor by the board. Cunningham was elected to the position in the fall of 2007, then ran for reelection in November 2009, when he was defeated by council member Sam Messina. Messina, a member of the Independence Party (and former member of the Democratic Party), ran on the Republican line.

When the Republican Party chose to endorse Democratic town board member Kyle Kotary for town supervisor in May 2011, then-Supervisor Messina announced he would not seek reelection. John Clarkson defeated Kotary in the Democratic primary for the supervisor position in September 2011, and Clarkson subsequently defeated Kotary, running on the Republican line, in the general election in November 2011. Clarkson was sworn in as Bethlehem's supervisor on January 2, 2012. He served 3 terms and was succeeded by Democrat David VanLuven, who was first elected in November 2017. He ran unopposed for reelection in 2019.

Following the 2019 elections, Democrats were reelected to the town supervisor position, the town clerk position, the receiver of taxes position, both town justices and three of four seats on the town board. Additionally, a Democrat, Marc Dorsey, was elected superintendent of highways.

In the 2021 election, Democrats won all town offices: supervisor, clerk, town justice, superintendent of highways, and two town board seats. Following this election, Democrats control every local elected position in the town.

Most town residents live within the Bethlehem Central School District. The town operates five public elementary schools – Eagle, Elsmere, Glenmont, Hamagrael, and Slingerlands. A sixth elementary school, Clarksville, was closed indefinitely at the end of the 2010–2011 school year. The building remains property of the Bethlehem Central School District and is currently leased to the Albany County Sheriff's Department. According to the District web site, Clarksville school will remain closed for the indefinite future due to declining enrollment and economic issues.

Bethlehem Central School District Elementary schools include students up to grade 5. The Bethlehem Central Middle School educates children in grades 6, 7 and 8, while the Bethlehem Central High School includes grades 9–12.

The town also includes the School of Saint Thomas the Apostle, a Catholic school for grades K–8 located across from the Catholic Church. Additionally, an independent school known as Bethlehem Children's School exists for students in K–8, offering a creative, child centered environmental education approach to learning.

The school district offers Continuing Education classes in a variety of topics for adult learners of all ages. The school district also provides busing and most textbooks for families who choose to educate their children in private schools.

Residents in the hamlet of North Bethlehem are part of the Guilderland Central School District. Residents in the hamlets of Selkirk and South Bethlehem are part of the Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk Central School District. One of the two elementary schools of the district, Albertus W. Becker Elementary School, is in Selkirk.