Croton-on-Hudson is the original home of the Hudson Institute. Nearby is IBM's Thomas J. Watson Research Center and General Electric's John F. Welch Leadership Center, which trains GE executives.

The village is home to one of at least three operating "dummy-lights" in the United States, located downtown at the intersection of Old Post Road South and Grand Street. It is a traffic signal on a pedestal which sits in the middle of an intersection, dating back to the 1920s. The other two are also located in New York State, in Beacon and Canajoharie.

Croton-on-Hudson's economy has historically thrived on the Metro North train station that up until 1968 served as the point at which northbound trains would exchange their electric engines for other modes of conveyance. During those days, the train station and its super-adjacent area was known as Harmon. At that time, because the maintenance of diesel and steam engines was very labor-intensive, there were many workers whose needs were served by abundant service businesses, such as restaurants and bars. Because of the separate development of both the Harmon and the Mt. Airy communities, there are two commercial districts, one based around Grand Street, and one based around Harmon that in recent years have connected into one sprawling commercial district. There is also the North Riverside commercial district that serves the communities based around Riverside Drive, Brook Street, Grand Street, and Bank Street.

After the New York Central Railroad folded, Croton-on-Hudson's economy slowly stagnated. Although Croton-Harmon station still served as the main transfer point northbound between local and express trains, the laborers who had earlier fueled a bustling service economy were no longer present in Harmon. The exodus of labor during the early 1970s was compounded by the stagflation that was a result of higher oil prices and sky-rocketing interest rates.

There has been an ongoing effort since the early 1990s to develop the riverfront for recreational use. Among the accomplishments are: a pedestrian bridge spanning Route 9/9A between the lower village and Senasqua Park, the Crossining pedestrian footbridge across the Croton River, the bicycle trail extensions around Half Moon Bay Condominiums, rehabilitation of the 'Picture Tunnel' (repaving and closing it to cars) and acquisition and clearing of the Croton Landing property.