Townes was widely recognized for his scientific work and leadership.
* 1956 — elected Full Member of the National Academy of Sciences.
* 1957 — elected Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
* 1958 — awarded the Comstock Prize in Physics from the National Academy of Science.
* 1959 — awarded the Richtmyer Memorial Award from the American Association of Physics Teachers.
* 1960 — elected Member of the American Philosophical Society.
* 1961 — awarded the David Sarnoff Electronics Award given by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and the Rumford Prize awarded by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
* 1962 — The John J. Carty Award for the Advancement of Science given by the National Academy of Science.
* 1962 — Stuart Ballantine Medal given by The Franklin Institute.
* 1963 — Young Medal and Prize,  for distinguished research in the field of optics presented by the Institute of Physics.
* 1964 — Nobel Prize in Physics with Nikolay Basov and Aleksandr Prokhorov for contributions to fundamental work in quantum electronics leading to the development of the maser and laser.
* 1969 - Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.
* 1970 — Wilhelm Exner Medal.
* 1976 —  Elected a Foreign Member of the Royal Society (ForMemRS)
* 1979 — He was awarded the Niels Bohr international medal, for contributions to the peaceful use of atomic energy.
* 1980 — Townes was inducted by his home state into the South Carolina Hall of Science and Technology, and has also been awarded a South Carolina Hall of Science and Technology Citation.
* 1982 — He received the National Medal of Science, presented by President Ronald Reagan.
* 1983 — appointed to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.
* 1994 — elected Foreign Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
* 1996 — awarded the [https://web.archive.org/web/20070927200857/http://www.osa.org/aboutosa/awards/osaawards/awardsdesc/ivesquinn/ Frederic Ives Medal] by the Optical Society of America
* 1997 — Jansky Lectureship before the National Radio Astronomy Observatory
* 1998 — awarded the Henry Norris Russell Lectureship by the American Astronomical Society.
* 2000 — awarded the Lomonosov Gold Medal by the Russian Academy of Sciences.
* 2003 — awarded the Telluride Tech Festival Award of Technology in Telluride, Colorado.
* 2004 — awarded the [https://sites.google.com/site/siofottica/home Italian Society of Optics and Photonics]  (SIOF) "Galileo" medal.
* 2005 —  awarded the Templeton Prize for "Progress Toward Research or Discoveries about Spiritual Realities."
** He has also been awarded the LeConte Medallion.
* 2006 — Along with associate Raj Reddy, Townes was awarded the Vannevar Bush Award for Lifetime Contributions and Statesmanship to Science
* 2008 — On May 24 Townes received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the University of Redlands.
* 2010 — SPIE Gold Medal
* 2011 —On May 14 Townes received an Honorary Doctorate of Science from Texas A&M University.
* 2012 — awarded the Golden Goose Award for government-funded research with unexpected applications.
* 2012 — awarded the [https://www.asme.org/about-asme/participate/honors-awards/achievement-awards/nancy-deloye-fitzroy-and-roland-v-fitzroy-medal Nancy DeLoye Fitzroy and Roland V. Fitzroy Medal] from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers