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Welcome to Essex County, New York!

Demographics are as reported in the 2000 Census unless otherwise noted.

Time Zone
Eastern Standard or Eastern Daylight Savings

Climate
Temperate: USDA Zones 3 & 4; some Zone 2 areas Average Temperature: January 19.8 degrees F. Lows can reach -40 degrees F. July 70.9 degrees F. Highs in the 90s are not uncommon Average Precipitation: Rain: 39.27 inches. Snow: 68.3 inches. Average first snow in October. Average last snow in April.

Geography
Elevation: Highest - 5,344 ft. above sea level. Lowest - Approximately 1,000 ft. above sea level. Home of the 46 Adirondack High Peaks including Mt. Marcy, the tallest mountain in the state. Adirondack Park: 6 million acres Terrain: Mountainous broken by lakes, ponds, rivers and streams Flora: 85% forested (21% hardwoods)

Land area
1,797 sq. mi.

Water area
119.7 sq. mi. Over 200 lakes and ponds. The largest lakes are Champlain, George, and Schroon. Primary rivers are the Hudson, Schroon, AuSable and Bouquet.

Municipalities include

• Village of Lake Placid
• Village of Schroon Lake
• Village of Saranac Lake
• Village of Keeseville
• Village of Mineville-Witherbee
• Village of Port Henry
• Village of Village of Ticonderoga
• Village of Westpor
• Village of Willsboro
• Village of Elizabethtown
• Town of St. Armand
• Town of Wilmington
• Town of Chesterfield
• Town of Essex
• Town of Keene
• Town of Newcomb
• Town of Minerva
• Town of Crown Point
• Town of Moriah
• Town of North Hudson
• Town of Jay
• Town of Lewis
• Town of North Elba

Population
2007: 38,649.
Population growth since 2000: -0.52%

• Races in Essex County
  White Non-Hispanic: 93.6%
• African-American: 2.8%
• Hispanic: 2.2%
• Two or more races: 0.9%
• American Indian: 0.8%
• Other race: 0.7%
• (Total can be greater than 100% because Hispanics could be counted in other races)
• Number of foreign born residents: 1,310 (46% naturalized citizens)

Median age

• 39.4 years
• Males: 51.8%
• Females: 48.2%

Elementary and Secondary Schools
Warren-Saratoga-Washington-Hamilton-Essex Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) in Fort Edward.

Essex County public schools spend $10,509 per student. The average US expenditure is $6,058. There are about 11 students per teacher in Essex County (Sperling, 2008). The New York State estimated cost per pupil is $18,768. (NYS Commission on Property Tax Relief, 2009).

Colleges and Universities that serve Essex County

• Adirondack Community College in Queensbury, part of the State University of NY and sponsored by Warren and Washington Counties.
• SUNY Plattsburgh Extension Center on the Adirondack Community College campus.
• College of St. Joseph, Rutland, VT.
• Empire State College in Latham and Saratoga Springs.
• Siena College School of Business in Albany.

Education

• Current college students: 1,200
• People 25 years of age or older with a high school diploma or higher: 80.4%
• People 25 years of age or older with a bachelorâ¬"s degree or higher: 18.3%

Households

• Average household size in Essex County: 2.39
• Median house sale price (2008): $354,700
• Fair market rent in 2006 for a 1-bedroom apartment in Essex County is $478 a month
• Fair market rent for a 2-bedroom apartment is $574 a month
• Fair market rent for a 3-bedroom apartment is $763 a month

2007 Statewide 56 County Ranking: Taxes Per Capita: #9 Essex County $1,065

2007 Statewide 56 County Ranking: Social Services Per Capita: #47 Essex County $373
Source: Office of the NYS Comptroller, excluding the New York Metropolitan area.

2007 North Country Region Ranking: Total Expenditure Per Capita: #2 Essex County - $2,198.
Information provided by the Public Policy Institute, the research affiliate of The Business Council of New York State, and the Empire Center for New York State Policy.

Industries providing employment

• Education, health and social services: 25.0%
• Arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodation and food services: 13.2%
• Retail trade: 10.9%
• Manufacturing: 10.4%

Type of workers

• Private wage or salary: 66%
• Government: 24%
• Self-employed, not incorporated: 9%
• Unpaid family work: 0%

Employment

• Average weekly wage, June 2007: $636 (US DOL Bureau of Labor Statistics)
• Unemployment rate September 2009 (NYS DOL): 7.8%
• Mean travel time to work: 20.7 minutes

NYS DOL Analysis - September 2009:

• Private sector employment in the North Country fell over the year by 3,300, or 2.8%, to 115,900 in September 2009. Growth was focused in educational and health services (+400). The greatest job declines were in manufacturing (-1,200), professional and business services (-700), trade, transportation and utilities (-700) and natural resources, mining and construction (-600).

Transportation

Air

• The Floyd Bennett Memorial Airport is owned and operated by Warren County and is located on approximately 500 acres three miles northeast from downtown Glens Falls, just off the New York State Route 254 (Quaker Road) in the Town of Queensbury, approximately 100 miles from Lake Placid. Runway 1-119 has a length of 5,000 feet by 150 feet and runway 12-30 is now 4,000 feet by 100 feet. The runways and the five taxiways are precision instrument runways with HIRL lights (pilot controlled). 792-5995.
• Albany International Airport 869-9611 - 150 miles south of Lake Placid and is served by several national and international carriers.

Rail

• Amtrakâ¬"s "Adirondack" passenger service between New York City and Montreal. Stops in Saratoga Springs, Fort Edward and Whitehall. (800) 872-7245.
• CP Rail serves Glens Falls, Queensbury, Fort Edward, Fort Ann and Whitehall.

Waterways

• Champlain Branch of the New York State Barge Canal: From the south start at New York City; proceed north via the Hudson River to the Port of Albany, then to Lock 1 in Waterford. Cruise the canal north to Lock 12 in Whitehall, the entry into Lake Champlain; into the Richelieu River then on into the St. Lawrence. The northern end of the route is also navigable in reverse from Montreal to New York City.

Bus

• Adirondack Trailways (800) 858-8555 and Greyhound (800) 231-2222 - National connecting service.

Car/Truck

• The Adirondack Northway (I-87) is the primary route through the North Country. Other main roads are U.S. Route 9 in Saratoga, Warren and Essex Counties, and U.S. Route 4 from Saratoga County through Washington County to Whitehall, then east to Rutland, VT. NY 22 is a north-south route through Washington and Essex Counties; NY 40 is a Washington County road. NY 32 is a north-south route through Warren and Saratoga Counties to the Capital District. Main east-west routes are NY 28, 29, 30 and 149.

Agriculture

• Average size of farms: 233 acres
• Average value of agricultural products sold per farm: $36,578
• Average value of crops sold per acre for harvested cropland: $200.03
• The value of nursery, greenhouse, floriculture, and sod as a percentage of the total market value of agricultural products sold: 6.55%
• The value of livestock, poultry, and their products as a percentage of the total market value of agricultural products sold: 56.80%
• Average total farm production expenses per farm: $38,676
• Harvested cropland as a percentage of land in farms: 33.88%
• Average market value of all machinery and equipment per farm: $79,380
• The percentage of farms operated by a family or individual: 88.56%
• Average age of principal farm operators: 54 years
• Average number of cattle and calves per 100 acres of all land in farms: 9.37
• Milk cows as a percentage of all cattle and calves: 38.46%
• All wheat for grain: 153 harvested acres
• Vegetables: 234 harvested acres
• Land in orchards: 318 acres
• Essex County historical area-adjusted tornado activity is significantly below New York state average. It is 7.3 times below overall U.S. average.
• Total withdrawal of fresh water for public supply: 6.11 millions of gallons per day (18% from ground, 82% from surface)

For more information, contact the Adirondack Economic Development Corp. in Saranac Lake at (518) 891-5523.