Village · Essex County, New York

Lake Placid, New York

Lake Placid is a village in Essex County, New York. It has 2,306 residents. Lake Placid, New York has a quality-of-life score of 81 out of 100 (very high), ranking #2,925 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within New York it ranks #375 of 859 cities and towns. It ranks best on access to exercise opportunities (high), public EV charging ports (high) and students per teacher (low). It ranks worst on comfortable days (low), home price to income ratio (high) and income inequality (Gini index) (high).

81Very high

Quality-of-life score: #2,925 of 15,651 cities and towns
New York: #375 of 859 in NY
Population: 2,306 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 1,694.1 /mi²
FIPS code: 3640761

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 74 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety98#253/15,637
Economy35#10,158/15,631
Housing11#13,367/14,977
Health76#3,814/15,609
Healthcare57#6,807/15,650
Environment80#3,024/15,453
Education76#3,721/15,649
Infrastructure64#5,615/15,650
Community95#735/15,651
Leisure & amenities99#101/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Lake Placid, New York ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Essex County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Access to exercise opportunities · high100.0%
100/100New York 93.1%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteEssex County value
Public EV charging ports · high63.9 /10k
100/100New York 10.8 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyEssex County value
Students per teacher · low9.1×
99/100New York 12.0×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsEssex County value
Hot days · low0 days
99/100New York 3 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationEssex County value
Public libraries · high4.4 /10k
98/100New York 0.5 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesEssex County value
Violent crime rate · low40 /100k
98/100New York 368 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationCovers part of the area: some reporting agencies or member counties have no figureEssex County value

Weaknesses

Comfortable days · low21.0%
1/100New York 22.7%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationEssex County value
Home price to income ratio · high9.6×
2/100New York 4.9×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Income inequality (Gini index) · high0.503
4/100New York 0.517United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Median household income · low$41,612
7/100New York $85,768United States $81,6042020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19013
Dentists · low27 /100k
9/100New York 84 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteEssex County value
Average commute time · high17.7 min
10/100New York 32.6 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

New homes permittedImproving
2.7 /1k (2021) → 7.4 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+173%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
40.7% (2015-2019) → 62.9% (2020-2024)
+22 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
4.9× (2015-2019) → 9.6× (2020-2024)
+96%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Average commute timeWorsening
9.9 min (2015-2019) → 17.7 min (2020-2024)
+79%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
28.4% (2015-2019) → 40.1% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
82.4% (2015-2019) → 92.9% (2020-2024)
+10 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Lake Placid, New York improved on 0 of 11 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 9 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved0

No measure improved by more than its margin of error.

Declined2

Price / income+4.7×4.9× → 9.6×
Rent / income+12 points28.4% → 40.1%

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Lake Placid, New York between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	9.9 min2015-2019	17.7 min2020-2024	+7.8 min	Within the margin of error	4%
Bachelor's degree or higher	36.0%2015-2019	42.8%2020-2024	+6.8 points	Within the margin of error	78%
Broadband subscriptions	82.4%2015-2019	92.9%2020-2024	+10 points	Within the margin of error	62%
Effective property tax rate	1.36%2015-2019	1.46%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	6%
High school diploma or higher	94.8%2015-2019	95.7%2020-2024	+0.9 points	Within the margin of error	45%
Home price to income ratio	4.9×2015-2019	9.6×2020-2024	+4.7×	Declined	0%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4392015-2019	0.5032020-2024	+0.064	Within the margin of error	12%
Median household income	$56,1672015-2019	$41,6122020-2024	−26%	Within the margin of error	1%
Poverty rate	18.2%2015-2019	9.0%2020-2024	−9.2 points	Within the margin of error	91%
Rent as share of income	28.4%2015-2019	40.1%2020-2024	+12 points	Declined	7%
Rent-burdened households	40.7%2015-2019	62.9%2020-2024	+22 points	Within the margin of error	7%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Lake Placid, New York five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Lake Placid, New York in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Lake Placid, New York itself moved −19.5 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

2,306 residents (±358)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

1,488 households (±245)

Lake Placid, New York
New York share

Under $25k21%†310
$25k–50k35%†514
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

1,488 households (±245)

Lake Placid, New York
New York share

Own46%688
Rent54%800

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

1,377 workers (±253)

Lake Placid, New York
New York share

Drive alone51%697
Carpool10%†143
Public transit5.1%†

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Essex County, the county holding most of Lake Placid's residents.

Essex County has 1,186 employer establishments, 323 for every 10,000 residents (1.30× the US rate of 248; 1.18× New York's), with 10,192 paid employees at an average annual pay of $58,574. The Census Bureau also counts 3,266 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,186; 3,266 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 323; US 248 · New York 274
Paid employees: 10,192
Average annual pay: $58,574; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Essex County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Restaurants and other eating places	113	30.8	1.68×More than typical	979	$32,206	12
Construction of buildings	79	21.5	2.85×More than typical	321	$56,237	188
Specialty trade contractors	75	20.4	1.32×More than typical	240	$64,129	306
Full-service restaurants	62	16.9	2.20×More than typical	643	$36,378	6
Traveler accommodation	57	15.5	8.61×More than typical	928	$40,747	57
Ambulatory health care services	51	13.9	0.67×Fewer than typical	454	$52,333	127
Lessors of real estate	44	12	0.97×About typical	126	$39,992	409
Limited-service restaurants	34	9.3	1.16×About typical	211	$23,877	—
Services to buildings and dwellings	30	8.2	1.21×About typical	60	$59,333	257
Other specialty trade contractors	29	7.9	3.15×More than typical	111	$73,946	97
Amusement, gambling and recreation industries	25	6.8	2.56×More than typical	129	$70,395	46
Building equipment contractors	25	6.8	1.13×About typical	86	$47,512	67

Rank places for an industry Open Essex County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 36,686 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

No federal contract obligations recorded here in FY2026.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Lake Placid is mostly in Essex County.

See federal money in Essex County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Lake Placid, New York is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Elise M. StefanikR-NY-21 · 100% of residentsWith party 97%Missed 16.3%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Essex County93100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Essex County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/3640761

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends