Adirondacks & North Country

Essex County, New York

Essex County is home to 37,381 people across 30 cities, towns, villages, and hamlets. Adirondack peaks, Forest Preserve lands, Olympic Lake Placid, and the St. Lawrence islands.

Population (2020): 37,381
Region: Adirondacks & North Country
Places: 30

Tax snapshot County notes Places Statewide links

Property tax in Essex County

About $9–$25 per $1,000 of market value

Combined full-value rates (county + town/city + school) across the county, FY2025. On a $300,000 home that's roughly $2,832–$7,595 a year before STAR. The exact rate depends on the town, school district, and village. A planning estimate, not a bill.

Almanac Notes

More about Essex County

Short, sourced notes tied to this county, with the local color and the things worth knowing before you make a plan.

Rules & Licenses

Adirondack Park Projects Should Start With the APA, Not Guesswork

Before building, subdividing, clearing near wetlands, or changing shoreline use in the Adirondack Park, ask the APA whether state review applies.

Rules & Licenses

North Elba Short-Term Rentals Need the Local Permit Route

North Elba and Lake Placid short-term rental checks should start with the local permit page, not a listing platform or old blog post.

History & Culture

The rink where the Miracle on Ice happened is still here

Lake Placid hosted the Winter Olympics in 1932 and 1980, and you can still visit the arena where the Miracle on Ice happened.

History & Culture

North Elba Holds John Brown's Adirondack Memory

John Brown Farm gives North Elba a serious historical layer beyond Olympic tourism: abolition, settlement, and Adirondack mountain landscape in one site.

Home & Property

Essex County property checks should begin with Real Property

Essex County buyers and owners should use the county Real Property page before relying on a listing or map pin.

History & Culture

Jay's identity follows the Ausable River corridor

Jay's Adirondack identity follows the Ausable River corridor, with hamlets and town offices sharing the same small geography.

History & Culture

Schroon is lake town plus Adirondack municipality

Schroon's local identity comes from Schroon Lake, town government, and Adirondack travel patterns in southern Essex County.

History & Culture

Ticonderoga starts with the fort between two waters

Fort Ticonderoga makes the town’s Lake George and Lake Champlain position central to its identity.

History & Culture

Willsboro is a Lake Champlain town with its own civic route

Willsboro's Lake Champlain setting has a town-office and Essex County layer behind the shoreline view.

Towns (18)

North Elba · 7,480 Ticonderoga · 4,789 Moriah · 4,716 Jay · 2,486 Chesterfield · 2,476 Crown Point · 2,042 Willsboro · 1,905 Schroon · 1,880 St. Armand · 1,446 Westport · 1,320 Lewis · 1,293 Elizabethtown · 1,203 Keene · 1,144 Wilmington · 1,139 Minerva · 773 Essex · 621 Newcomb · 418 North Hudson · 250

Villages (2)

Saranac Lake · 4,887 Lake Placid · 2,205

Hamlets (10)

Ticonderoga · 3,250 Mineville · 1,327 Port Henry · 1,150 Schroon Lake · 921 Wilmington · 843 Elizabethtown · 746 Willsboro · 689 Westport · 496 Witherbee · 385 Willsboro Point · 382

Statewide starting points

County, assessor, STAR, and environment lookups

Start with the state county directory, then use ORPTS for assessor, equalization-rate, and municipal profile data. Exact local offices and deadlines still come from the county, city, town, village, or borough office.

Use this carefully: County pages here are orientation pages. Current forms, deadlines, local offices, and parcel-specific details come from the responsible office.

Tax rates: NYS Dept of Taxation & Finance (ORPTS), Real Property Tax Rates and Levy Data by Municipality, data.ny.gov dataset iq85-sdzs. (FY2025). Population: U.S. Census 2020. Reviewed June 2026.

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