Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Champlain grades C overall, 556th of 745 graded towns in New York, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. On the other side, the median household income is $60K, and 14% of residents live below the poverty line. It also does better than most on schools: its schools outperform 67% of the state's. A typical home there costs about $204K, 2.9 years of the Plattsburgh area’s $71K median household income. 28% of working residents work locally in Champlain, where New York’s towns sit at 10% and U.S. towns at 8%. Its National Register listings include Rouses Point Railroad Station.
Where Champlain beats most towns.
Census counts: 1,618 in 1820, 5,745 in 2020. The archive holds 21 old photos and papers going back to 1815 and 7 maps from 1895 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Champlain is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Champlain, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Aug 3, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Champlain.
Champlain gets more snow than nearly all U.S. towns and is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of New York (mostly inland flooding).
Typical home values rose 6.9% in the year to September 2026. The median rent in Champlain is $890 a month.
| Champlain | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $890 a month | $1,103 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 68% | 75% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its B+ is the best School Grade on its borders; Mooers (B) is next.
Its public schools are run by the Northeastern Clinton Central School District. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Northeastern Clinton Senior High School, with 379 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northeastern Clinton Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 287 | C |
| Northeastern Clinton Senior High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades PK–12 | Grades PK–12 | 379 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
The St Albans Radio weather station, 18 miles away, records that 80 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 95% of U.S. towns.
Champlain has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Champlain’s July high is 80°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 2,554 working residents takes 24.2 minutes, against 32.6 across New York.
About one in 4 of Champlain’s working residents works in town. Jobs based in Champlain fell to 2,008 in 2023, 321 fewer than in 2013. The top destinations are Plattsburgh (15%), Plattsburgh (13%) and Chazy (5%).
| Champlain | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $60,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 9.7% | 12% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 84% of New York towns, with expected losses of about $442 per resident a year; that rating is what its C for hazard risk is built on.
Since 1983, 29 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Champlain.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
6.1 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Kings Bay Wildlife Management Area, at 660 acres.
| Champlain | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 8.3% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Kings Bay Wildlife Management Area | 0.6 mi | 660 |
| 2. Duffy Memorial Sports Park | — | 16 |
| 3. Veterans Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Against the 8,873 U.S. towns with household incomes like Champlain’s, it is healthier than 66%, so its C+ isn’t only a matter of income.
Champlain beats the New York average on 3 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 12. 15% of Champlain adults report frequent physical distress.
| Champlain | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 14% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 16% | 17% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 35% | 37% | 36% |
| What stands out | Champlain | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6.1% | 7.9% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 12.1% | 14.5% |
| More adults with COPD | 8.8% | 6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
None within 15 miles of Champlain; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Champlain residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
4 places in Champlain on the National Register of Historic Places.
7 notable people were born in Champlain.
Town in the United States
Champlain is a town in Clinton County, New York, United States. The population was 5,754 at the 2010 census. The town is located on the western shore of Lake Champlain, near the northern end of Lake Champlain and is on the U.S./Canadian border. The town occupies the northeastern corner of Clinton County and the state of New York. Within the town are two villages: Champlain and Rouses Point.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Champlain.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Champlain | #556 | C | B− | — | B+ | C+ |
| Mooers | #455 | C+ | A− | — | B | C |
| Chazy | #428 | B− | B | — | B− | B− |
| Rouses Point | — | — | B− | — | B | C− |
Rouses Point has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Champlain, Mooers, Chazy and Rouses Point report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Champlain with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Champlain grades C overall, better than 30% of U.S. towns and #556 of 745 in New York. It grades C+ for health and B+ for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
7 notable people were born here, including Samuel Curtis and Erastus D. Culver.
