Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More weak spots than strong ones. The weak point is schools — its schools rank behind 84% of the state's. Incomes are weaker too: the median household income is $70K, and 14% of residents live below the poverty line. Homes run about $181K for a typical one, 2.4 times the Glens Falls metro’s $76K median household income. It does especially well on health (B+) — it is healthier than nearly two thirds of U.S. towns. Put together, the subjects come to a C− overall, ranking 641st of 745 in New York. Nationally, it does better than 18% of U.S. towns. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 93% of U.S. towns, with 6 places on the National Register.
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · schools, state test and graduation results · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · home values, Zillow.
Where Fort Edward beats most towns.
Census counts: 1,631 in 1820, 5,991 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1777 and 5 maps from 1895 on.
6 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Fort Edward is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Fort Edward. Close and well known come first.
15 mi LandmarkFort William Henry
11 mi Theme parkGreat Escape
27 mi LakeLake George
10 mi State parkGrant Cottage State Historic Site
15 mi MuseumNational Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
17 mi TheatreSaratoga Performing Arts CenterFort William Henry: IrisKawling at en.wikipedia, Public domain · Great Escape: Jared and Corin, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Lake George: Sixlocal, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Grant Cottage State Historic Site: Coingeek at English Wikipedia, Public domain · National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame: Peter Flass, CC BY 3.0 · Saratoga Performing Arts Center: UpstateNYer., CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Fort Edward, 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 Fort Edward.
Fort Edward is healthier than towns with similar incomes and trades workers with Queensbury and other neighbors.
The largest public high school is Fort Edward School, with 366 students. Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington Co Correctional FacilityLargest public school before high school | – | – | |
| Fort Edward SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades PK–12 | Grades PK–12 | 366 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
Against the 10,540 U.S. towns with household incomes like Fort Edward’s, it is healthier than 83%, so its B+ isn’t only a matter of income.
For adults 18 to 64 in Fort Edward, the share who have no health insurance is 5.5%. Against the New York average, Fort Edward comes out ahead on 6 CDC measures out of 32, and behind on 8. The share of adults in Fort Edward who sleep under 7 hours is 34%, against 37% in New York’s towns and 36% across U.S. towns.
| Fort Edward | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 37% | 36% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 81% | 81% | 79% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 5.5% | 5.9% | 8.1% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 21% | 23% |
| What stands out | Fort Edward | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 11.9% | 17.2% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.5% | 7.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.9% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Since 2011, 3 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Fort Edward. Storm and flood damage is expected to run lower than in 68% of U.S. communities. FEMA puts nearly two thirds of the town’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 11% to cold waves. Also worth knowing: households in the town have drawn federal disaster aid once, in 2008.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
For Fort Edward, the peak summer temperature is 83°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Fort Edward has about as many jobs (2,454) as working residents, but only 268 people both live and work here. The average commute takes 24.2 minutes, against 32.6 across New York.
Half the trips to work are shorter than 10 miles. Fort Edward had 2,454 jobs in 2023, up 453 from 2013. The top destinations are Queensbury (14%), Glens Falls (14%) and Saratoga Springs (6%). In Fort Edward, 7.6% of workers do their job from home.
| Fort Edward | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 14% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 7.6% | 12% | 11% |
| Median household income | $70,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The biggest park or preserve is Washington County Grasslands, at 462 acres. Trails total 2.4 miles in 3 parks and preserves. Fort Edward’s concentration of trails stands at 0.1 miles per square mile.
| Fort Edward | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 5.2% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Washington County Grasslands | — | 462 |
| 2. Mullen Park | 0.1 mi | 7 |
| 3. Bradley Beach | — | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
2 within 15 miles of the center of Fort Edward
About 4 of every 100 Fort Edward residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
6 places in Fort Edward on the National Register of Historic Places.
Town in New York, United States
Fort Edward is a town and the county seat of Washington County, New York, United States. The population was 5,991 at the 2020 census. The municipal center complex is on U.S. Route 4 between the villages of Hudson Falls and Fort Edward. When construction of the complex was completed in 1994, most of the administrative offices were moved from the original county seat of Hudson Falls to this location. The town of Fort Edward is part of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town contains a village also named Fort Edward. Both are located on the western border of the county.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Fort Edward.
All 6 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its C−; Kingsbury (C) is closest.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Edward | #641 | C− | B− | — | C− | B+ |
| Northumberland | #225 | B+ | B | — | B | A− |
| Moreau | #340 | B | B− | — | B− | A− |
| Fort Edward | #607 | C− | C+ | — | C | B |
| Argyle | #434 | B− | B− | — | B− | B |
| Kingsbury | #573 | C | B− | — | D | B |
| Hudson Falls | #401 | B− | B | B+ | D | B |
| Greenwich | #312 | B | C+ | — | B | A− |
Fort Edward, Northumberland, Moreau, Fort Edward, Argyle, Kingsbury and Greenwich report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Fort Edward with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Fort Edward grades C− overall, better than 18% of U.S. towns and #641 of 745 in New York. It grades B+ for health and C− for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a C−.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
