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Lake Carmel, New York
New York›Putnam County

Lake CarmelNY

The town, home to 7,854 people, lies in New York.

3 bordering townsMap →
Photo: Daniel Case · CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo of Lake Carmel

Lake Carmel, NY · Photo: Daniel Case · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source ↗

Is Lake Carmel a good place to live?

Lake Carmel’s average commute is 36 minutes, above both the New York town median (25 minutes) and the median of U.S. towns (25 minutes). 14% of the land in Lake Carmel is conserved, above both the New York town median (5.2%) and the median of U.S. towns (4.3%). We don’t grade Lake Carmel yet; the figures below are still real.

Lake Carmel, New York
Lake Carmel, New York, 2008
Lake Carmel’s story

Lake Carmel in pictures

The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2008 and 5 maps from 1892 on.

Explore the history →
A commuter town

95% of working residents leave Lake Carmel for work

Where Lake Carmel’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.

24% → New York New York 24% 10% → Carmel Carmel 10% 6% → Kent Kent 6% 5% → Southeast Southeast 5% 3% → Mount Pleasant Mount Pleasant 3% 2% → Patterson Patterson 2% Lake Carmel · 5% stay
926jobs based in Lake Carmel
5%of working residents work in town
27 mimedian commute distance

Census LEHD 2023

The data

Ordered by what stands out in Lake Carmel.

Natural hazards

Very low risk in Lake Carmel, with inland flooding at the top

5risk score of 100

Expected losses in Lake Carmel break down as 53% from inland flooding and 10% from cold waves. On expected storm and flood damage, Lake Carmel sits below 95% of U.S. communities. 16 flood insurance claims have been paid here since 1979.

FEMA risk score
5Very low riskLowerHigher
Inland floodingCold wavesStrong wind
16
paid flood claims since 1979

FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA

Work & commute

Most of Lake Carmel’s workers head elsewhere: there are 0.2 jobs for each of them

5%work in town

The median commute is under 27 miles. The typical household income for Lake Carmel comes to $109,000. For most workers, Lake Carmel is a place to come home to: only 5% work in town. Employers in Lake Carmel added 159 jobs between 2013 and 2023, to 926.

Lake CarmelNew York townsU.S. towns
Median household income$109,000$82,000$80,000
Working residents who work in town4.7%10%8%
Below the poverty line8.3%9.5%9.6%

Where working residents work

In Lake Carmel5%
New York24%
Carmel10%
Kent6%
Southeast5%
27 mi
median commute distance
926
jobs based in Lake Carmel
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents

Census LEHD 2023 · ACS

Climate

Lake Carmel: snowy winters and pleasant summers

58″snow a winter

Lake Carmel has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. Summer afternoons peak near 83° in July, and January nights bottom out around 18°; snowfall runs to about 58 inches a winter.

Typical low → high °F

Winter21–38°
Spring37–59°
Summer60–81°
Fall42–62°
Oct 25
typical first frost
Apr 21
typical last frost
+1.9°
vs. the 20th-century average

NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020

Outdoors

13.9% of the land in Lake Carmel is protected from building

13.9%conserved

Across 2 parks and preserves: 0.8 miles of trail. Lake Carmel’s density of trails is 0.2 miles per square mile.

13.9%
conserved · 491 of 3,538 acres
0.8 mi
of trails · 0.1 per sq mi
Biggest places to walkTrailsAcres
1. Ryan's Field—19
2. Hill and Dale Community Park—1

Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US

Health

How healthy Lake Carmel is

12% of Lake Carmel adults report frequent physical distress. On the CDC’s 32 measures, Lake Carmel is ahead of New York on 7 and behind on 1. Two figures for adults here: 29% have obesity, 15% report frequent mental distress.

Lake CarmelNew York townsU.S. towns
Depression (CDC PLACES)18%21%23%
Obesity (CDC PLACES)29%33%35%
Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES)15%16%17%
High blood pressure (CDC PLACES)31%34%35%
32 measures vs. New York
7 better24 too close to call1 worse
What stands outLake CarmelNY
Fewer adults facing food insecurity12.6%17.2%
Fewer adults without reliable transportation6.7%8.6%
More adults who have had cancer8.8%7.7%
Putnam Hospital Center
4.5 mi away · emergency room
None
primary care, dental or mental-health shortage

CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA

Who lives here

An age mix much like New York’s

40.3median age · NY 39.8

By age, Lake Carmel looks like New York: each broad group is within 4 points. The bachelor’s-degree share among adults 25 and older is 35%, against 40% across New York. 23% of residents are under 18 here.

Lake CarmelNew York townsU.S. towns
Under 1823%20%22%
Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+35%32%29%
Median age40.3 years43 years40.5 years
Lake CarmelNew YorkUnited States

Ages · share of residents

Education · adults 25 and older

No diploma8%
High school34%
Some college13%
Associate’s10%
Bachelor’s22%
Graduate13%

Women and men · all residents

50% women, 50% men

That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.2 points. Across New York, 51.2% of residents are women.

Ages and education in Lake Carmel
Lake CarmelNYU.S.
Under 1012.1%11%11.6%
10 to 1710.6%9.5%10.3%
18 to 249.1%8.9%9.1%
25 to 3412.6%14.2%13.7%
35 to 4412.8%13%13.2%
45 to 5415.2%12.2%12.2%
55 to 6413.3%13.3%12.7%
65 to 749.3%10.3%10.2%
75 and older5%7.6%7%
No diploma7.8%12%10.4%
High school34.3%24.3%26%
Some college13.3%14.6%19.1%
Associate’s10%8.8%8.8%
Bachelor’s21.5%22.4%21.6%
Graduate13%17.9%14.1%

U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates

Housing

A home in Lake Carmel sells for about $420K at the median

$420Kmedian sale price

The going rate for rent in Lake Carmel is $1,565 a month. The share of households in Lake Carmel who own their home: 86%. Homes sold in Lake Carmel spent a median 39 days on the market.

Lake CarmelNew York townsU.S. towns
Median rent$1,565 a month$1,101 a month$1,185 a month
Households that own their home86%75%73%
Market temperature
BalancedA seller's marketBuyer’sSeller’s
39
days on market
100.4%
sale-to-list price
9
homes sold in September

Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center

Keep exploring

Everything we know about Lake Carmel

16pages on Lake Carmel
Nearby attractions

United States Military Academy and 86 more within 40 miles

Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Lake Carmel. Close and well known come first.

All 567 attractions →
Sources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons
Photo credits

United States Military Academy: USMA Public Affairs Office, Public domain · Ferncliff Cemetery: Anthony22 at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site: Crunch, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Candlewood Lake: Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain · Wonder Lake State Park: Anthony22 (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Michie Stadium: John Pellino, Public domain

Getting set up

Moving to Lake Carmel: who provides what

Lake Carmel is unincorporated, so Putnam County and regional agencies provide most services.

PowerNew York State Elec & Gas22.6¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterHill Sparrow Master HOA water system14 health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet3 providers100% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & county servicesPutnam CountyPutnam County provides services here
SchoolsCarmel Central School DistrictWhich school depends on your addressNCES
Register to voteOnlineIn New York you can register online until 10 days before Election Day, in person until 10 days before Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 15 days before and received 10 days before).vote.gov
Who runs elections herePutnam County Board of ElectionsPutnam County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Jul 2019
ZIP code1051210512 100%Census 2020

EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Aug 3, 2026.

After high school

Colleges nearby

1 within 15 miles of the center of Lake Carmel

About Lake Carmel

Census-designated place in New York, United States

Lake Carmel is a hamlet and census-designated place in the town of Kent in Putnam County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, Lake Carmel had a population of 8,069. The hamlet is centered around Lake Carmel, a 1.6 mile long manmade lake in the southeastern corner of the township and just north of hamlet of Carmel within the town of Carmel. The lake and surrounding community was developed by the Smadbeck brothers, who excavated and dammed a swamp in the 1920s and sold lots through the now-defunct New York Daily Mirror. The hamlet is the seat of the volunteer Lake Carmel Fire Department; its fire district covers the eastern half of the township, and of the Kent town government.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)

Area
5.5 sq mi
Elevation
801 ft

Lake Carmel’s neighbors

3 towns share a border with Lake Carmel.

Explore the map →
How the neighbors grade
TownNY rankOverallCostSafetySchoolsHealth
Lake Carmel——————
Kent#141A−DAB−A
Patterson#505C+D−—B−B+
Carmel#79ADAB+A

Patterson reports no FBI crime data of its own. Lake Carmel isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Lake Carmel with a neighbor →

Questions about Lake Carmel

Short answers, built from the data on this page.

Is Lake Carmel, NY a good place to live?

We don’t grade Lake Carmel yet; the figures below are still real.

Lake Carmel is in here

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