Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Incomes are where it shines — the median household earns $104K. Health is a strength too: CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 76% of the country. The trade-off is cost of living (C): the typical home is worth about $566K, 7.5 years of the Glens Falls metro’s $76K median household income. Put together, the subjects come to an A− overall, ranking 180th of 745 in New York. That leaves it better than 78% of U.S. towns. A fifth of the land in Lake George is conserved, above both the New York town median (5.2%) and the median of U.S. towns (4.3%). This New York town has 9 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them US Post Office-Lake George and MOHICAN II (steamboat). On the outdoors, just 117 of New York’s 1,216 towns do better.
Figures: incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · health, CDC PLACES · home values, Zillow · USGS PAD-US · National Register of Historic Places.
Where Lake George beats most towns.
The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1854 and 5 maps from 1895 on.
9 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Lake George is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Lake George, 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 Lake George.
Lake George is a second-home town and trades workers with Queensbury and other neighbors, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of New York.
The trail density for Lake George comes to 1.1 miles per square mile. Across 9 parks and preserves: 35 miles of trail. The biggest place to walk is Lake George Wild Forest, 2,246 acres with 15.1 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Lake George Wild Forest | 15.1 mi | 2,246 |
| 2. Prospect Mountain Parkway | 4.3 mi | 996 |
| 3. McPhillips Preserve | 1.1 mi | 149 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The public schools here belong to the Lake George Central School District. Its two schools are below. 2 public schools serve Lake George, with 595 students in all.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake George Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 296 | B+ |
| Lake George Junior-Senior High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 299 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
Two figures for adults in Lake George: 32% sleep under 7 hours, 83% had a checkup this year. On the CDC’s 32 measures, Lake George is ahead of New York on 13 and behind on 5. Lake George: 29% of adults feel lonely.
| Lake George | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 32% | 33% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 37% | 36% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 83% | 81% | 79% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 16% | 17% |
| What stands out | Lake George | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 10% | 17.2% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 8.5% | 14.5% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.6% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
FEMA puts 68% of Lake George’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 15% to cold waves. Storm and flood damage is expected to run lower than in 76% of U.S. communities. Paid flood insurance claims in the town since 2005: 6.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
July afternoons reach 80°, January nights drop to 10° and about 60 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
30.1% of homes are seasonal or vacation homes, against 3.5% statewide, which helps explain the older median age.
Lake George’s midpoint age comes in at 50 years. People 65 and older are 26% of residents (18% statewide); children under 18 are 15% of residents (21% statewide). Among adults 25 and older in the town, 36% hold a bachelor’s degree or more.
| Lake George | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 50 years | 42.9 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 15% | 20% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 26% | 20% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 36% | 32% | 29% |
55% women, 45% men
About 82 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±2.9 points). Across New York, 51.2% of residents are women.
| Lake George | NY | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 7.4% | 11% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7.6% | 9.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.1% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.3% | 14.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.8% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 17.3% | 13.3% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 16.2% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9.3% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.6% | 12% | 10.4% |
| High school | 22.1% | 24.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 20.3% | 14.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 16.9% | 8.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 21.4% | 22.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 14.6% | 17.9% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 3,500, single groups can be off by several points
Lake George has about as many jobs (1,689) as working residents, but only 280 people both live and work here. The average commute takes 24.3 minutes, against 32.6 across New York.
For residents in Lake George, the share who live below the poverty line is 6.8%. Most people who work leave Lake George to do it: just 19% work in town. Between 2013 and 2023, jobs in the town rose by 430, to 1,689. The top destinations are Queensbury (15%), Glens Falls (8%) and Saratoga Springs (4%).
| Lake George | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 19% | 10% | 8% |
| Median household income | $104,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 8.4% | 12% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 6.8% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 7.5 years of the Glens Falls metro’s $76K median household income, the typical home (about $566K) costs more against local pay than in 87% of New York towns; that ratio is one input to that grade. Its typical home is the priciest on its borders; Queensbury is next at $399K.
Typical home values rose 6.3% in the year to September 2026. In Lake George, 75% of households own their home.
| Lake George | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 75% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,134 a month | $1,098 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Lake George. Close and well known come first.
in town LandmarkFort William Henry
Big draw33 mi LandmarkFort Ticonderoga
6 mi Theme parkGreat Escape
16 mi LakeLake George
16 mi State parkGrant Cottage State Historic Site
25 mi MuseumNational Museum of Racing and Hall of FameFort William Henry: IrisKawling at en.wikipedia, Public domain · Fort Ticonderoga: Mwanner, CC BY-SA 3.0 · 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
1 within 15 miles of the center of Lake George
About 4 of every 100 Lake George residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
9 places in Lake George on the National Register of Historic Places.
4 towns share a border with Lake George.
It grades higher overall than all 3 graded towns on its borders; Queensbury (B+) comes closest. Warrensburg next door grades lower for schools (C− to Lake George’s B) and higher for cost of living (B to C).
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake George | #180 | A− | C | — | B | A− |
| Warrensburg | #640 | C− | B | — | C− | B− |
| Queensbury | #257 | B+ | C− | — | B+ | A− |
| Bolton | — | — | C+ | — | A− | A− |
| Lake Luzerne | #707 | D | C+ | — | C+ | C |
Bolton has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Lake George, Warrensburg, Queensbury, Bolton and Lake Luzerne report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Lake George with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Lake George grades A− overall, better than 78% of U.S. towns and #180 of 745 in New York. It grades A− for health and B for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
