Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,239, established in 1805.
Lewis’ best subject grades are an A− for the outdoors and history; its weakest is a D− for walkability. Only 46 of New York’s 1,216 towns score lower on walkability. Homes are within reach, about $181K for a typical one, or 2.5 years of the county’s $72K median household income. 23% of the land in Lewis is conserved, above both the New York town median (5.2%) and the median of U.S. towns (4.3%). The biggest place to walk is Jay Mountain Wilderness, 5,378 acres with 2.2 miles of trail. Lewis has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Lewis beats most towns.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Lewis is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 779 in 1820, a peak of 2,058 in 1850, 1,293 in 2020. The archive holds 5 maps from 1895 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Lewis, 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 Lewis.
Most working residents leave Lewis for work: only 4% work in town. 3.2% of residents live below the poverty line in Lewis, against 9.5% in New York’s towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. The top destinations are Elizabethtown (21%), Essex (7%) and Plattsburgh (6%).
| Lewis | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 3.2% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.5% | 10% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
61 miles of trail in 6 parks and preserves. The trail density in Lewis is 0.7 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Twin Valleys Outdoor Education Center | 4.2 mi | 363 |
| 2. Jay Mountain Wilderness | 2.2 mi | 5,378 |
| 3. Taylor Pond Wild Forest | 1.6 mi | 1,054 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Lewis beats the New York average on 7 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 4. 34% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Lewis.
| Lewis | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 37% | 36% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 16% | 17% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 21% | 23% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 17% | 16% |
| What stands out | Lewis | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 10.9% | 17.2% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 9.6% | 14.5% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.5% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Lewis has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Lewis’ July high is 80°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 60% of U.S. communities. Since 1996, 3 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Lewis.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Lewis. Close and well known come first.
Big draw19 mi LakeLake Champlain
Big draw34 mi LandmarkFort Ticonderoga
22 mi MountainMount Marcy
16 mi MountainWhiteface Mountain
23 mi LakeLake Tear of the Clouds
16 mi Canyon & gorgeAusable ChasmLake Champlain: Copernicus Sentinel-2, ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 igo · Fort Ticonderoga: Mwanner, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Mount Marcy: Daniel Tripp, Public domain · Whiteface Mountain: Mwanner, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lake Tear of the Clouds: TheKilimanjaro, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ausable Chasm: Alan Prusila / Alanp35 at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
None within 15 miles of Lewis; the nearest are
About 1 of every 100 Lewis residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
Where Lewis’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
2 places in Lewis on the National Register of Historic Places.
Town in Essex County, New York, US
There is another Town of Lewis in Lewis County, New York. Lewis is a town in Essex County, New York, United States. The population was 1,382 at the 2010 census. The town is named after Morgan Lewis, the governor of New York at the time the town was established. The town is in the northeastern quadrant of the county. It is 30 miles (48 km) southwest of Burlington, Vermont, 32 miles (51 km) south of Plattsburgh, 94 miles (151 km) south of Montreal, Quebec, and 131 miles (211 km) north of Albany.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.
