Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Tupper Lake’s weakest is schools: its public schools trail just over four fifths of New York towns on state tests and graduation. Walkability is its strong suit: it is more walkable than 71% of U.S. towns. It also does well on cost of living (B+) — a typical home costs about $151K, 2.3 years of the county’s $65K median household income. All told, that adds up to a C− overall and a rank of 603rd of 745 in New York. Nationally, it does better than nearly a quarter of U.S. towns. Saranac Lakes Wild Forest, at 4,673 acres with 2.9 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. 40% of working residents work locally in the town, above both the New York town median (10%) and the median of U.S. towns (8%). Only 5 of the 758 New York towns we compare have a lower January low than Tupper Lake.
Figures: home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · schools, state test and graduation results · OpenStreetMap · Census LEHD, 2023 · NOAA normals, 1991–2020.
Where Tupper Lake beats most towns.
Joseph, Beth, Synagogue5,971 counted in 2010 and 5,147 in 2020; an estimated 5,056 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Tupper Lake is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 3,067 in 1910, a peak of 5,451 in 1940, 3,282 in 2020. The archive holds 1 old photo or paper going back to 1900 and 4 maps from 1904 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Tupper Lake, 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 Tupper Lake.
Tupper Lake is a second-home town and keeps more of its land conserved than most of New York, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of New York (mostly inland flooding).
Its 28,911 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in 98% of New York towns.
Across 4 parks and preserves: 46 miles of trail. Tupper Lake’s density of trails stands at 0.4 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Horseshoe Lake Wild Forest | 3.6 mi | 3,225 |
| 2. Saranac Lakes Wild Forest | 2.9 mi | 4,673 |
| 3. Raquette-Jordan Boreal Primitive Area | — | 31 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The largest public high school is Tupper Lake Middle-High School, with 394 students. The public schools here belong to the Tupper Lake Central School District. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| L P Quinn Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 336 | C− |
| Tupper Lake Middle-High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 6–12 | Grades 6–12 | 394 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
The Newcomb weather station, 22 miles away, records that 105 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 97% of U.S. towns. July afternoons average 77.6°, cooler than in 96% of U.S. towns; January nights average 5.3°.
In Tupper Lake, the January low is 5°F. This New York town brings cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers.
| Tupper Lake | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 5°F | 16°F | 22°F |
| July high | 78°F | 81°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Tupper Lake: a fifth of adults say their health is fair or poor. Of 32 CDC measures, Tupper Lake beats the New York average on 2 and trails it on 11. 15% of adults in Tupper Lake report frequent physical distress; 29% get no exercise outside work.
| Tupper Lake | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 33% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 14% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 25% | 25% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Tupper Lake | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6.2% | 7.9% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 11.7% | 14.5% |
| More adults with COPD | 9.1% | 6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Jobs based here fell from 2,583 in 2013 to 1,859. The average commute for its 1,865 working residents takes 14.6 minutes, against 32.6 across New York.
Half commute less than 18 miles. Since 2013, Tupper Lake has lost 724 jobs, to 1,859 in 2023. Its typical journey to work comes in at 15 minutes. The top destinations are Harrietstown (9%), North Elba (5%) and Malone (3%).
| Tupper Lake | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 40% | 10% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 15 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 17% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $65,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 85% of New York towns, with expected losses of about $367 per resident a year; that rating is what its C for hazard risk is built on.
Federal aid has come to Tupper Lake households in 3 declared disasters; the latest was in 2017. The risk rating from FEMA for Tupper Lake comes to 63 of 100. Flood insurance has paid out on 2 claims here since 1998. Expected losses in Tupper Lake break down as 83% from inland flooding and 6% from earthquakes.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
None within 15 miles of Tupper Lake; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Tupper Lake residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
Village in New York, United States
Tupper Lake is a village in Franklin County, New York, United States. The population was 3,282 at the 2020 census. The village is located within the boundaries of the Adirondack Park, west of Lake Placid. Along with nearby Saranac Lake, these three villages make up what is known as the Tri-Lakes region. The village of Tupper Lake is in the town of Tupper Lake, called Altamont before 2004. The town and the village are in the southwestern part of the county. It is named for 11,000-acre Tupper Lake, two miles south of the village. The Wild Center, a 54,000 square feet (5,000 m2) natural history center, is on a 31 acres (130,000 m2) campus. The Adirondack Sky Center & Observatory is on the nort…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Tupper Lake.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tupper Lake | #603 | C− | B+ | — | C− | C+ |
| Harrietstown | #506 | C+ | C+ | — | B | B− |
| Piercefield | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Santa Clara | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Waverly | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Long Lake | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Hopkinton | — | — | B | — | C+ | B− |
Hopkinton has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Tupper Lake, Harrietstown and Hopkinton report no FBI crime data of their own. Piercefield, Santa Clara, Waverly and Long Lake aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Tupper Lake with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Tupper Lake grades C− overall, better than 23% of U.S. towns and #603 of 745 in New York. It grades C+ for health and C− for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a C−.
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+.