Essex County, New York

Essex County population, land area and income

Essex County had 36,744 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 1,794.1 square miles of land. It ranks 56th of 62 in New York by population and 2nd by land area. That works out to 20.5 people per square mile, below the US average of 96.3, and below the national county median.

The median county-equivalent in New York has 85,936 residents, so Essex County has 43% of the typical county's population.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $70,902 is above the national county median among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

How Essex County's population changed since 2020

Essex County lost 544 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a drop of 1.5%. That ranks 42nd of 62 in New York for growth. The median New York county changed by -0.8%, and the state as a whole by -1.2%.

Since the April 2020 estimates base, Essex County recorded 1,102 births and 2,102 deaths, a natural change of -1,000. Net international migration added +257 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to +112. The largest single component was natural change, which removed 1,000 people.

Where Essex County is

The Census internal point of Essex County is at 44.109600, -73.778400. It sits in UTM zone 18N. The map shades New York's 62 county-equivalents by population change from 2020 to 2024, darker for faster growth, with Essex County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Towns in Essex County

2 incorporated places of 1,000+ people have residents in Essex County, 3,653 people together, or 10% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Essex County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Lake Placid with 2,302.

Counties bordering Essex County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 7 neighbors for Essex County, including 2 across a state line. The most populous is Chittenden County, VT, with 170,851 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

• VT

  Chittenden County, VT

  170,851 people

  43 mi NE

• Clinton County

  77,871 people

  45 mi N

• Warren County

  65,288 people

  38 mi S

• Washington County

  59,839 people

  58 mi SSE

• Franklin County

  47,086 people

  43 mi NW

• VT

  Addison County, VT

  38,047 people

  32 mi E

• Hamilton County

  5,082 people

  48 mi SW

Distance to Albany and the nearest big city

Albany is 100.6 miles S of Essex County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Albany, NY (population 101,317), 99.8 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is South Burlington, VT (population 21,713), 37.2 miles away.

Essex County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Essex County is 36031: state code 36 for New York plus county code 031. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $70,902.