Plattsburgh, New York
Area Profile
19,830 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Plattsburgh, in Clinton County.
How this area ranks
Data updated · 12 sourcesUnemployment is 4.4% and median household income $57,630, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured. The unemployment rate is published for Clinton County, NY, which contains Plattsburgh, rather than for Plattsburgh alone.
In the public schools here, 52% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 9.8 students for every teacher.
Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 81 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 21% on the prior year. That follows a longer stretch moving the other way, through 2025.
These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.
At a glance
Jobs & opportunity
Unemployment across Clinton County, NY, which contains Plattsburgh, is 4.4% — higher than in all but 47% of the 4,226 measured US cities.
Employment across Clinton County, NY, which contains Plattsburgh, grew 0.2% over the past year, to 31,351 employed residents.
40% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 82% of measured US cities.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income of new arrivalsClinton County, NY’s figurefiling years 2022–2023 | $58,151 | 23rd percentileof 4,101 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Income of those who leftClinton County, NY’s figurefiling years 2022–2023 | $56,674 | 18th percentileof 4,101 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Median household income ±$3,8422024 ACS 5-Year | $57,630 | Bottom 35%of 29,223 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Per capita income ±$2,2152024 ACS 5-Year | $35,584 | Top 44%of 31,420 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Poverty rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 17.2% | Bottom 29%of 31,773 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Average commute ±1.4 min2024 ACS 5-Year | 17.7 min | Top 11%of 31,543 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Bachelor's degree or higher ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 40.4% | Top 18%of 31,919 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Drove alone to work ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 66.7% | 21st percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| EmploymentClinton County, NY’s figureJuly 2026 | 31,351 | Bottom 36%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (3 years)Clinton County, NY’s figureJuly 2026 | −5.1% | Bottom 4%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (year over year)Clinton County, NY’s figureJuly 2026 | +0.2% | Top 31%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Labor forceClinton County, NY’s figureJuly 2026 | 32,798 | 36th percentileof 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 81.2% | Top 39%of 31,513 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Public transit to work ±0.2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.1% | 74th percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Unemployment change (year over year)Clinton County, NY’s figureJuly 2026 | 0.0% | Bottom 45%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Unemployment rateClinton County, NY’s figureJuly 2026 | 4.4% | Bottom 47%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 7.0% | 47th percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
Median household income, successive ACS releases
The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Clinton County, NY, which contains this city.
52% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 48% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.
There are 9.8 students for every full-time teacher across 6 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.
| School | District | Students | Per teacher | Math | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plattsburgh Senior High School | PLATTSBURGH CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT | 566 | 9.9 | 92% | 87% |
| Cumberland Head Elementary School | BEEKMANTOWN CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT | 515 | 11.4 | 37% | 22% |
| Stafford Middle School | PLATTSBURGH CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT | 392 | 7.7 | 52% | 37% |
| Arthur P Momot Elementary School | PLATTSBURGH CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT | 388 | 9.5 | 27% | 42% |
| Thomas E Glasgow Elementary School | PLATTSBURGH CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT | 248 | 10.8 | — | — |
| Clinton-Essex-Warren-Washington Boces | CLINTON-ESSEX-WARREN-WASHINGTON BOCES | 237 | 3.6 | — | — |
| Oak Street School | PLATTSBURGH CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT | 218 | 10.4 | 27% | 37% |
63.9% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.
Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against New York’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.
Housing & affordability
How it’s calculated — housing affordability →The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the non-metropolitan parts of New York is up 52% over five years, and up 6.7% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.
Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $5,392 a year in real estate taxes, about 2.75% of the median home value.
HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,246, some 21% above the $1,030 tenants already here pay.
At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,246 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $49,800 a year, about 86% of the median household income here of $57,630.
The typical renter household here spends 29% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,030 a month.
A median home at $195,900 costs 2.2 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $89,720, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.
The figures above are measured against Plattsburgh’s median household income of $57,630, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home price change (1 year)the non-metropolitan parts of New York’s figure2026 Q2 | +6.7% | 96th percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of New York’s figure2026 Q2 | +52.3% | 85th percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of New York’s figure2026 Q2 | +101.7% | 65th percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year | 2.2 | Top 39%of 26,815 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 37.9% | 4th percentileof 31,717 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Housing units ±3252024 ACS 5-Year | 9,960 | 94th percentileof 32,177 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Market rent, one bedroomFY2026 | $980 | Top 21%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, three bedroomFY2026 | $1,494 | Top 17%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, two bedroomFY2026 | $1,246 | Top 24%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Median gross rent ±$612024 ACS 5-Year | $1,030 | Bottom 45%of 23,120 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median home value ±$11,3652024 ACS 5-Year | $195,900 | 52nd percentileof 29,111 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median property taxes ±$3522024 ACS 5-Year | $5,392 | 91st percentileof 26,440 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Owner household income ±$7,7522024 ACS 5-Year | $89,720 | Top 37%of 27,548 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Property tax rate ±0.24%2024 ACS 5-Year | 2.75% | 99th percentileof 20,543 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 29.3% | Bottom 44%of 22,950 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Seasonal and second homes ±1032024 ACS 5-Year | 157 | 92nd percentileof 32,330 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year | 1.6% | 66th percentileof 31,895 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year | 5.6% | 42nd percentileof 31,769 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacant housing units ±2162024 ACS 5-Year | 710 | 93rd percentileof 32,330 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures.
Growth & development
How it’s calculated — growth →Development Momentum
An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.
Population has been broadly flat since 2020, at 19,758 in 2024.
Permitting has turned downward after moving the other way the year before: 68 units authorized in 2025, 6% below the prior year.
91% of the 81 units permitted over the past twelve months are in buildings of five or more homes, so new supply is concentrated in apartments and condominiums rather than detached houses.
Federal tax returns show that people moving in from elsewhere in the US and people moving out roughly balanced across Clinton County, which contains Plattsburgh, in the most recent year. Households that moved in reported an average income of $58,151, close to the $56,674 of households that moved out.
At 4.1 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.
Population, annual estimates
People moving in and out
Where newcomers came from
- Essex County, NY 287 people · 16% of arrivals
- Franklin County, NY 154 people · 8.5% of arrivals
- Chittenden County, VT 94 people · 5.2% of arrivals
- Franklin County, VT 71 people · 3.9% of arrivals
- St. Lawrence County, NY 57 people · 3.2% of arrivals
Where people who left went
- Essex County, NY 238 people · 13% of departures
- Franklin County, NY 155 people · 8.2% of departures
- Chittenden County, VT 59 people · 3.1% of departures
- Saratoga County, NY 43 people · 2.3% of departures
- Albany County, NY 41 people · 2.2% of departures
Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Clinton County, NY. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.
Housing units permitted per year
Weather & climate
5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 81°F and January a low of 10°F.
Normal annual precipitation is 30.9 inches.
Precipitation
| Metric | Value | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals | 30.9" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average January low1991-2020 Normals | 10°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average July high1991-2020 Normals | 81°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals | 5 | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals | 51°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.
Physical risk
The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, earthquake and cold wave, with inland flooding alone responsible for 78% of it.
Low or minimal exposure: winter weather, landslide, hurricane, strong wind, avalanche, tornado, wildfire, hail, drought, volcanic activity, tsunami, coastal flooding.
Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.
These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.
Clinton County has a modeled homicide rate of about 2.2 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.
Firearm deaths of all intents run at about 8.1 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.
Drug overdose deaths run at about 11.2 per 100,000 residents in Clinton County.
Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.
Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Plattsburgh (Clinton County) rather than Plattsburgh itself. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.
What this profile does not cover
Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.
- Reported crime
- Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. Either no municipal department reports for this place — many smaller communities are policed by the county — or its department did not report every month of the year. Either way there is no figure to show. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
- Cost of living
- Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
- Air quality
- The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
- Taxes
- Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
- Anything about a specific address
- Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.
Access
1 major airport lies within 100 miles, the nearest Plattsburgh Intl at 3 miles.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 87.7% | Bottom 41%of 31,588 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Distance to major airportNASR current cycle | 3 mi | Top 3%of 4,226 | NASR current cycle |
| Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle | 1 | Bottom 1%of 4,226 | NASR current cycle |
| No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 6.8% | Top 47%of 31,588 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Airport | Code | Distance | Longest runway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plattsburgh Intl | PBG | 3 mi | 11,759 ft |
| Albany Intl | ALB | 135 mi | 8,500 ft |
| Griffiss Intl | RME | 140 mi | 11,820 ft |
Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.
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Data & methodology
| Used for | Source | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Federal Aviation Administration Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service | NASR current cycle |
| Physical risk | Federal Emergency Management Agency National Risk Index | National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0) |
| Demographics, Income | Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county) | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Climate | NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly) | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics | July 2026 |
| Development | U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey | 12 months ending July 2026 |
| Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, Jobs | U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File) | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Demographics | U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program | July 1, 2024 estimate |
| Safety | U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics Provisional county-level mortality by intent | March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026 |
| Schools | U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments | 2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year |
| Housing | U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research Fair Market Rents | FY2026 |
| Housing | U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions) | 2026 Q2 |
| Current conditions | NOAA National Weather Service National Weather Service current conditions | Live observation, read when the page opens |
Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.
ZIP codes in Plattsburgh
2 ZIP areasEvery ZIP area in Plattsburgh with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Plattsburgh closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.
| ZIP | Population | Median household income | Median home value | Area Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12901 | 31,447 | $60,942 | $189,400 | — |
| 12903 | 1,824 | $77,733 | $210,400 | 57 |