Where work and play converge into the Adirondack Lifestyle
The breathtaking beauty of the region - rich in lakes and rivers, mountains and streams - may have drawn you in, but it's the businesses that flourish in our vibrant communities that make it possible for us to truly enjoy a distinctive Adirondack lifestyle. To help you get a better understanding of our regional assets, we have provided information under the following categories:

Our Location
Warren County offers excellent access to all major markets in the northeast quadrant of North America. We are under four hour's drive time to New York City, Boston, and Montreal, which means products manufactured here are within one day's delivery to 52% of the Combined US-Canadian population.

The county is situated in the heart of New York State's burgeoning Tech Valley - one of the nation's premier science and technology centers. Major research institutions, such as Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and University of Albany's College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, and technology manufacturers, such as AngioDynamics and GLOBALFOUNDRIES, are just minutes away.

In addition, our four seasons and wide-ranging geography allows you to experience a variety of recreational and cultural fun whether you're hitting the slopes or links, touring an art museum or historical site, or taking in a concert or baseball game.

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Transportation

• By road: NYS 87 (The Northway) provides a direct link between NY City and Montreal. The NYS Thruway (I-90) runs east-west from Buffalo to the Massachusetts border.
• By Air: Albany International Airport (less than one hour south) offers more than 125 flights per day on most major carriers. Floyd Bennett Memorial Airport in Queensbury accommodates private and corporate aircraft, and features newly renovated runways and hangars.
• By rail: Freight travels via the Canadian Pacific Rail Line out of Albany. Amtrak provides passenger service with two local stations: Albany-Rensselaer and Saratoga Springs.
• By sea: The Port of Albany is less than one hour's drive south of Warren County.

Economy
For the past two years, the Glens Falls MSA has achieved a top-50 ranking by the Milken Institute. The Institute's Best Performing Cities Index ranks 379 U.S. metropolitan areas based on their economic performance and their ability to create, as well as keep, the greatest number of jobs in the nation. The Glens Falls MSA, which includes Warren County, has achieved steady growth since 2000. Recent statistics from the NYS Dept. of Labor show the county is outpacing the Capital Region in job growth, up 2.6 percent compared to 0.7 percent. In 2006, Forbes ranked the city 85th in its list of Best Small Places for Business.

Historically, the region's economy was directly related to its abundant natural resources, which gave rise to logging and paper manufacturing, as well as tourism. Since the latter part of the 20th century, there has been a dramatic shift in the economy away from traditional manufacturing towards medical device and information technology businesses. Today, the Glens Falls MSA is home to one of the state's largest clusters of medical/ surgical instrument firms, including industry leaders CR Bard, and AngioDynamics. To learn more about the medical device industry in Glens Falls, click here.

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Education
Whether you settle in a small community or one of the more populated areas, such as the City of Glens Falls or Queensbury, you will find each community is equally dedicated to providing the best education possible for its youth. We know the value of the education we provide will be reflected in the workforce, which fuels our economic development.

Warren County public schools rank in the top-15 of New York State, based on standard state test scores. Expansion Management magazine ranked Glens Falls public schools No. 19 nationally in 2006. The Business Review ranks 85 Capital Region school districts each year in their annual Schools Report, considering in their assessment how well students are performing at each school as well as other factors, including teacher turnover, superintendent salary, property taxes and more.  Click here. In addition, the county is proud to have SUNY Adirondack, offering an extensive program of associate degrees and certificate programs. SUNY Plattsburgh and other four-year colleges and universities are aggressively adding bachelor and master-degree programs at the SUNY Adirondack campus. In addition, there are more than a dozen top-rated colleges and universities within 50 miles of Glens Falls, including the State University of New York at Albany, which is home to the nation's premiere College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering.

Local Colleges and Universities
The following schools are located within 50 miles of the Glens Falls MSA:

Approximately 35 institutions of post high-school education exist within 50 miles of Glens Falls, Warren County, preparing a 21st century workforce for employers who locate here.  Approximately 90,000 students attend a wide range of educational experiences, ranging from career and vocational schools providing certificates or associate degrees in specific career-focused topics to liberal arts colleges and universities granting professional and doctoral degrees.

Lifestyle: Recreation and Culture
Most of Warren County lies within the boundaries of the Adirondack State Park, which encompasses approximately 6 million acres. Nearly half of the Park belongs to all the people of New York State and is constitutionally protected to remain "forever wild" forest preserve. The rest of the Park is private land. It is this unique blending of private and public lands that gives the Adirondacks a diversity found nowhere else - a diversity of open space and recreational lands, of wildlife and flora, of mountains and meadows, as well as business and industry.

Lake George may be the largest and most famous of our lakes, attracting thousands of visitors each year, but there are more than 3,000 other lakes and ponds in the Adirondacks, offering swimming, fishing, and free access points for boating, canoeing, and white-water rafting.

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• The Adirondack Region has 2,000 miles of state trails for walking and hiking.
• There are municipal trails for cross-country skiing, cycling, and mountain biking.
• Downhill skiing, snowboarding, and family fun on sleds, tubes, and toboggans is available at community facilities and commercial ski centers, such as West Mountain and Gore Mountain.

• Warren County has more than 30 camping facilities.
• Dude ranches offer rodeos and horseback riding.
• Six Flags Great Escape is one of the nation's premier amusement parks, offering year-round fun at their indoor water park.
• Golf Digest rates the region as a top golfing destination with dozens of world-class courses, such as The Sagamore and the Saratoga National Golf Course.

From work to play
No matter where you locate within the county, you are likely to be within minutes of two of the state's premier tourist destinations - Lake George, which offers a bustling village as well as island camping and year-round recreational activities; and Saratoga Springs with its world-class horse racing, shopping, and dining.

Music, theater, dance, the visual arts, museums, and fine pubs and restaurants abound: there's really no end to the cultural activities in Warren County, which is home to more four-star resort destinations than anywhere in New York State. Here are just a few of the highlights:

For a more complete picture of the recreational and cultural activities in the area, visit the Warren County Tourism site.   

Weather

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Government
A 20-member Board of Supervisors, representing each of the county's 11 major towns and the city of Glens Falls governs Warren County. The Town of Queensbury and the City each have five representatives on the Board. The Chairman of the Board of Supervisors serves as the chief elected official of the county.  Each supervisor presides over a town council, which manages each of the 11 towns.

The City of Glens Falls and the Village of Lake George each have a mayoral form of government. The City has a five-member city council; and the Village has a four-person board of trustees.

Taxes
Property taxes are assessed in each city, town or village and at the county level, based on a set rate per $1,000 of valuation.  School districts levy their own taxes, based on a specific rate per $1,000. Currently, Warren County has a sales tax of 7%: out of that 7%, 3% goes to the county, and 4% goes to the state. For up-to-date information of property taxes, click here.

For town tax rates, click here.

For school district taxes, click here.

For special tax programs, click here.

Warren County does not have an income tax, but New York State does. For more information on NYS Income Tax, click here.

Utilities