Best PlacesPaul Smiths, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Paul Smiths, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Paul Smiths ranks 24,656th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Paul Smiths
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Paul Smiths' strengths and weaknesses
Where Paul Smiths ranks high
- QuietBetter than 97% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than 92% of towns
- Short commute18.7 minutes each way, better than 92% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than 89% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than 89% of towns
Where Paul Smiths ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 3% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 4% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than only 10% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 15% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 15% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Paul Smiths
A household needs to earn about $68,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Paul Smiths home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $66,323; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Paul Smiths' effective rate of 1.20%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Paul Smiths
Paul Smiths runs younger than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Paul Smiths.
Who works in Paul Smiths, and how
Work in Paul Smiths centers on education and health care & social. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 72%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 16%
Life in Paul Smiths
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Paul Smiths.
What the weather is like in Paul Smiths, month by month
Paul Smiths sees roughly 66 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 80 degrees. January highs sit near 28, with lows near 7. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 28° | 17° | 7° |
| April | 53° | 39° | 26° |
| July | 80° | 66° | 51° |
| October | 59° | 46° | 34° |
Flying in and out of Paul Smiths
The nearest airport, Adirondack Regional, is about 4 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bradley International, about 190 miles away.
The best schools in and around Paul Smiths
Schools across Paul Smiths average a B, better than 80% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Petrova Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Bloomingdale SchoolB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Saranac Lake Middle SchoolC− · 29% proficient
Top high schools
- Saranac Lake Senior High SchoolA+ · 98% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Paul Smiths school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Paul Smiths measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Paul Smiths against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Paul Smiths
Is Paul Smiths a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Paul Smiths ranks 24,656th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on quiet, heat safety, and short commutes, and lowest on a weak job market and civic engagement. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Paul Smiths expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $245,516. The overall cost of living runs about 1% below the national average. Set against a $66,323 median income, cost of living beats 21% of towns.
Is Paul Smiths safe?
Paul Smiths is safer than 48% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $301 per resident a year.
Compare Paul Smiths with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Paul Smiths. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Paul Smiths represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Paul Smiths detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Paul Smiths: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Paul Smiths: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Paul Smiths: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Paul Smiths: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Paul Smiths detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.