Essex County is made up of eighteen towns and four villages. The four villages are part of the towns in which they exist. The county is very rural and population density is low. Much of the land is owned by the state of New York and large timber companies. The entire county is within the Adirondack Park, the largest state park in the lower 48 states, and land development is controlled by the Adirondack Park Agency.

Census Bureau Statistics for Essex County

2010 Census Population estimates:

Essex County: 37,686

Chesterfield: 2,295

Village of Keeseville (portion in Essex County): 762

Crown Point: 1,938

Elizabethtown: 1,223

Essex: 678

Jay: 2,330

Keene: 1,017

Lewis: 863

Minerva: 778

Moriah: 4,504

Village of Port Henry: 1,041

Newcomb: 471

North Elba: 8,810

Village of Lake Placid: 2,722

Village of Saranac Lake (portion in Essex County): 1,212

North Hudson: 273

St. Armand: 1,254

Schroon: 1,735

Ticonderoga: 4,931

Westport: 1,267

Willsboro: 1,840

Wilmington: 1,157