States · New York · Franklin County

Paul Smiths, New York.

. Malone, NY metro.

What it costs per month · Paul Smiths $2,755/mo

to buy the typical home at today's mortgage rate — +$1,478 (+116%) since Jan 2020.

Monthly payment to buy the typical home

Home value × that month's 30-year mortgage rate, 20% down, principal and interest. This is the line households feel: prices and rates compound each other.

$500 $1,000 $1,500 $2,000 $2,500 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 2026 New York $2,755 United States $1,922
$500 $1,000 $1,500 $2,000 $2,500 2002 2010 2018 2026
  • New York$2,755
  • United States$1,922

Living in Paul Smiths, Franklin County, New York

Paul Smiths, in Franklin County, had 411 people in the 2020 census. Unemployment in Franklin County was 4.2% in August 2026, and the county had 0.5% more jobs in 2025 than the year before. The most people in Franklin County work in schools and health care, then shops.

People 411 in the 2020 census; median age 20.5
Household income Too few homes in Paul Smiths for the Census survey to measure.
Unemployment 4.2% Franklin County, August 2026; 4.3% a year before
Homes Too few homes in Paul Smiths for the Census survey to measure.

Written by AI Claude Sonnet 5.5 wrote this on 23 October 2026 from the figures here, a list of nearby places and what it knows. It can be wrong or out of date.

What it’s like

The place. Paul Smiths is a very small community in the Adirondacks of Franklin County, and the people who live here are much younger than in most American places. Winters are cold and long, with January the coldest month, and summers are mild and pleasant. Rain and melted snow add up to a fair amount over the year.

Work. Residents work mostly in schools, hospitals and social care, with others in shops, government, and restaurants, hotels and entertainment. Across Franklin County, some of the largest workplaces are Adirondack Medical Center, Alice Hyde Medical Center and the Saranac Lake Central School District. Unemployment across the county is about where it was a year ago, and the number of jobs has edged up slightly.

Things to do. Water is the draw here. Upper St. Regis Lake and Osgood Pond are lakes in or beside town, and Saint Regis Pond and Lower Saranac Lake are a short drive away. Lake Placid, a reservoir, is a longer drive away.

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What people in Franklin County work in

  • Schools, hospitals and social care35%
  • Shops (retail)14%
  • Government13%
  • Restaurants, hotels and entertainment8%
  • Building trades6%
  • Professional and business services6%

Employed residents by industry, from the Census survey. Franklin County had 17,535 jobs in 2025, 0.5% more than the year before (Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Weather through the year

Average daily high and low for each month: coldest in January, 25° and 2°; warmest in July, 77° and 51° 0° 20° 40° 60° 80° J 25° 2° F M A M J J 77° 51° A S O N D
Average daily high and low for each month: coldest in January, 25° and 2°; warmest in July, 77° and 51° 0° 20° 40° 60° 80° J 25° 2° F M A M J J 77° 51° A S O N D

Coldest in January, with highs near 25° and lows near 2°; warmest in July, with highs near 77° and lows near 51°. About 37 inches of rain and melted snow a year.

Average daily high and low, 1991–2020, at the Saranac Regional Airport weather station, 4 miles away (NOAA).

Largest workplaces in Franklin County

  1. Adirondack Medical CenterGeneral hospital657FTE
  2. Malone Central School DistrictSchool district479FTE
  3. Salmon River Central School DistrictSchool district447FTE
  4. Alice Hyde Medical CenterGeneral hospital443FTE
  5. WalmartWarehouse clubs and supercenters282
  6. Saranac Lake Central School DistrictSchool district269FTE
  7. Brushton-moira Central School DistrictSchool district177FTE
  8. Tupper Lake Central School DistrictSchool district162FTE

Staff on average in 2025, as each workplace reported it to OSHA with its injury records: 19 workplaces with 20 or more staff, 2,180 people in all across the county; Paul Smiths has none of its own. Hospitals come from their Medicare cost reports (CMS, 2023) and school districts from the Common Core of Data (NCES, 2023–24); FTE marks full-time equivalent staff. Not listed: many offices and banks, which need not report to OSHA; military bases, whose staff OPM withholds; and, in about half the states, city and county governments.

Natural hazards

  1. Winter weatherRelatively moderate
  2. Ice stormsRelatively moderate
  3. LightningRelatively moderate
  4. Inland floodingRelatively moderate
  5. Strong windRelatively moderate

FEMA’s National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the risk each natural hazard poses to the people, buildings and farms in Paul Smiths’ census tracts, against the rest of the country; all of them together, relatively low. It is meant for planning, not a substitute for a local risk assessment or a flood map: FEMA’s index.

From the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 census and its American Community Survey (2020–2024 five-year estimates), and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. A survey, so each figure has a margin of error, and figures it is not sure of are left out. More on Franklin County and the Malone, NY metro.

Paul Smiths home values

Zillow measures a city over its municipal boundary. Against the state and national figures, mid-tier homes, smoothed and seasonally adjusted.

Not enough data to draw this yet.

Market heat, inside the city limits

Homes for sale

Active for-sale inventory. More supply hands power to buyers.

3 4 4 2026 Paul Smiths 4
3 4 4 2026
  • Paul Smiths4

Zip codes with a Paul Smiths address

A different geography, not a breakdown. The figure above covers the municipality; these zips cover everywhere the Post Office calls Paul Smiths — often including townships beyond the city limits. Both come straight from Zillow, and they are not expected to average out.

Zip codes in Paul Smiths

Zip Place Population Rent Home value
12970 Paul Smiths 1,084 — $330,693