Demographics
A brief overview of Warren County's population trends over the past 50 years
Population
Warren County was established in 1813. In its first Federal decennial census in 1820, the County's population was recorded as 9,453. Other than a slight decline between 1910 and 1920 likely due to World War I and the Spanish Influenza, the County experienced relatively steady growth until recently, with periods of rapid increase between 1830 and 1890 and again between 1960 and 1980. In the 1980 Census, the County's population stood at 54,854.
Growth slowed to single digits between 1980 and 2010, and then stagnated completely during the past decade, with just 30 people added to the County's population between the 2010 and 2020 Censuses. The 2020 Census lists the County's population as 65,737.
Click on any point on the chart to view the County's decennial Census population for that year.
Between 2010 and 2020, the United States as a whole experienced its slowest population growth since the 1930's, increasing by just 7.4%, compared with nearly 10% growth in the previous decade. For the first time ever, the population of rural America declined. Over half of U.S. counties decreased in population.
In New York State, while overall population increased about 4% between 2010 and 2020, that growth was concentrated in a handful of counties. 75% of upstate counties lost population or remained flat.
The map illustrates population change by county between the 2010 and 2020 Censuses. Counties shown in green increased in population, while those in white remained flat and those shown in blue decreased. Use the zoom in and out buttons to explore areas of growth and decline around the country. Click on a county for more details.
Warren County is considered part of the Capital Region for many of New York State's regionally based initiatives.
Among the eight counties that make up the Capital Region, Warren County was in the middle of the population change pack over the past decade, with its population holding steady. Saratoga County experienced the largest growth, just shy of the national average at 7.2%, while Schenectady, Albany and Rensselaer counties grew at a slower pace. Washington, Greene and Columbia counties all experienced population declines of 2-3%.
These regional changes reflect the national trend of more growth occurring in urban areas, with rural populations in most areas of the country holding steady or decreasing.
Click on counties in the map at right to view population for each decennial census over the past 50 years, along with rates of change for selected time periods.
For reference, the rates of population change in New York and the United States for the same time periods are below:
Population Change 1970-2020: New York: 10.8% United States: 63.1%
Population Change 2000-2020: New York: 6.5% United States: 17.8%
Population Change 2010-2020: New York: 4.2% United States: 7.4%
Within the Capital Region, population growth since 1970 has been driven in substantial part by Saratoga County, whose population has climbed steadily and has almost doubled over the 50 year period. The more rural Warren, Washington, Greene and Columbia counties experienced significant population growth between 1970 and 2000 and then reversed to a steady or declining population.
Population projections from the Cornell Program on Applied Demographics suggest that, along with New York State as a whole, the Capital Region in its entirety will experience a slight increase in population over the next two decades. These increases, however, will be concentrated in Saratoga and Albany Counties. Rensselear County is predicted to grow slightly between 2020 and 2030 and then decline slightly in the following decade. Declines of 0.5 to 5% are predicted for the remaining Capital Region counties.
Warren County falls in the middle of those projections, with an expected decline of 3% between 2020 and 2030 and a 2% decline from 2030 to 2040.
This trend of declining population in more rural areas and increasing population in more populated areas continues somewhat as we zoom in to the municipal level in Warren County. The County's largest town of Queensbury increased in population between 2010 and 2020 by about 5%, or 1,268 people. Population in the City of Glens Falls held steady, with an increase of just under 1%.
The "up-county" rural towns within the Adirondack Park mostly declined in population, with Lake Luzerne, Chester, Hague, Thurman, Johnsburg and Bolton all declining over 8% over the past decade. The town of Horicon is the exception, with nearly 6% population growth since 2010 (however, due to its small population, this is an increase of fewer than 100 people).
Click on a municipality in the map at right to view population for each decennial census over the past 50 years, along with rates of change for selected time periods.
Age
From Warren County to New York to the United States as a whole, the population is aging.
A hundred years ago in 1920, one in twenty people in the U.S. was over age 65. In 2020, that ratio was down to one in six.
In 1970, the median age in the U.S. was 28.1 and in 2020, it was up to 38.8. Over the same time period, New York State's median age roughly paralleled the national average, increasing from 30.3 to 39.
Between 2010 and 2020, the over 65 population increased at its fastest pace in over 100 years, growing from 13% of the population in 2010 to nearly 17% in 2020. This increase is primarily due to the Baby Boomers, who started turning 65 in 2011.
The increase in older population is especially pronounced in rural America, with over a fifth of the rural population in the country over the age of 65.
The map illustrates median age by county from the 2020 Census. Darker colored counties have a higher median age. Use the zoom in and out buttons to explore age across the country. Click on a county for more details.
Warren County's population is especially old. Warren County has the second highest median age of the Adirondack counties, tied with Essex County and second only to Hamilton County.
Within the Capital Region, only Columbia County is older. Warren County is tied for fourth oldest county in the state and is in the top fifth of oldest counties in the country.
Ten Oldest Counties in New York State, by median age
Hamilton - 57 Columbia - 48.8 Delaware - 48.6 Essex - 47.5 Warren - 47.5 Schuyler - 47 Greene - 46.6 Schoharie - 45.7 Chenango - 45.5 Fulton - 44.7
Warren County has aged much more rapidly than New York State and the United States as a whole. Its median age stayed relatively close to the state and national averages through 1990 but then began diverging quickly; by 2020, the County's median age was nearly a decade higher than the national average.
In 1970, one in 10 people was over aged 65 in the country with fairly similar statistics at both the state (10.8%) and county (11.3%) levels. By 2020, the state and the country's percentage of over 65s both hovered just under 17%, while Warren County had jumped to over 23%.
Warren County
At the municipal level in Warren County, the aging of the population is especially stark.
In 2020, the municipality with the lowest median age (Glens Falls, at 39.6) had a higher median age than both New York State (39.0) and the country has a whole (38.8). The highest median age for a municipality in the county is Hague, with an astounding 61.8. That means that over half of everyone living in the town is over the age of 60.
Bolton, Chester, Hague, Horicon, Johnsburg, Lake George, Lake Luzerne and Stony Creek all have median ages over 50. Even the municipality's fastest growing "suburban" town of Queensbury has a median age of 47.4, and Thurman and Warrensburg also have median ages in the 40's.
Warren County is old and getting older.
Click on individual municipalities in the map to view age trends.
School Enrollment
The flip side of a population that is aging and is staying stagnant in size is a drop in Warren County's population of young people. Over the past 50 years, the percentage of the County's population of children has decreased by more than 100% while its population of seniors has increased by more than 100%.
Compared with the national average, Warren County has 6.4% more seniors and 4.3% fewer children. Between the 2010 and 2020 Censuses, the County for the first time crossed from having a higher percentage of seniors than children.
In many municipalities, this disparity is much greater than the County's average. For example, the town of Bolton has three times as many seniors than it does children, with over 30% of the population aged 65+ and only 10% under age 18. In Hague, Horicon and Lake George, fewer than 15% of the population are children.
The continued decline in the population of children has caused a decrease in school enrollment in every one of the County's school districts over the past twenty years.
View school district enrollment changes using the interactive dashboard below. Note: dashboard is not visible on mobile devices.
ArcGIS Dashboards
Printable Flyer
Click here to download a 3 page summary of demographic and geographic information about Warren County.
