Phone (315) 785-7907
From small towns and cities to rural settings, a strategic location for businesses
Join a growing number of successful companies that have discovered how doing business in the North Country opens the door to the North American market. With its proximity to Canada, from Watertown to Plattsburgh to Lake Placid, the region is a gateway to U.S. and Canadian companies seeking growth opportunities. The region’s colleges and universities provide critical workforce development and R&D infrastructure. State investments have grown the area’s tourism and global sports industries in the area, anchored by the stunning Thousand Islands and 6-million-acre Adirondack Park. Explore a region with a future that’s truly wide open.
Key Industries in the North Country
Agribusiness
Transportation Equipment
Tourism
Cleantech and Renewable Energy
The North Country’s diverse industry clusters are represented by key employers including Alstom, Kraft Heinz, Arconic, Norsk Titanium and the Trudeau Institute. They benefit from critical R&D infrastructure and workforce development from the area’s colleges and universities, including Clarkson University, Paul Smith’s College and the Institute for Advanced Manufacturing at SUNY Clinton.
Proximity to Quebec and Eastern Ontario makes the North Country uniquely suited to U.S. and Canadian companies, with border crossings in Alexandria Bay and Champlain having ranked in the nation’s top 10 for truck traffic entering the U.S. The region offers access to deep-water shipping through the St. Lawrence Seaway ports at Ogdensburg and Montreal (the second-largest inland port in North America) as well as access to the Champlain Canal that connects Lake Champlain and Montreal with the Hudson River to New York City.
Spanning Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties, the region also offers rich cultural venues and activities, supported by state investment in projects including: modernization of Olympic winter sports venues and visitor attractions in Lake Placid; downtown revitalization and waterfront resiliency; the Thousand Islands Harbor Hotel and conference center in Clayton, and the Hotel Saranac in Saranac Lake; and Tupper Lake's popular Wild Center, which has reopened its indoor and outdoor exhibits to visitors. New York State recognizes the importance of recreational opportunities in not only attracting visitors but in retaining the region’s valuable workforce.
North Country By The Numbers
50+
companies make up the region’s Transportation Equipment Cluster
$20.8B
Total Gross Regional Product (2018)
$1.2B
spent by travelers during 2017
Population (2023)
Labor Force Status (2023)
Age Distribution (2023)
Education Attainment (2023)
Data source: ZoomProspector (Applied Geographic Solutions)
Doing Business in the North Country
Tax-Based Incentives
Operational Support
Growth Support
Innovation Development Support
Regional Office
The North Country regional office works hand-in-hand with new and existing businesses to help identify economic development programs to support business growth and expansion—for building new facilities, relocating a business, expanding operations and workforce and entering new and global markets.