Washington County (population about 64,000) is located in northeastern New York State, 60 minutes driving time north of Albany and 30 minutes east of Saratoga Springs. I 87 runs parallel to the county’s western border and is 20 to 30 minutes driving time to our zone locations. Vermont is located directly to the east.

      We take pride in our heritage (from the French and Indian and Revolutionary Wars), recreational opportunities (Lake Champlain, Lake George, the Hudson and Battenkill Rivers and the Adirondack Park), and rural countryside with many dairy farms, agricultural-based businesses and tourist attractions.

      Washington County does not have any cities, but we have 9 scenic villages located throughout our countryside. We are proud of our residents, a productive workforce with a long-tradition of work in manufacturing, agriculture, slate/stone mining, timbering and tourism.

      The Washington County Local Development Corporation markets the Empire Zone program and is the singlepoint-of-contact for economic development programs and technical assistance in the county.
You can contact us at:

      Please visit the WCLDC Web site for a description of the economic development programs available to businesses in the county. Click on the Empire Zone link on the home page for (1) our Empire Zone development plan, (2) the 7 Empire Zone Development Area maps (PDF format) in the county and (3) the link to New York State’s Empire State Development department for a copy of the application to become a zone-certified business and a listing of the tax benefits available to certified businesses in our 7 Development Areas.