Findings
An analysis of population and migration data for the 52 counties of Upstate New York
between 1980 and 2000 finds that:
- Upstate New York’s population grew
by a mere 1.1 percent in the 1990s,
slower than the growth rate of every
state but West Virginia and North
Dakota. Upstate is part of a larger stagnant
region, stretching from parts of
New England to northern West Virginia,
that grew less than 1 percent, compared
to over 13 percent in the U.S. as a whole.
- Within Upstate New York, only two
regions grew in the 1990s. Extending
north of New York City through Albany
and Saratoga, the Hudson Valley region
is Upstate’s fastest growing area, followed
by the Rochester/Finger Lakes
region. In contrast, Western New York,
home of Buffalo-Niagara Falls, continues
to decline, evidenced by a loss of
over 22,000 residents during the
decade.
- Overall, more people moved out of
Upstate than moved in during the
1990s. Between 1990 and 2002, over
1.7 million people moved out of Upstate
New York, while only 1.3 million moved
in. The majority of out-migrants moved
to states in the South and Northeast.
The biggest migration flows into
Upstate’s regions came from within
the state.
- Nearly 30 percent of new residents in
Upstate New York in the 1990s were
prisoners. Upstate gained 21,000 new
prisoners during the decade, an increase that was accompanied by a
growing number of prison staff, as well
as inmates’ relatives. Upstate has a
larger share of prisoners than the nation
as a whole—1.1 percent of its population
in 2000, compared to just 0.7
percent of the U.S. population.
- Upstate’s large senior citizen population
increased in size and share,
especially in its slow growing regions,
in the 1990s. Fourteen percent of
Upstate’s residents in 2000 were 65 or
over, compared to 12 percent nationwide.
Western New York had the largest
share of seniors, at 16 percent, up from
15 percent in 1990. Newburgh, in the
Hudson Valley region, was the only
Upstate metropolitan area where the
share of seniors actually fell in the
1980s and 1990s.
- Upstate’s small racial and ethnic
minority population is unevenly distributed
among its metropolitan areas
and segregated within them. Though
Upstate New York remains primarily
white, its share of black and Hispanic
residents increased by 17.6 and 54 percent,
respectively, during the 1990s,
reflecting trends in much of the country.
Beyond the metropolitan areas
closest to New York City, Buffalo and
Rochester are Upstate’s most diverse
regions, though their racial and ethnic
minorities are highly segregated.
