Thematic Maps of NYS 2

The historic neighborhood of Corn Hill sits in the middle of Rochester. It is one of the reasons why this upstate community has a rather high population density.

Around one-sixth of the population of New York State is African-American. It was also the home to many of the most influencial black citizens, such as Frederick Douglass.

Some of the members of the Spanish Harlem Orchestra, a proud part of the Puerto Rican heritage of New York City.

Ellis Island, in New York Harbor, was the entry point for millions of immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th century. Today, it is a national historic park, but many new Americans are still New York residents.

Population Maps 2

POPULATION DENSITY:

One way of measuring how "packed-in" the people are is with a population density map. This is found by dividing the population by the area. Again, the lowest values are found in the mountain regions, and most of NYC (except Staten Island) has the densest population. This is followed by the suburban counties (Westchester, Nassau, and Suffolk). Interestingly, Monroe County (Rochester) also has a dense population, too.

At one time New York was the most populous state in the Union, until that honor was taken over by California. Now Texas is number two. But over 19 million people still call the Empire State their home. A recent trend has been a declining population (light blue) in northern and western New York, and in some Southern Tier counties. Most of the growth in the state has been in Hudson Valley and in metro New York.

ETHNIC NEW YORK

New York has a large minority population, especially in and around New York City. African-Americans tend to be concentrated in the larger cities in the state. In the Bronx and Manhattan, over one-third of the population is Hispanic, mostly from Puerto Rico and other Caribbean islands.

The state that boasts the Statue of Liberty still welcomes many new Americans to our state. As one might expect, the largest concentration is in New York City and its suburbs, but many "non-natives" can be found in population centers in Upstate as well. For example, around one out of six Rochesterians were born outside of the USA. Clinton County is the extreme northeast corner of the state has a sizeable French-Canadian population.