Most cities in New York State have lost population in the last five years, with especially large declines in major Upstate cities, the U.S. Census Bureau reported.
Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse lost population, around 4 percent in each city, during the year ending July 1, 2005. All three cities have lost population each year since the last nationwide census in 2000, according to the bureau.
The new data appear in the Census Bureau's Annual Estimates of the Population for Incorporated Places. Among 61 cities in New York, 42 lost population from 2000 to 2005.
Twenty-six counties in New York have lost residents so far this decade, according to the new report. In Erie and Broome counties, the number of residents dropped both in the central cities of Buffalo and Binghamton, and in surrounding municipalities within the county.
Nationwide, nearly three-quarters of municipalities with more than 100,000 residents saw at least modest population growth from 2000 to 2005. Buffalo ranked 244th among those 254 localities in population change during the first half of the decade, while Rochester and Syracuse were 241st and 239th, respectively.
Some older, Northeastern cities are adding population. Worcester, Mass., and Providence, R.I., each added more than 3,000 residents in the last five years. New Haven and Allentown, Pa., showed smaller gains.
The new Census data are available at www.census.gov.
Cities in New York, Population Above 25,000 Population July, 2005 Change from 2000 New York City 8,143,197 1.7% Buffalo 279,745 -4.4% Rochester 211,091 -4.0% Yonkers 196,425 0.2% Syracuse 141,683 -3.8% Albany 93,523 -2.2% New Rochelle 72,967 1.1% Mount Vernon 67,924 -0.7% Schenectady 61,280 -0.9% Utica 59,336 -2.2% White Plains 56,733 6.9% Niagara Falls 52,866 -4.9% Troy 48,310 -1.7% Binghamton 45,492 -4.0% Long Beach 35,336 -0.4% Rome 34,344 -1.7% North Tonawanda 32,072 -3.6% Jamestown 30,381 -4.3% Poughkeepsie 30,355 1.6% Elmira 29,928 -3.3% Ithaca 29,766 1.6% Newburgh 28,548 1.0% Saratoga Springs 28,036 7.1% Auburn 27,941 -2.2% Watertown 27,220 1.9% Glen Cove 26,633 0.0% Middletown 26,067 2.7%