ALBANY—Seven Upstate New York Counties earned a grade of F in a new report by the Public Policy Institute aimed at gauging the health of New York and its counties.
The report, The 2007 Stagnation Index, measured population growth, employment, personal income growth, and growth in average wages per job for the 10-year period ending in 2007. The Index includes scores for all 62 counties as well as 50 states.
The Index gave counties and states grades ranging from a high mark of A to a low of F. Counties and states that exhibited growth in one of the four indicators at or above two-thirds of the national average received an A.
The Index found that New York's overall performance over the 10-year period measured was a B. Upstate's overall performance earned only a D. Seven Upstate counties, Allegany, Broome, Chautauqua, Herkimer, Monroe, Niagara and Oswego, earned an F – indicating a failing grade in each of the four indicators.
Eight counties statewide earned an A, including the Bronx, Dutchess,
Orange, Putnam, Queens, Staten Island, Saratoga and Suffolk. Fifteen counties
earned Bs, 18 Ds, and 14 counties (all located Upstate) earned Ds.
By comparison, the Index gave New York City an overall grade of A on the
index, meaning it earned a grade of A on each of the four indicators measured.
Its suburbs earned a B.
Nationally, no state earned an F or D. Twenty-two states, including New
Jersey, earned As. New York's neighboring states of Massachusetts
and Vermont earned Bs, while Pennsylvania and Connecticut earned Cs.