New York

Capital: Albany · Northeast · Empire State

State Statistics

About New York

New York — the Empire State — is the cultural, financial, and media capital of the United States and one of the most influential cities in human history. Founded as the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam in 1626, New York City became the nation's first capital, then its commercial heart, powered by the Erie Canal (1825) and waves of immigration through Ellis Island. Home to Wall Street, Broadway, the United Nations, and 8.3 million people crammed onto 300 square miles, NYC is the engine of the state and, in many ways, of the entire Atlantic economy. Yet New York is also a state of farms, forests, and small cities: the Adirondacks (America's largest state park), the Erie Canal corridor, the Finger Lakes wine country, and Niagara Falls. The sharp cultural divide between 'The City' and Upstate New York — economically and politically divergent — defines the state's character and its politics, which tilt reliably Democratic statewide despite large Republican swaths beyond the five boroughs.

Major Cities

Key Industries

Notable Universities