New York (state)

New York
State
State of New York
Flag of New York
Flag
Official seal of New York
Seal
Nickname: 
The Empire State
Motto(s): 
Excelsior (in Latin)[1]
Ever upward
Map of the United States with New York highlighted
Map of the United States with New York highlighted
CountryUnited States
Before statehoodProvince of New York
Admitted to the UnionJuly 26, 1788 (11th)
CapitalAlbany
Largest cityNew York
Largest county or equivalentKings (Brooklyn)
Largest metro and urban areasNew York metropolitan area
Government
 • GovernorKathy Hochul (D)
 • Lieutenant governorAntonio Delgado (D)
LegislatureState Legislature
 • Upper houseState Senate
 • Lower houseState Assembly
JudiciaryNew York Court of Appeals
U.S. senators
U.S. House delegation
(list)
Area
 • Total54,555[2] sq mi (141,298[2] km2)
 • Land47,126 sq mi (122,057 km2)
 • Water7,429 sq mi (19,240 km2)  13.6%
 • Rank27th
Dimensions
 • Length330 mi (530 km)
 • Width285 mi (455 km)
Elevation
1,000 ft (300 m)
Highest elevation
(Mount Marcy[3][4][a])
5,344 ft (1,629 m)
Lowest elevation
(Atlantic Ocean[4][a])
0 ft (0 m)
Population
 (2023)
 • Total19,571,216[5]
 • Rank4th
 • Density416.42/sq mi (159/km2)
  • Rank8th
 • Median household income
$75,200[6]
 • Income rank
14th
DemonymNew Yorker
Language
 • Spoken language
Time zoneUTC−5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
USPS abbreviation
NY
ISO 3166 codeUS-NY
Traditional abbreviationN.Y.
Latitude40° 30′ N to 45° 1′ N
Longitude71° 51′ W to 79° 46′ W
Websiteny.gov
State symbols of New York
List of state symbols
Flag of New York
Seal of New York
Coat of arms of New York
SloganI Love New York
Living insignia
BirdEastern bluebird
FishBrook trout (fresh water), Striped bass (salt water)
FlowerRose
FruitApple
InsectNine-spotted ladybug
MammalNorth American beaver
ReptileCommon snapping turtle
TreeSugar maple, Lilac bush
Inanimate insignia
BeverageMilk
FoodYogurt
FossilEurypterus remipes
GemstoneGarnet
ShellBay scallop
SportBaseball
State route marker
Route marker
State quarter
New York quarter dollar coin
Released in 2001
Lists of United States state symbols

New York, also called New York State,[b] is a state in the Northeastern United States. One of the Mid-Atlantic states, it borders the Atlantic Ocean, New England, Canada, and the Great Lakes.[c] With almost 19.6 million residents, it is the fourth-most populous state in the United States and eighth-most densely populated as of 2023.[5] New York is the 27th-largest U.S. state by area, with a total area of 54,556 square miles (141,300 km2).[2]

New York has a varied geography. The southeastern part of the state, known as Downstate, encompasses New York City, the United States's largest city; Long Island, the nation's most populous island; and the suburbs and wealthy enclaves of the lower Hudson Valley. These areas are the center of the New York metropolitan area, a large urban area,[8][9] and account for approximately two-thirds of the state's population. The much larger Upstate area spreads from the Great Lakes to Lake Champlain and includes the Adirondack Mountains and the Catskill Mountains (part of the wider Appalachian Mountains). The east–west Mohawk River Valley bisects the more mountainous regions of Upstate and flows into the north–south Hudson River valley near the state capital of Albany. Western New York, home to the cities of Buffalo and Rochester, is part of the Great Lakes region and borders Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. Central New York is anchored by the city of Syracuse; between the central and western parts of the state, New York is dominated by the Finger Lakes, a popular tourist destination. To the south, along the state border with Pennsylvania, the Southern Tier sits atop the Allegheny Plateau, representing the northernmost reaches of Appalachia.

New York was one of the original Thirteen Colonies that went on to form the United States. The area of present-day New York had been inhabited by tribes of the Algonquians and the Iroquois Confederacy Native Americans for several thousand years by the time the earliest Europeans arrived.[10] Stemming from Henry Hudson's expedition in 1609,[11] the Dutch established the multiethnic colony of New Netherland in 1621. England seized the colony from the Dutch in 1664, renaming it the Province of New York.[12] During the American Revolutionary War, a group of colonists eventually succeeded in establishing independence, and the state ratified the then new United States Constitution in 1788. From the early 19th century, New York's development of its interior, beginning with the construction of the Erie Canal, gave it incomparable advantages over other regions of the United States.[13] The state built its political, cultural, and economic ascendancy over the next century, earning it the nickname of the "Empire State". Although deindustrialization eroded a portion of the state's economy in the second half of the 20th century, New York in the 21st century continues to be considered as a global node of creativity and entrepreneurship,[14] social tolerance,[15] and environmental sustainability.[16][17]

The state attracts visitors from all over the globe, with the highest count of any U.S. state in 2022.[18] Many of its landmarks are well known, including four of the world's ten most-visited tourist attractions in 2013: Times Square, Central Park, Niagara Falls, and Grand Central Terminal.[19] New York is home to approximately 200 colleges and universities, including Ivy League members Columbia University and Cornell University, and the expansive State University of New York, which is among the largest university systems in the nation.[20][21][22][23] New York City is home to the headquarters of the United Nations,[24] and it is sometimes described as the world's most important city,[25][26] the cultural,[27][28] financial,[29][30][31] and media epicenter,[32][33] and the capital of the world.[34][35]

  1. ^ "New York State Motto". New York State Library. January 29, 2001. Archived from the original on May 24, 2009. Retrieved November 16, 2007.
  2. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference area was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Marcy". NGS Data Sheet. National Geodetic Survey, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, United States Department of Commerce. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
  4. ^ a b "Elevations and Distances in the United States". United States Geological Survey. 2001. Archived from the original on February 1, 2009. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
  5. ^ a b "US Census Quickfacts, Population Estimates, July 1 2023". Census.gov. United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 26, 2021. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
  6. ^ "US Census Bureau QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
  7. ^ "Language spoken at home by ability to speak English for the population 5 years and over—2014 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates". Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved January 24, 2016.
  8. ^ "World's Largest Urban Areas [Ranked by Urban Area Population]". Rhett Butler. 2003–2006. Archived from the original on October 9, 2009. Retrieved August 2, 2014.
  9. ^ "Top 100 World Metropolitan Areas Ranked by Population". Baruch College of the City University of New York. Archived from the original on March 8, 2019. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  10. ^ Zumbusch, Amelie von; Faust, Daniel R. (July 15, 2014). The First Peoples of New York. The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. ISBN 978-1-4777-7304-8.
  11. ^ "Henry Hudson and His Crew Sailed into the River that Would Bear His Name". Library of Congress. Archived from the original on January 24, 2021. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  12. ^ Greenspan, Jesse (September 8, 2014). "The Dutch Surrender New Netherland". History. Archived from the original on January 24, 2021. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  13. ^ Roberts, Sam (June 26, 2017). "200 Years Ago, Erie Canal Got Its Start as Just a 'Ditch'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
  14. ^ "Venture Investment—Regional Aggregate Data". National Venture Capital Association and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Archived from the original on April 8, 2016. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
  15. ^ Flegenheimer, Matt (March 23, 2016). "Ted Cruz Deplores 'Liberal, Left-Wing Values' While Lobbying for New York Votes". The New York Times. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
  16. ^ "The Latest: China Hopes US Joins Climate Deal Quickly". The New York Times. Associated Press. April 22, 2016. Archived from the original on May 3, 2016. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
  17. ^ Foderaro, Lisa (September 21, 2014). "Taking a Call for Climate Change to the Streets". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 21, 2014. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
  18. ^ Remmy, Alicia (December 16, 2023). "These Are The 10 Most Visited States In The US". TheTravel.
  19. ^ Shields, Ann (November 10, 2014). "The World's 50 Most Visited Tourist Attractions—No. 3: Times Square, New York City—Annual Visitors: 50,000,000". Travel+Lesiure. Archived from the original on July 6, 2017. Retrieved July 17, 2015. No. 3 Times Square, New York City—Annual Visitors: 50,000,000 ... No. 4 (tie) Central Park, New York City—Annual Visitors: 40,000,000 ... No. 9 Niagara Falls, New York and Ontario—Annual Visitors: 22,000,000 ... No. 10 Grand Central Terminal, New York City—Annual Visitors: 21,600,000
  20. ^ "2020 Best National University Rankings". U.S. News & World Report.
  21. ^ "Academic Ranking of World Universities 2015". ShanghaiRanking Consultancy. Archived from the original on October 30, 2015. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
  22. ^ "CWUR 2015—World University Rankings". Center for World University Rankings. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
  23. ^ "SUNY Fast Facts". www.suny.edu. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
  24. ^ "Office of the Mayor Commission for the United Nations, Consular Corps and Protocol". The City of New York. 2012. Archived from the original on July 1, 2014. Retrieved August 2, 2014.
  25. ^ Justin O'Beirne (2023). "GLOBAL CITY RANKING MODEL: What are the World's Most Important Cities?". Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  26. ^ Will Martin and Libertina Brandt (June 14, 2019). "The 21 most influential cities in the world". Business Insider. Retrieved August 12, 2023. It's no surprise that New York City, home of Wall Street and the United Nations, is viewed as the world's most important city.
  27. ^ "Introduction to Chapter 14: New York City (NYC) Culture". The Weissman Center for International Business Baruch College/CUNY 2011. Archived from the original on May 5, 2013. Retrieved August 2, 2014.
  28. ^ New York, Culture Capital of the World, 1940–1965 / edited by Leonard Wallock; essays by Dore Ashton ... [et al.]. Rizzoli. 1988. ISBN 9780847809905. Archived from the original on January 24, 2021. Retrieved August 2, 2014 – via National Library of Australia.
  29. ^ "Top 8 Cities by GDP: China vs. The U.S." Business Insider, Inc. July 31, 2011. Retrieved October 28, 2015. For instance, Shanghai, the largest Chinese city with the highest economic production, and a fast-growing global financial hub, is far from matching or surpassing New York, the largest city in the U.S. and the economic and financial super center of the world.
    "PAL sets introductory fares to New York". Philippine Airlines. Archived from the original on March 27, 2015. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
  30. ^ Jones, Huw (January 27, 2020). "New York surges ahead of Brexit-shadowed London in finance: survey". Reuters. Archived from the original on January 13, 2021. Retrieved January 27, 2020. New York remains the world's top financial center, pushing London further into second place as Brexit uncertainty undermines the UK capital and Asian centers catch up, a survey from consultants Duff & Phelps said on Monday.
  31. ^ "The Global Financial Centres Index 32". Long Finance. September 22, 2022. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
  32. ^ Richter, Felix (March 11, 2015). "New York Is The World's Media Capital". Statista. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved May 29, 2017.
  33. ^ Ennis, Dawn (May 24, 2017). "ABC will broadcast New York's pride parade live for the first time". LGBTQ Nation. Archived from the original on January 24, 2021. Retrieved May 29, 2017.
  34. ^ Edward Robb Ellis (December 21, 2004). The Epic of New York City: A Narrative History. Basic Books. p. 593. ISBN 9780786714360. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  35. ^ Roberts, Sam (September 14, 2017). "When the World Called for a Capital". The New York Times. Retrieved January 2, 2023.


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