Westchester County, New York

This article is about the county in New York State. For the borough of West Chester, which is in Pennsylvania, see West Chester, Pennsylvania. For the neighborhood in The Bronx, New York City, see Westchester Square, Bronx.

Westchester County
County
Clockwise from top: the original Tappan Zee Bridge and replacement; Mamaroneck Harbor; Philipsburg Manor; downtown White Plains; downtown Scarsdale; shops in Katonah; the New Croton Dam; Larkin Plaza in Yonkers
Clockwise from top: the original Tappan Zee Bridge and replacement; Mamaroneck Harbor; Philipsburg Manor; downtown White Plains; downtown Scarsdale; shops in Katonah; the New Croton Dam; Larkin Plaza in Yonkers
Flag of Westchester County
Flag
Coat of arms of Westchester County
Coat of arms
Etymology: Chester, England
Map
Interactive map of Westchester County
Coordinates: 41°09′N 73°46′W / 41.150°N 73.767°W / 41.150; -73.767
CountryUnited States
StateNew York
FoundedNovember 1, 1683; 341 years ago (1683-11-01)[a]
County seatWhite Plains
Largest cityYonkers
Government
 • County ExecutiveGeorge Latimer (D)
Area
 • Total
500 sq mi (1,280 km2)
 • Land430 sq mi (1,100 km2)
 • Water69 sq mi (180 km2)
Population
 (2020)[1]
 • Total
1,004,457 Increase
 • Density2,000/sq mi (800/km2)
DemonymWestchesterite[2][3]
Economics
 • Median income$114,651 (2018-2022)[4]
Gross Domestic Product
[5]
 • TotalUS$88.166 billion (2022)
Time zoneUTC−5 (North American EST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP Codes
105xx–108xx[b]
Area code914
Congressional districts16th, 17th
FIPS code36-119
GNIS feature ID974157
Websitewestchestergov.com

Westchester County is a county located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of New York, bordering the Long Island Sound to its east and the Hudson River on its west. The county is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City.[7] According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population of 1,004,456, its highest decennial count ever and an increase of 55,344 (5.8%) from the 949,113 counted in 2010. Westchester covers an area of 450 square miles (1,200 km2), consisting of six cities, 19 towns, and 23 villages. Established in 1683, Westchester was named after the city of Chester, England.[8][9][a] The county seat is the city of White Plains, while the most populous municipality in the county is the city of Yonkers, with 211,569 residents per the 2020 census. The county is part of the Hudson Valley region of the state.

The annual per capita income for Westchester was $67,813 in 2011. The 2011 median household income of $77,006 was the fifth-highest in New York (after Nassau, Putnam, Suffolk, and Rockland counties) and the 47th highest in the United States.[10] By 2021, the county's median household income had risen to $105,387.[11] Westchester County ranks second in the state after New York County for median income per person, with a higher concentration of incomes in smaller households. Simultaneously, Westchester County had the highest property taxes of any county in the United States in 2013.[12]

Westchester County is one of the centrally located counties within the New York metropolitan area. The county is positioned with New York City, plus Nassau and Suffolk counties (on Long Island, across the Long Island Sound), to its south; Putnam County to its north; Fairfield County, Connecticut, to its east; and Rockland County and Bergen County, New Jersey, across the Hudson River to its west. Westchester was the first suburban area of its scale in the world to develop, due mostly to the upper-middle-class development of entire communities in the late 19th century and the subsequent rapid population growth.[13]

Westchester County has numerous road and mass transit connections to New York City, and the county is home to the headquarters of large multinational corporations including IBM, Mastercard, PepsiCo, and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals. Westchester County high school students often feature prominently as winners of the International Science and Engineering Fair and similar STEM-based academic awards.[14]


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference WestchesterQuickFacts was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Astorino Welcomes 'Second Westchesterite' To Presidential Race". www.nystateofpolitics.com. Archived from the original on May 5, 2016. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  3. ^ "Editor's Memo, July 2012: What It Means to Be a Westchesterite". www.westchestermagazine.com. June 18, 2012. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  4. ^ "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Westchester County, New York". census.gov. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
  5. ^ "Gross Domestic Product by County and Metropolitan Area, 2022" (PDF). www.bea.gov. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Mapping was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "New York Counties by Population".
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Britannica was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Aiken (2013), p. 326.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference percapincome was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ "QuickFacts Westchester County, New York". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference high tax was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Panetta (2006), foreword, vii.
  14. ^ "Student Science a Resource of Society for Science & the Public". Society for Science & the Public. May 13, 2022. Retrieved May 26, 2022.