Monroe County, New York facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Monroe County
County
Monroe County Gordon A. Howe Office Building on Main and Fitzhugh street in Rochester.
Flag Seal
Location within the U.S. state of New York
New York's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	New York
Founded	February 23, 1821; 203 years ago (1821)
Named for	James Monroe
Seat	Rochester
Largest city	Rochester
Area
• Total	1,367 sq mi (3,540 km2)
• Land	657 sq mi (1,700 km2)
• Water	710 sq mi (1,800 km2)  52%
Population
• Total	752,035
• Density	1,155.9/sq mi (446.3/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	25th

Monroe County is a county in the U.S. state of New York, located along Lake Ontario's southern shore. As of 2022, the population was 752,035, according to Census Bureau estimates. Its county seat and largest city is Rochester. The county is named after James Monroe, the fifth president of the United States. Monroe County is part of the Rochester, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county is part of the Finger Lakes region of the state.

History

When counties were established in the Province of New York in 1683, the present Monroe County was part of Albany County. This was an enormous county, including the northern part of the State of New York as well as all of the present State of Vermont and, in theory, extending westward to the Pacific Ocean. This county was reduced in size on July 3, 1766, by the creation of Cumberland County, and further on March 16, 1770, by the creation of Gloucester County, both containing territory now in Vermont.

On March 12, 1772, what was left of Albany County was split into three parts, one remaining under the name Albany County. One of the other pieces, Tryon County, contained the western portion (and thus, since no western boundary was specified, theoretically still extended west to the Pacific). The eastern boundary of Tryon County was approximately five miles west of the present city of Schenectady, and the county included the western part of the Adirondack Mountains and the area west of the West Branch of the Delaware River. The area then designated as Tryon County now includes 37 counties of the State of New York. The county was named for William Tryon, colonial governor of New York.

In the years prior to 1776, most of the Loyalists in Tryon County fled to Canada. In 1784, following the peace treaty that ended the American Revolutionary War, the name of Tryon County was changed to Montgomery County in order to honor the general, Richard Montgomery, who had captured several places in Canada and died attempting to capture the city of Quebec, replacing the name of the hated British governor.

In 1789, Ontario County was split off from Montgomery. The actual area split off from Montgomery County was much larger than the present county, also including the present Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Niagara, Orleans, Steuben, Wyoming, Yates, and part of Schuyler and Wayne counties.

Genesee County was created by a splitting of Ontario County in 1802. This was much larger than the present Genesee County, however. It contained the present Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Niagara, Orleans, Wyoming, and portions of Livingston and Monroe counties.

Finally, Monroe County was formed from parts of Genesee and Ontario counties in 1821.

Development of the City of Rochester and the towns of Monroe County from the towns of Genesee and Ontario Counties

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county's total area is 1,367 square miles (3,540 km²), of which 657 square miles (1,700 km²) is land and 710 square miles (1,800 km²) (52%) is water.

Monroe County is in Western State of New York's northern tier, northeast of Buffalo and northwest of Syracuse. The northern county line is also the state line and the border of the United States, marked by Lake Ontario. Monroe County is north of the Finger Lakes.

Adjacent counties

• Wayne County - east
• Ontario County - southeast
• Livingston County - south
• Orleans County - west
• Genesee County - southwest

Major highways

Economy

Monroe County is a home to a number of international businesses, including Eastman Kodak, Paychex, and Pictometry International, all of which make Monroe County their world headquarters. While no longer headquartered in Rochester, Xerox has its principal offices and manufacturing facilities in Monroe County, and Bausch and Lomb was headquartered in Rochester until it was acquired by Valeant Pharmaceuticals. Monroe County is also home to regional businesses such as Wegmans, Roberts Communications, Inc., Holding Corp., and major fashion label Hickey Freeman.

High technology

Tech Valley, the technologically recognized area of eastern New York State, has spawned a western offshoot into the Rochester, Monroe County, and Finger Lakes areas of New York State. Since the 2000s, as the more established companies in Rochester downsized, the economy of Rochester and Monroe County has been redirected toward high technology, with new, smaller companies providing the seed capital necessary for business foundation. The Rochester and Monroe County area is important in the field of photographic processing and imaging as well as incubating an increasingly diverse high technology sphere encompassing STEM fields, in part the result of private startup enterprises collaborating with major academic institutions, including the University of Rochester and Cornell University. Given the high prevalence of imaging and optical science among the industry and the universities, Rochester is known as the world capital of imaging. The Institute of Optics of the University of Rochester and the Rochester Institute of Technology in nearby Henrietta both have imaging programs.

Major Employers:

Several industries occupy a major portion of the jobs located regionally, with healthcare comprising a significant portion of jobs in Monroe County. The U of R (including its numerous hospitals) is the largest employer regionally with over 27,000 workers; Rochester Regional Health (parent company of Rochester General and Unity Hospitals) is the second largest consisting of over 15,000. Wegmans is third with about 13,000 local employees.

Demographics

As of the census of 2020, there were 759,443 people, 301,948 households, and 232,500 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,155 inhabitants per square mile (446/km²). There were 330,247 housing units at an average density of 502 units per square mile (194 units/km²). The county's racial makeup was 68.6% White, 15.7% African American, 0.3% Native American, 4.3% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 4.0% from other races, and 7.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.6% of the population. 18.6% were of Italian, 15.3% German, 11.3% Irish and 8.3% English ancestry according to Census 2000. In 2007, 4.64% of the population reported speaking Spanish at home, while 1.43% speak Italian.

There were 301,948 households, out of which 54% were married couples living together, 18% had a female householder with no husband present, 6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 23% were non-families. The average household size was 2.37.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 21% being 18 or younger, 15% from 19 to 29, 13% from 30 to 39, 11% from 40 to 49, 14% from 50 to 59, 12% from 60 to 69, and 13% who were 70 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. 52% of the population was Female, and 48% was Male

The median income for a household in the county was $62,103. The per capita income for the county was $35,797. About 12.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.0% of those under age 18 and 8.0% of those age 65 or over. 90.4% of those 25 years or over was a High school graduate or higher, and 38.6% of those 25 years or over had a Bachelor's degree or higher.

According to the U.S. Religion Census of 2020, 380,869 county residents, 50.2% of the county population, adhere to a Religion. Of the 50.2% of Religious adherents, 27.5% (209,584) are Catholic, 9.4% (71,670) are Protestant, 6.0% (46,140) are Nondenominational Christians, 2.4% (18,648) are Muslim, 1.2% (9,054) are Hindu, 1.1% (8,562) are Jewish, 0.6% (5,230) are Jehovah's Witnesses, 0.6% (4,912) are Mormon, 0.5% (4,474) are Buddhist, and 0.3% (2,595) are Eastern Orthodox.

2020 Census

Education

Primary and secondary education

The public school systems educates the overwhelming majority of Monroe County's children. The schools operated by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester or Roman Catholic religious orders educate the next largest segment of children, although collectively, they are a distant second.

Public schools

There are some 25 public school districts that serve Monroe County, including the Rochester City School District, 10 suburban school districts in Monroe #1 BOCES, seven in Monroe #2–Orleans BOCES, and several primarily serving other counties (Avon, Byron–Bergen, Caledonia–Mumford, Holley, Wayne, Williamson and Victor central school districts).

Private schools

There are three private schools that serve more than 200 students each:

• Allendale Columbia School, a college preparatory school in Pittsford
• The Harley School, a college preparatory school in Brighton
• Mary Cariola Children's Center serving children with multiple, complex disabilities in the city

There is one small, but historically significant school: Rochester School for the Deaf in the city

Parochial schools

• There are three small Judaic schools and two small Islamic schools.
• There are about ten primary schools operated by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester.
• There are four senior high schools (or combined junior/senior high schools) operated by or in the tradition of a Roman Catholic religious order:

School	Founding religious order	Location	Established	Grades
Aquinas Institute	Basilian	City of Rochester	1902	6–12
Bishop Kearney High School	Christian Brothers, Sisters of Notre Dame	Irondequoit	1962	6–12
McQuaid Jesuit High School	Jesuits	Brighton	1954	6–12
Our Lady of Mercy School for Young Women	Sisters of Mercy	Brighton	1928	6–12

• There are more than two dozen schools operated by various sects of Christianity, two of which serve more than 200 students:

School	Religious affiliation	Location	Established	Grades
The Charles Finney School	Non-denominational Christian	Penfield	1992	K–12
Northstar Christian Academy	Baptist	Gates	1972	K–12

Colleges and universities

The county is home to nine colleges and universities:

• Bryant & Stratton College in Greece and Henrietta
• Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School in the city
• Monroe Community College in Brighton with a campus in the city
• Nazareth University in Pittsford
• Roberts Wesleyan College in Chili
• Rochester Institute of Technology in Henrietta
• St. Bernard's School of Theology and Ministry in Pittsford
• St. John Fisher University in Pittsford
• SUNY Brockport (also known as the State University of New York Brockport) in Brockport with a campus in Rochester
• University of Rochester in Rochester

Additionally, three colleges maintain satellite campuses in Monroe County:

• The Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations maintains an office in the city
• Empire State College maintains the Genesee Valley Learning Center in Irondequoit
• Ithaca College's Department of Physical Therapy leases part of the Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School facility for teaching and research

Parks & Recreation

County parks

Wetlands Trail in Black Creek Park

The following is a list of parks owned and maintained by Monroe County:

State parks

The following is a list of parks owned and maintained by New York State:

• Hamlin Beach State Park
• Irondequoit Bay State Marine Park

Golf courses

• Arrowhead Golf Course & Marina
• Deerfield Golf & Country Club
• Durand Eastman Golf Course
• Genesee Valley Golf Course
• Majestic Hills Golf Course
• Mill Creek Golf Club
• Morgan's Crossing
• Monroe Golf Club
• Shadow Lake Golf & Racquet Club
• Timber Ridge Golf Club
• White Birch Golf Course

Communities

The town, village, and city borders

Larger settlements

Towns

Hamlets

In New York, the term hamlet, while not defined in law, is used to describe an unincorporated community and geographic location within a town. The town in which each hamlet is located is in parentheses.

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Monroe (Nueva York) para niños