General Overview Ontario County is booming. Of the seven counties in the ACT Rochester region, Ontario has the greatest growth in population, the highest median income, high rates of educational attainment, the greatest rate of residential building permits and the highest rates of homeownership. However, the county's median income and median home value have not kept pace with inflation and showed declines since 2000. Progress has been made in the county to reduce crime rates, yet juvenile delinquency rates remain much higher than the state.
Demographic Overview
Ontario County is experiencing significant population growth, while most counties in the region are only holding steady. With just over 95,000 residents in 1990, Ontario County grew by over 9% to 104,000 residents in 2007. This growth in population well surpasses the growth rate of the region (2%), and is greater than the state's (7%).
Ontario County's population is aging. The number of adults 40 to 59 years old increased by 46% from 1990 to 2007, making it the largest segment of the population and consistent with regional, state and national trends. Ontario had the second highest percent change in the region in the number of senior residents 85 and older, after Wayne County. Although this group represents only 2% of the total county population, the dramatic increase highlights the growing need for sufficient elder care and support services.
Similar to other counties in the upstate region, Ontario is experiencing substantial declines in its number of youths and younger adults. Since 1990, the number of residents between the ages of 20 and 39 fell 13% in Ontario County, more than the state decrease of 11% and counter to a national increase of 1%. There were 4,000 fewer 20- to 39-year-olds in the county in 2007 than there were in 1990. The number of children and young adults under 20 years old also declined by 4% since 1990, counter to increases in the nation (16%) and state (4%).
Ontario County experienced growth in its minority populations, although it remains about 95% white. From 2000 to 2007 the greatest increase occurred in the Hispanic population, which grew 38% to almost 3,000 residents. Ontario County also experienced a 36% increase in its Asian population and a 20% increase in its black population, although both groups together represent only 3% of the county population.
Ontario County has seen a decline in the share of households of married couples with children and an increase in unmarried households with children. In 2006 about 21% of households in the county were composed of married couples with children living at home, compared to 28% in 1990. In the same time period, unmarried households with children grew as a share of the total, from 7% to 11%. These changes in household type are similar to trends at both the state and national levels.
Arts, Culture and Leisure
Public funding for the arts in Ontario County has declined. Ontario County experienced a 64% decline in grants per capita from the New York State Council on the Arts since 2001. In light of the weakened national economy and tremendous state budget deficit, future public funding for the arts is most certainly in danger.
Tourism is a growing business in Ontario County. In 2007, more than $171 million was spent on tourism activities in the county, an 8% increase from 2005. Ontario has the greatest per resident spending on tourism in the region - $1,650 - compared to the regional figure of $1,200. Ontario County's tourism industry is expected to continue to grow with such new attractions as the New York State Wine & |
Photo provided by New York Wine Culinary & Culinary Center |
Culinary Center, the renovated Constellation Brands Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center (also known as CMAC), increased promotions of the Finger Lakes wine trails, winter sports venues, area museums and shops.
Public funding for the arts in Ontario County has declined. Ontario County experienced a 64% decline in grants per capita from the New York State Council on the Arts since 2001. In light of the weakened national economy and tremendous state budget deficit, future public funding for the arts is most certainly in danger.
Tourism is a growing business in Ontario County. In 2007, more than $171 million was spent on tourism activities in the county, an 8% increase from 2005. Ontario has the greatest per resident spending on tourism in the region - $1,650 - compared to the regional figure of $1,200. Ontario County's tourism industry is expected to continue to grow with such new attractions as the New York State Wine & Culinary Center, the renovated Constellation Brands Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center (also known as CMAC), increased promotions of the Finger Lakes wine trails, winter sports venues, area museums and shops.
Public funding for the arts in Ontario County has declined. Ontario County experienced a 64% decline in grants per capita from the New York State Council on the Arts since 2001. In light of the weakened national economy and tremendous state budget deficit, future public funding for the arts is most certainly in danger.
Children and Youth In 2006, about 12% of children in Ontario County were living in poverty, the lowest rate in our region's three most populous counties (Monroe, Wayne, and Ontario). This proportion has increased from 10% in 1990, but is below both the state (20%) and nation (18%).
Similar to the state and nation, Ontario County has seen an increase in the number of children living in single parent households. In 2006, nearly 31% of children lived with one parent, compared to 18% in 1990. The rates were highest among blacks (72%), those with two or more races (72%), and people who identify as "other" (70%) on the U.S. Census.
Teen pregnancy rates have generally declined, and remains lower than the state rate. In 2006, the teen pregnancy rate per 1,000 females was 18, half the state rate of 36. All counties in the region have had consistently lower rates than the state rate throughout this decade. Ontario's rate has fluctuated over the years, but overall declined 33% from 1996 to 2006.
While the rate of Persons In Need of Supervision increased in the region from 2000 to 2007, Ontario County's rate declined by 48%. The rate of PINS intakes per 1,000 youth in Ontario County declined from 13 cases in 2000 to just 7 in 2007. Similar declines were experienced in four of the six surrounding counties, while Monroe County's rate more than doubled.
Economy
Ontario County is part of the larger transition from manufacturing to knowledge-based industry. Educational Services jobs increased 37% since 2001, the second highest growth for this sector in the region after Livingston County. Similar to the rest of the region, the greatest job losses occurred in the sectors of Information (-19%), Farming (-13%), and Manufacturing (-6%).
Ontario County's total average salary stayed roughly constant at $35,000, adjusted for inflation, from 1999 to 2007. The United States posted growth of about 7% over the period, with an average salary of about $44,000 in 2007. Courtesy of a booming downstate economy, New York State's average salary jumped 12%, to nearly $59,000.
Education
Education is an area of strength for Ontario County. Similar to students throughout our region, students in Ontario outperform those across the state on most key state tests and graduate at higher rates. For example, 97% of Ontario County students passed the state Regents math exam that is required for high school graduation in 2007, compared to 89% of students statewide. About 80% of Ontario students graduated on time, compared to 76% in the region and 70% statewide.
Monroe and Ontario counties consistently have the highest levels of educational attainment in the region. In 2006, nearly 60% of Ontario County residents 25 and older had attended at least some college, 6 percentage points above the state and national figures. This is up from 47% of residents in 1990.
Spending per student by Ontario County school districts has increased 17% since 2000, even after adjusting for inflation. In 2006, Ontario County school districts spent $14,500 per student, comparable to spending in surrounding counties, but less than the state rate of $16,700.
Financial Self-Sufficiency Ontario County had the highest median household income in the region, but incomes have not kept pace with inflation and are expected to worsen in light of the current recession. Ontario County's median household income in 2006 was about $52,700, on par with the state, higher than the nation ($49,800), and higher than its neighboring counties of Monroe ($48,700) and Wayne ($49,000). Adjusted for inflation, the county's median household income has actually declined 5% since 1990, while the state median decreased at a slower rate (2%).
Despite a slight increase since 2000, fewer Ontario County residents live in poverty compared to the state, and nation. In 2006, 8% of Ontario County residents had incomes below the poverty line, compared to 14% for the state and 13% for the nation. Household incomes vary greatly between the county's racial and ethnic groups. Residents of two or more races or self-described as "other," are more likely to live in poverty. The poverty rate was more than five times higher among black and Hispanic residents than among white residents in 2000, the latest year for which reliable figures were available.
Health In 2005, Ontario County had the lowest rate of people without health insurance in the region. Just slightly more than 8% of county residents are uninsured, less than the region (11%), the state (13%) and the nation (15%).
Every county in the region has seen a steady decline in mortality rates since 2000. Ontario residents experienced declines in mortality rates from heart disease (-5%), cancer (-19%), respiratory disease (-34%), and stroke (-13%).
Ontario County has the highest number of doctors per 10,000 residents of all the surrounding counties outside of Monroe. The rate of doctors per 10,000 residents in Ontario has increased from 23 in 2002 to 25 in 2006. This is more than twice the rate of doctors in four of the surrounding counties.
Housing Home values in Ontario County, as with the rest of our region, have not suffered the recent dramatic losses experienced throughout the nation. Both the state and nation had steep increases in home values from 2000 to 2006, before plummeting in 2008. Ontario County's median home values have remained slightly immune to this erratic "housing bubble," but have not kept pace with inflation, declining by 6% from 1990 to 2006. In 2006, Ontario had a median home value of about $117,000 – lower than the national figure ($190,000) and much lower than the state ($312,000).
Ontario County has the highest homeownership rate of our region's three most populous counties (Monroe, Wayne, and Ontario). In 2006, 75% of all occupied housing units in Ontario County were owner-occupied. This homeownership rate is higher than the national rate (67%) and 19 points greater than the state (56%). Of about 45,000 housing units in the county, 90% were occupied and 10% were vacant in 2006.
Ontario County leads the region in the rate of residential building permits issued. While most counties in the region experienced significant declines in residential permitting rates, Ontario increased by 33% since 2000, compared to an overall regional decline of 27%.
Public Safety Ontario County's crime rates have declined since 2000. Similar to reduced crime rates experienced statewide, Ontario has seen a decline in serious crimes (-21%), violent crimes (-28%), property crime (-21%), and other reported crimes (-41%). Felony drug-related arrest rates had a modest 3% decrease, counter to the 51% increase experienced in the surrounding counties outside Monroe.
Juvenile delinquency intakes declined from 2000 to 2007, yet remain higher than most of the region. Ontario County's juvenile delinquency intakes rate of 15.2 per 1,000 children is much higher than the state rate (9.6) and second highest within the region after Orleans (19.7).
Note: Data research and analysis conducted by the Center for Governmental Research.
Banner photo provided by Peter "Skippy" Bushnell