Summary

Demographic measures provide an overview of the changing face of our region. Drawing on the 1990 and 2000 Census, as well as updated Census estimates where available, these data present a framework for understanding the community indicators.

Highlights from this section show our region's total population has been stable, with slight growth of 26,000 residents, or 2%, since 1990, to a 2007 total of 1,130,549 residents. Our population is aging, with 40- to 59-year-olds making up the largest group and our seniors 85 years and older increasing by 73% since 1990. Minority populations are also experiencing growth, despite the region remaining 85% white.

Our region has lost some ground in economic measures. Incomes in our region have not kept pace with inflation, resulting in our median household income declining 16% in real terms since 1990. The poverty rate has increased 3 percentage points since 1990 and is more than four times higher among black and Hispanic residents than among white residents. However, educational attainment has increased since 1990, with more residents having attended college. Our regional homeownership rate is nearly 70%.
 

A Note About the Data

Parts of this analysis utilize data from the 2006 American Community Survey. This Census Bureau survey was sent to a sampling of Americans to understand selected characteristics about our population, such as income, household type and educational attainment. However, the survey only covered areas with a population of more than 65,000 people - in our region, Monroe, Ontario and Wayne counties. Thus, in some instances we refer to the three-county region (Monroe, Ontario and Wayne) and are only able to discuss trends for those three counties. In other parts of the analysis, however, we use the broader definition of region, that is, all seven counties, since they are based on the more comprehensive 2000 and 1990 Census reports.


Total Population

The total population (1,130,549) of the seven-county Rochester region was 2% higher in 2007 than it was in 1990, a net growth of nearly 26,000 residents. However, this represents 11,000 fewer residents who called the region home in 2000. Our growth rate from 1990 to 2007 lagged the nation and the state, which grew by 21% and 7% respectively during this period. Ontario County was the only area county experiencing significant growth, at about 9%. Similar to its neighbors Buffalo and Syracuse, the City of Rochester had a stark population decline of nearly 11% since 1990. Despite this loss, Rochester remains the third largest city in New York, with 7,500 more residents than the growing City of Yonkers.


Age of Population 

With the Baby Boomers entering their retirement years, the population of the seven-county Rochester region is aging. The number of adults 40 to 59 years old increased by 39% between 1990 and 2007, making it the largest segment of the population, which is consistent with state and national trends. Again, mirroring national and state trends, all seven counties had sizable increases in the 60-and-older population, including a 73% increase in seniors 85 and older. Although this group continues to represent only 2% of the total regional population, the dramatic increase highlights the growing need for sufficient elder care and support services.

Where our region is different from the state and the nation is in the substantial declines we are experiencing in youths and younger adults. Since 1990, the number of residents between 20 and 39 years old fell 21% across the region, as compared to a state decrease of 11% and a national increase of 1%. There were almost 79,000 fewer persons in this age group in the region in 2007 than there were in 1990. The number of children and young adults under 20 years old in our region declined by 6% since 1990, compared to increases in the nation and state of 16% and 4% respectively.


Race and Ethnicity
 
The seven-county Rochester region has experienced growth in its minority populations, although the region remains about 85% white. The greatest increase from 2000 to 2007 occurred in people identifying themselves as "two or more races," a segment which jumped 20% to almost 15,500. The region's Asian population increased by 14% to more than 23,500, and the Hispanic population grew by 10% to almost 54,000. While the nation's white population as a whole increased by 5%, each of the regional counties, except for Ontario, had a slight decline in white residents. Ontario County also experienced a 20% increase in its black population, although this group represents only 3% of the county population. Overall, the region's black population grew by about 2% between 2000 and 2007.

Comparisons to 1990 were not possible because the Census Bureau changed its questions on race and ethnicity.


Household Types
 
Since 1990, our region has followed state and national trends with a declining percentage of households described as married couples with children and an increase in the share made up of unmarried households with children. In 2006, about 19% of households in the three-county region (Monroe, Ontario and Wayne) were comprised of married couples with children living at home, compared to 25% in 1990. In the same time period, unmarried households with children grew as a share of the total, from 8% to 11%. Meanwhile, the total proportion of married couples in the region (with and without children at home) declined 7 percentage points from 54% to 47%, just slightly more than the nation and state declines of 6 percentage points each.
 
Non-family households of unrelated people or persons living alone continue to be the largest share of the total in the region (36%). The City of Rochester has the highest concentration of non-family households at about 51%. The next most common household type in the region is married couples with no children living in the household (28%), which continues to outnumber married couples with children (19%).


Educational Attainment
 
In 2006, nearly 60% of residents 25 and older in the three-county region (Monroe, Ontario and Wayne) had attended at least some college, 5 percentage points above the state and national figures. That was an increase across the region, up from 50% in 1990. Almost a third of the region's residents had a four-year degree or higher in 2006, compared to 24% in 1990. Monroe and Ontario counties consistently have the highest educational attainment in the region, while attainment is lower in Wayne County and the City of Rochester, where about half of residents reported in 2006 that they had not attended college. Regionwide, 12% of residents had not completed high school in 2006, a significant improvement from 20% in 1990.

Among racial and ethnic groups in our region, the proportion attending at least some college was highest for Asians (68%) and whites (57%). It was lower for blacks (36%), Hispanics (31%) and American Indians (42%) in 2000, the latest year for which reliable racial and ethnic breakdowns are available. More than half of Asians had a four-year degree or higher, compared to less than 30% of whites, 14% of American Indians, 12% of Hispanics and 10% of blacks.


Income

The median household income in 2006 was about $49,200 in the three-county region (Monroe, Ontario and Wayne), $52,800 in the state and $49,800 in the nation. (Note: All dollar figures are expressed in 2007 dollars). Incomes in our region have not kept pace with inflation. Median household income has declined 16% since 1990 and 12% since 2000, while the state median decreased at a slower rate. The national median peaked in 2000, but has since declined by 5%. The City of Rochester had both the lowest median income in 2006 ($28,200) and the largest decline (26%) since 1990.
 
Among racial and ethnic groups in our region, household incomes of Asians and whites were about twice as high as those of blacks and Hispanics in 2000, the latest year for which reliable breakdowns are available. The median household income was about $63,600 for Asian households, just under $58,000 for whites, about $31,700 for African-American households and about $31,000 for Hispanics.


Poverty

In 2006, almost 13% of residents in the three-county region (Monroe, Ontario and Wayne) had incomes below the poverty line, compared to 14% for the state and 13% for the nation. The region's rate increased almost 3 percentage points since 1990, while the state rate increased one percentage point. The national rate saw almost no change. The City of Rochester had the highest poverty rate in 2006 at 30%, and Wayne County experienced the greatest proportionate increase, rising from about 8% in 1990 to 12.5% in 2006.

Among racial and ethnic groups, the poverty rate was more than four times higher among black and Hispanic residents of our region than among white residents in 2000, the latest year for which reliable figures were available. About 7% of white residents were poor, compared to 30% of black residents and 33% of Hispanic residents. Thirty-six percent of residents reporting "other race" were poor as were 26% of those reporting two or more races.
 
In 2006, about 17% of children in the three-county region were living in poverty. This proportion has increased from 15% in 1990 but is on par with the national level and below the state level of 20%. Child poverty is concentrated in the City of Rochester, where 41% of children were living in poverty in 2006.  Poverty rates in our region were highest among Hispanic and black children, along with children whose race was reported as "other" in 2000, the latest year for which reliable racial and ethnic breakdowns are available.


Housing Characteristics

In 2006, 69% of all occupied housing units in the three-county region (Monroe, Ontario and Wayne) were owner-occupied. This homeownership rate is slightly higher than the national rate (67%) and 13 percentage points greater than the state (56%). About one in four residents in each county is a renter, except within Monroe County, which has 32% renter-occupied units. In 2006, 56% percent of occupied housing units in the City of Rochester were occupied by renters, the same as in 1990, making the city's homeownership rate the lowest in the region.

Among racial and ethnic groups in the region, 73% of white households, 35% of black households and 33% of Hispanic households owned their homes in 2000, the latest year for which reliable racial and ethnic breakdowns are available. About half of American Indian and Asian residents owned their homes.
 
Of about 398,000 housing units in the three-county region, 91% were occupied and 9% were vacant in 2006. Within the City of Rochester, the proportion of occupied units declined from 93% to 80% between 1990 and 2006. 

 Banner photo provided by Peter "Skippy" Bushnell