General Overview

Wayne County is showing mixed progress. Wayne has seen a slight decline in population, increasing poverty rates, and a decrease in access to physicians. However, the county's homes have retained their value and overall mortality rates are decreasing.  Promising progress has been made in the county to reduce crime rates, yet violent crime rates increased and juvenile delinquency and domestic violence rates remain much higher than rates for the region.


Demographic Overview

Like most counties in the region, Wayne has experienced a slight decrease in population over the decade. With roughly 93,800 residents in 2000, Wayne's population declined 3% to just over 91,300 in 2009, while the state and nation each gained in population.

Wayne County's population is aging. The number of adults 40 to 59 years old, the largest segment of the population, increased by 8% from 2000 to 2008, consistent with regional, state and national trends. Wayne County had the smallest increase in the number of senior residents 85 and older in the region (13%) – yet, with over 1,600 residents, it ranks second highest in total number of residents in this age group of all the surrounding counties.

Similar to other counties in the upstate region, Wayne is experiencing substantial declines in its number of youths and younger adults. There were 2,500 fewer persons ages 20 to 39 in the County in 2006-08 than there were in 2000, a 10% decline. The number of children and young adults under 20 years old also declined by 15% since 2000, compared to a 3% increase in the nation.

Wayne County experienced small growth in minority populations other than African American residents, although it remains about 94% white. From 2000 to 2009 the greatest increases occurred in the Hispanic population, which grew 32% to nearly 3,000 residents, and in the Asian population, which grew 22% to almost 550 residents. Wayne County's African American or black population declined by 3% during this time, matching the size of the Hispanic population.

Wayne County has seen a decline in the share of households of married couples with children and an increase in unmarried households with children. In 2006-08, about 23% of households in the county were composed of married couples with children living at home, down from 26% in 2000. In the same time period, unmarried households with children grew as a share of the total, from 10% to 12%. These changes in household types are similar to the trends for the region, state and nation.

Arts, Culture and Leisure

While most counties in the region are seeing an increase in tourism, Wayne experienced a decrease since 2005. Over $35.6 million tourism dollars were spent in the county in 2008, a 14% decline from 2005 levels. As a result, Wayne County has the lowest per resident spending on tourism in the region, with $389 per resident, compared to the regional figure of $1,200. Wayne County experienced a similar decrease in recreational tourism revenue, dropping from $25 per resident in 2005 to $23 in 2008.

Children and Youth

In 2006-08, 18% of children in Wayne County were living in poverty, tied with Monroe and Wyoming for the highest rate in our region. The proportion of children living in poverty rose from 11% of children in 2000 to over 3,800 children. The rates vary by race and ethnicity, as 15% of children from white households in the county live in poverty, compared to nearly half of Hispanic children.

Like the rest of the region, Wayne County has made little progress on teen pregnancy, though its' rates have consistently remained lower than the state. The rate of pregnancies among 15 to 19-year-olds has remained fairly flat throughout the decade ranging from 4% and 5% or between 135 and 170 teens becoming pregnant each year in the county.

Wayne County had the lowest rate of early prenatal care in the region. The proportion of Wayne County mothers accessing prenatal care (71%) was also below the rates for the state (72%) and region (77%). In addition, outside of Monroe County, Wayne had the highest rate of babies with low birth weight at 7.4% of all births in the county.

Similar to declines in the state and region, the rate of Persons in Need of Supervision (PINS) in the county has decreased substantially since 2000.  Wayne's rate of PINS petitions declined by 82%, from 7.7 per 1,000 youth to 1.4 in 2008, the greatest decline in the region during this time period.

Conversely, the rate of Juvenile Delinquency intakes in Wayne increased from 2000 to 2008, and remains higher than rates for the region and the state. In 2008, Wayne had 202 juvenile delinquency intakes per 10,000 children, a 30% increase compared to 2000. This is almost double the state's rate of 104, and well above the regional rate of 127.

Community Engagement

Voter registration in Wayne County exceeds state rates.  In 2009, 82% of voting age adults were registered, on par with the region and above the 77% for the state. In the 2008 presidential election, 59% of voting age residents voted, under the regional rate of 62%, but above the state rate of 51% and the national rate of 57%.

Charitable giving in Wayne County lags behind other regional counties.  On average, Wayne County donors gave $2,250 in 2006, the lowest in the region and a 2% decline since 2002. As a percent of income, Wayne donors gave 2.3% of their income in 2006, also the lowest rate in the region. 

Economy

Wayne County is part of the larger transition from manufacturing to knowledge-based industry. Educational Services jobs increased 27% since 2001, while jobs in the Government sector increased by 28%. Similar to the rest of the region, the greatest job loss occurred in Manufacturing (-12%).  Wayne was one of only two counties in the region to have an overall increase (6%) in Information sector jobs.

While Wayne is struggling with high unemployment rates, its rate of 8.3% in 2009 was just below the state rate and well below the national rate of 9.3%.  The total number of unemployed in Wayne County has more than doubled since 2000, increasing from 1,850 to nearly 4,000 residents.

Wayne County's average salary increased by more than 7% to roughly $35,500, making it the greatest percent increase in the region from 2000 to 2008, after adjusting for inflation. New York State posted similar growth of about 7% over the period, with an average salary of about $60,100 in 2008. Wayne has the highest average salary of all the counties surrounding Monroe.

Education

Similar to students throughout our region, students in Wayne outperform those across the state on most key state tests and graduate at higher rates. For example, in 2009 89% of Wayne students passed the state Regents math exam, with a score of 65 or higher, that is required for high school graduation, compared to 60% of students statewide. About 78% of Wayne students graduated on-time,  compared to 76% in the region and 80% statewide.

Wayne County adults age 25 and over have less formal education than in the region, state or nation. In 2006-08, 51% of adults in Wayne had attended at least some college, compared to 59% in the region and 55% in the state and nation. However, Wayne's rate is up from 46% of adult residents in 2000.

Spending per student by school districts in Wayne County has increased 26% since 2000, after adjusting for inflation. In 2008, Wayne school districts spent $16,100 per student, the second highest level of spending in the surrounding counties, but less than the state rate of $18,300.

Environment Wayne and Orleans Counties are leading the region in the reduction of emissions that contribute to air pollution. In 2005, both Wayne and Orleans had the lowest total emissions and lowest vehicle emissions (tons per capita) in the surrounding counties. However, Wayne has by far the highest rates of pesticide application in the region with more than 13 pounds per resident (2,031 pounds per square mile) sold or applied in 2005.

Photo provided by Peter "Skippy" Bushnell

Financial Self-Sufficiency

Similar to the rest of the region, incomes in Wayne County have not kept pace with inflation and are expected to worsen in light of the 2008 recession. Wayne County's median household income in 2006-08 was about $53,300, lower than the state ($55,200) and slightly higher than the nation ($52,000). Adjusted for inflation, the county's median household income has actually declined 6% since 2000, while the state median decreased at a slower rate (1%).

Wayne County had more residents living in poverty in 2006-08 than in 2000, along with the rest of the region. In 2006-08, 12% of Wayne residents, or 10,500 people, had incomes below the poverty line, compared to 9% in 2000.

Health

From 2005 to 2006, Wayne County showed no change in the proportion of residents without health insurance (14%). This rate is slightly higher than the regional rate of 13% in 2006, but lower than the state (16%) and the nation (18%).

Most counties in the region, including Wayne, have seen an overall decline in mortality rates since 2000. Wayne County residents had declines in mortality rates from heart disease (-8%), and stroke (-44%), but experienced an increase in mortality rates from cancer (17%).

Wayne County residents have less access to physicians, with one of the lowest rates of doctors per 10,000 residents in the region. In 2007, Wayne had just under nine doctors per 10,000 residents, down from 10 in 2002. This is substantially less than either the regional rate (28 per 10,000 residents) or the state rate (33 per 10,000 residents). While access to doctors has been decreasing in Wayne, the rate of "preventable hospital admissions," which can be an effect of less access to quality health care, increased by 27% from 2000 to 2008, counter to the declines experienced in all of the other counties, with the exception of Monroe.

Housing

Homes in Wayne County have retained their value through the housing bubble, remaining fairly flat since 2000. In 2006-08, Wayne had a median home value of about $105,000 — lower than the national figure ($192,000) and much lower than the state ($311,000).  Since 2000, Wayne's median home value has changed by only $150 (after accounting for inflation).

In 2006-08, 75% of all occupied housing units in Wayne County were owner-occupied, a slight decline from 2000. This homeownership rate is higher than the region (70%), the nation (67%) and the state (56%). Homeownership rates were highest among Asian residents (89%) and white residents (70%), and lowest among African American or black residents (35%).

Wayne County had one of the highest rates of residential building permit in the region. Despite declining 40% since 2000, Wayne's rate of 2.6 residential permits per 1,000 residents, is second only to Ontario at 5.3 


Public Safety

Crime rates have fluctuated in Wayne County over the decade. Similar to reduced crime rates experienced statewide, Wayne has seen a decline in serious crimes (-17%), property crime (-19%), and other reported crimes (-30%). However, from 2000 to 2009, violent crimes (a subset of serious crimes) have increased by 15% and felony drug-related arrest rates increased by 29%. Of counties with consistent data available, Wayne County had the highest rate of domestic violence in the region with 107 reports per 10,000 residents, compared to the regional rate of 45.

Incidences of fire have increased in Wayne County throughout the decade.  From 2000 to 2008, the rate of fires per 10,000 residents more than doubled, and Wayne's 2008 rate of 72 fires far exceeds the rates for the region (54) and nation (48).  More than a third of Wayne County's fires are structure fires, which increased 70% over this time period.

Technology

Wayne County has the highest rate of technology teachers per student in the region.  With 18 technology teachers per 10,000 students in public schools, Wayne's rate is well above the rate for the region (12) and nearly double the state's rate (9).  Wayne has also seen a steady increase in the proportion of the county's jobs in high-tech fields.  In 2008, high-tech jobs made up more than 3% of the county's total, higher than all of the counties outside of Monroe except Ontario.

Transportation

Wayne County is home to generally safe roads.  In 2007, 8% of the county's pavement was rated "poor," and a 2 point decline from its rate in 2000 and lower than the regional rate of  11%.  Wayne also has lower rates of crashes resulting in personal injury than most area counties, though its rate of alcohol-related crashes has increased 42% between 2000 and 2008. 

Note: Data research and analysis conducted by the Center for Governmental Research.