Teaching in NY
Capital Region
Location
The eight-county Capital Region might be called the hub of upstate New York.
Home to Albany, the State capital, and historic Saratoga, it is the link between
New York City, Boston, Montreal, and central New York. Its topography encompasses
sections of the fertile Hudson and Mohawk River Valleys, as well as portions
of the State's two major mountain ranges, the Adirondacks and the Catskills.
Weather
Mean Daily Temperature:
January 21.5° F
July 72.0° F
Workforce
| Households: | 382,149 |
| Total Personal Income: | $24.8 billion |
| Per Capita Income: | $30,922 |
| Median Home Sales Price: (Albany Co.) | $129,900 |
| Population | 1,034,331 |
| Albany County | 294,865 |
| City of Albany | 93,779 |
| Columbia County | 63,079 |
| City of Hudson | 7,452 |
| Greene County | 48,373 |
| Village of Catskill | 4,350 |
| Rensselaer County | 152,820 |
| City of Troy | 48,818 |
| Saratoga County | 204,276 |
| City of Saratoga Springs | 27,014 |
| Schenectady County | 146,247 |
| City of Schenectady | 61,420 |
| Warren County | 63,572 |
| City of Glens Falls | 14,194 |
| Washington County | 61,081 |
Business and Industry
As home to the
state capital, Albany, government has historically been the
leading source of jobs in the Capital Region. Recently, the service
sector has overtaken that role, boosted by the region's growth
as a vacation destination showcasing major attractions such
as Lake George, Saratoga Springs and the Catskills.
Manufacturing accounts for close to 10 percent of all non-farm jobs in the region, with General Electric Company (GE) a major employer. The region is also one of the State's premier high technology centers, with such world-class research institutions as Albany Medical Center, GE Corporate Research and Development, Knolls Atomic Power Lab and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, among others.
Transportation
- Highways: Three major interstate highways - the New York State Thruway
(I-87/I-90), the Adirondack Northway (I-87) and I-88 - serve all parts of the
region.
- Air Service: A number of major national airlines and regional commuters
provide air service at the newly expanded Albany International Airport; other
smaller airports service outlying areas.
- Rail Service: Amtrak provides railway passenger service in all directions.
- Bus Service: The Capital District Transportation Authority serves a
four-county metropolitan area, while a half-dozen private commuter service lines
provide local and long-distance service.
Higher Education Institutions
More than 66,000 students are enrolled in the area's four-year
and two-year colleges and universities. Below are the major
institutions, with those offering teacher education programs
with an asterisk.
Adirondack Community College
Albany College of Pharmacy
Albany Law School
Albany Medical College
College of Saint Rose*
Columbia-Greene Community College
Hudson Valley Community College
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Sage Colleges*
Schenectady County Community College
Siena College*
Skidmore College*
SUNY at Albany*
SUNY Empire State College
Union College*
Health Care-major hospitals
Albany Medical Center, Albany
VA Hospital, Albany
St. Peter's Hospital, Albany
Samaritan Hospital, Troy
Glens Falls Hospital, Glens Falls
Memorial Hospital, Albany
Ellis Hospital, Schenectady
Quality of Life
A variety of cultural and recreational offerings make the Capital
Region a highly desirable place in which to live and work. Sports
fans enjoy a variety of professional and collegiate sporting events,
or take to the outdoors for water sports, golfing, hiking or skiing. Saratoga
offers the nation's oldest and most prestigious thoroughbred racetrack
and a trotting track, along with the summer home of the New York City
Ballet and the Philadelphia Orchestra.
Information obtained from numerous New York State sources (1/24/2007).