The Mid-Hudson Valley includes seven counties: Columbia, Dutchess, Greene, Orange, Putnam, Sullivan, and Ulster. Orange and Dutchess Counties together make up more than half of the region. Orange County is 34% and Dutchess County is 27% of the Mid-Hudson Valley. Columbia and Greene Counties are the smallest. Columbia County is 4% of the region, and Greene County comprises 3%.
The Mid-Hudson Valley has not undergone major demographic changes over the past five years. As in 2002, about one in ten people living in the Mid-Hudson Valley are in households with an annual income of less than $15,000, and one-quarter of residents have an average household income of less than $30,000 a year. The median income for the region continues to be in the $50,000 to $75,000 range.
There have been some subtle changes in income distribution among residents with higher annual family incomes. The number of households in the Mid-Hudson Valley earning a six-figure income has risen since 2002. Today, 24% of households in the region report an income of $100,000 or more compared with 19% of households five years ago.
The average household size in the Mid-Hudson Valley has not experienced any major changes. It is now 2.9 compared with 2.8 at the time of the last survey. Among households with children, the average household size continues to be 4.2.
Relatively unchanged from five years ago, more than four out of ten Mid-Hudson Valley households include at least one child. 15% of households have a family member that is under age 5.
21% of Mid-Hudson Valley children live in households where the total household yearly income is less than $30,000. About one in ten households with children are headed by a single parent.
The proportion of residents without health care coverage has remained the same. As in 2002, about one-quarter of all households have at least one member who has experienced a gap in coverage over the past year, and about one in ten households have someone who is not presently insured.
There also has not been any progress in reducing the proportion of uninsured children since 2002. 15% of all households with children have at least one child who has not had continuous coverage over the past year compared with 13% five years ago. 7% do not currently have insurance compared with 6% who were uninsured in 2002.
The racial and ethnic composition of the region has remained the same. Not unlike five years ago, about four in five residents identify themselves as white compared with 7% who consider themselves African American, and about one in ten residents who say they are Latino.
Residents without a college degree continue to outnumber college graduates by a wide margin. Over one-third of all residents have a high school education or less, and 29% attended some college but did not finish. Just over one-third of all Mid-Hudson Valley residents hold a college diploma.
There has been a noteworthy fluctuation in party registration among registered voters in the Mid-Hudson Valley over the past five years. Republicans no longer have an edge over Democrats in party enrollment.
In 2002, 39% of registered voters reported they were registered Republicans compared with just 32% who were registered Democrats, and 24% who were independent, that is, not enrolled in any political party.
Today, the proportion of registered Republicans, Democrats, and non-enrolled voters is about even.
Despite these changes in party enrollment, there has been virtually no shift in the political ideology of the Mid-Hudson Valley region overall. A plurality of residents still identifies as politically moderate, 31% are conservative, and 25% describe themselves as liberal.
Mid-Hudson Valley: Profile of New Residents
People Who Have Moved to the Region in the Last Five Years
In 2002, Mid-Hudson Valley residents had lived in the community for an average of 25 years. Now, the average length of residence is 23 years.
Although two-thirds of all current residents have lived in the area for more than a decade, there is a substantial proportion of new residents in the area. One in five residents has moved to their community in the past five years.
Most of the counties in the Mid-Hudson region have seen a similar influx of new residents in the past five years. About one out of every five residents in Dutchess and Greene Counties has moved to their community within five years.
Nearly one in four residents in Orange, Putnam, and Sullivan Counties is a new arrival to the area. For instance, 24% of Orange County residents moved to the community where they live within the past five years. Similarly, 23% in both Putnam and Sullivan Counties are newcomers to their communities.
Although Columbia and Ulster Counties have also seen a considerable influx of newcomers, proportionately, it has been less than the other Mid-Hudson Valley counties. 16% of residents in both Columbia and Ulster Counties moved to their community in the past five years.
New residents in the region are generally young. While adults under the age of thirty-five comprise only 26% of the overall Mid-Hudson Valley population, 45% of those who have moved to their community over the past five years are in this age group.
Although a majority of recent
arrivals are white, a disproportionate percentage of newcomers are Latino or African
American.10% of the entire Mid-Hudson
Valley population is Latino compared with 16% of new residents.Similarly, African Americans make up 7% of
all Mid-Hudson Valley residents compared with 11% of people who have recently
moved to their community.
While the vast majority of new residents were born in the United States, 16% were born outside this country. This compares with just 8% of Mid-Hudson Valley residents as a whole.
More than half of all newcomers to the region have not completed college. As a group, however, recent arrivals are more educated than the Mid-Hudson Valley population as a whole. 44% have college diplomas compared with just 35% of residents overall.
Many recent arrivals to the area are parents. In fact, just over half of all residents who have moved to their community in the past five years have children.
Just like the Mid-Hudson Valley as a whole, a majority of people who have moved to their community in the past five years live in dual income households and have an income of more than $50,000. Nearly one-quarter of recent arrivals make six-figure salaries. However, only 59% of newcomers own their own home compared with 73% of all Mid-Hudson Valley residents.
Nearly seven in ten newcomers to the Mid-Hudson Valley are registered to vote. 43% are registered Democrats compared with about one-quarter who are registered as Republicans. New residents who consider themselves politically moderate outnumber both conservatives and liberals by a double digit margin.
Not surprisingly, many new residents are not as tied to their community through civic involvement as Mid-Hudson Valley residents as a whole. 45% of recent arrivals regularly volunteer or are active in a civic organization, a church, or a club compared with a majority of all Mid-Hudson Valley residents.
