| Part ofa series on |
| Regions of New York |
|---|
 |
TheNorth Country ofUpstate New York is the northernmost region of theU.S. state ofNew York. It is bordered byLake Champlain to the east and further east to the adjacent state ofVermont and theNew England region; theAdirondack Mountains /Adirondack Park and the UpperCapital District with thestate capital ofAlbany to the south; theMohawk Valley region ofNew York to the southwest; theCanadian-American international border (with theProvince of Ontario inCanada) to the north; andLake Ontario, (the eastern-most of theGreat Lakes) and theSaint Lawrence River /Saint Lawrence Seaway, and beyond the waters again toOntario /Canada to the west.[1] A mostlyrural forested area, the North Country includes sevencounties (or 14, according to another group) of the 62 in New York state.Fort Drum, aUnited States Army base, is also located in the North Country region inJefferson County, nearWatertown, as is the adjacentAdirondack Park of 6.1 million acres, established 1892 as the oldeststate park in the nation, and preserved / operated by theAdirondack Park Agency and theNew York State Department of Environmental Conservation. As of 2024, the population of the region was 420,311 (revised figure from the last2020 United States census).[2]
The term "North Country" was first widely popularized within New York by the 1900novelEben Holden byIrving Bacheller.[3]
From a report on the North Country from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the North Country made up 1.5% of the total population of New York State in 2023 and its population declined 3.9% over 10 years prior. The region contributed .83% to New York State's total GDP. Job growth experienced a 3.2% decline over 5 years prior to 2023 in part due to steep declines in the region's manufacturing sector. Key local job sectors include education, government, healthcare, agriculture, retail, tourism, manufacturing, and timber.[4][5] Unemployment rates have disproportionately been higher in the region compared to New York state overall since the 1990s, though it has been steadily declining.[5]
According to theEmpire State Development Corporation in thestate capital ofAlbany, New York, the North Country encompasses the following seven counties:[2]
However, according to another interest group of the Adirondack North Country Association, the North Country consists of a larger designated area of 14 counties; with those listed above and also the following further south and west:
These are all counties in which part ofAdirondack State Park resides.[6]
Herb Hallas summarizes both views:[7]
The state-sanctioned North Country extends from the eastern shore ofLake Ontario eastward across the top tier of the state to the western edge ofLake Champlain. and from the Canadian-American international border on the north to the southern boundary of Hamilton County. As such, it is much larger and more stable than either of the traditionalist North Countries. The state-sanctioned North Country consists of 7counties of northern New York state: Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Hamilton, St. Lawrence, Jefferson and Lewis. TheNew York State Department of Labor, the New York State Regional Development Council, and the Empire State Development Agency serve people who live in the state-sanctioned and designated North Country.The contemporary North Country takes in the largest area of all the North Countries. It extends from the Canadian border on the north to theErie Canal on the south, and from the shores of Lake Ontario in the west to the edge of Lake Champlain to the east. The contemporary North Country includes all of the famousAdirondack Park, with 14 surrounding counties, 14 cities, 255 towns and almost 40 percent of the state’s geographic area. The Adirondack North Country Association, an economic development organization that also promotes tourism, serves people living in the contemporary North Country, as doesNorth Country Public Radio local network of stations (part of theNational Public Radio (NPR) system).
North Country travel guide from Wikivoyage44°28′16″N74°50′24″W / 44.471°N 74.840°W /44.471; -74.840
