When counties were established in the British Province of New York in 1683, the present Tompkins County was part ofAlbany County. This was an enormous county, including the northern part of New York State as well as all of the present State ofVermont and, in theory, extending westward to thePacific Ocean. This county was reduced in size on July 3, 1766, by the creation ofCumberland County, and further on March 16, 1770, by the creation ofGloucester County, both containing territory now in Vermont.[3]
On March 12, 1772, what was left of Albany County was split into three parts, one remaining under the name Albany County. One of the other pieces,Tryon County, contained the western portion (and thus, since no western boundary was specified, theoretically still extended west to the Pacific). The eastern boundary of Tryon County was approximately five miles west of the present city ofSchenectady, and the county included the western part of theAdirondack Mountains and the area west of the West Branch of theDelaware River. The area then designated as Tryon County now includes 37 counties of New York State. The county was named forWilliam Tryon, colonial governor of New York.
In the years prior to 1776, most of the Loyalists in Tryon County fled toCanada. In 1784, following the peace treaty that ended theAmerican Revolutionary War, the name of Tryon County was changed toMontgomery County in honor of the general,Richard Montgomery, who had captured several places in Canada and died attempting to capture the city ofQuebec, replacing the name of the hated British governor.
McGraw Tower, Cornell University on East Hill above downtown Ithaca
Herkimer County was one of three counties split off from Montgomery County (the others beingOtsego andTioga counties) in 1791.Onondaga County was formed in 1794 by the splitting of Herkimer County.
Cayuga County was formed in 1799 by the splitting of Onondaga County. This county was, however, much larger than the present Cayuga County. It also included the territory of the presentSeneca and Tompkins counties.
In 1804, Seneca County was formed by the splitting of Cayuga County.
On April 7, 1817, Tompkins County was created by combining portions of Seneca and the remainder of Cayuga County. The county was named after then vice-president (to PresidentJames Monroe) and former New York GovernorDaniel Tompkins. Tompkins almost certainly never visited the county named for him.
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 492 square miles (1,270 km2), of which 475 square miles (1,230 km2) is land and 17 square miles (44 km2) (3.4%) is water.[4]
Tompkins County is in the west central part of New York State, south ofSyracuse and northwest ofBinghamton. It is usually geographically grouped with theFinger Lakes region, but some locals consider themselves to be part ofCentral New York or theSouthern Tier.
Tompkins County, New York – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
As of thecensus[20] of 2000, there were 96,501 people, 36,420 households, and 19,120 families residing in the county. Thepopulation density was 203 people per square mile (78 people/km2). There were 38,625 housing units at an average density of 81 units per square mile (31/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 85.50%White, 3.64%African American, 0.28%Native American, 7.19%Asian, 0.04%Pacific Islander, 1.09% fromother races, and 2.26% from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino of any race were 3.08% of the population. 12.4% were ofGerman, 11.7%English, 11.1%Irish, 9.2%Italian and 6.0%American ancestry according toCensus 2000.[21] 2.85% of the population reported speakingSpanish at home, while 1.86% speakChinese, 1.07%Korean, and 1.00%French.[22]
There were 36,420 households, out of which 25.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.20% weremarried couples living together, 8.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 47.50% were non-families. 32.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.93.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 19.00% under the age of 18, 26.00% from 18 to 24, 26.20% from 25 to 44, 19.30% from 45 to 64, and 9.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females there were 97.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.20 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $37,272, and the median income for a family was $53,041. Males had a median income of $35,420 versus $27,686 for females. Theper capita income for the county was $19,659. About 6.80% of families and 17.60% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 11.00% of those under age 18 and 5.40% of those age 65 or over.
Tompkins County was once a reliably Republican county. From 1856 to 1980, the only Democratic candidates to carry it in a presidential election wereWoodrow Wilson in1912 andLyndon B. Johnson in1964.[25] However, Democrats have won Tompkins County in every presidential election since1984, starting withWalter Mondale's 2.92% victory margin over then-presidentRonald Reagan. The dominant presence ofCornell University in Ithaca is a crucial factor in Democrats' success in the county.[26] In 2008, Tompkins County was the only county in New York State in which SenatorBarack Obama beat SenatorHillary Clinton in theDemocratic primary.[27] In the2008 United States presidential election, Obama won the county by a 41% margin overJohn McCain, with Obama winning by 25.5% statewide. It was his highest percentage by county inupstate New York.[28] In2016 the county strongly supported Clinton over Trump (67.7% to 24.3%).[29]
It swung even further toJoe Biden in2020, who took 73.5% to 24.3% for Trump, the highest voteshare it has given any candidate since1956 when incumbent presidentDwight D. Eisenhower won the county with 78.3% of the vote. In2024, it was one of only two counties in New York State whereKamala Harris performed better than Biden had. In this election it was the second-most Democratic out of all New York counties, only bested byManhattan, due to the rightward shifts ofBrooklyn andThe Bronx. Harris had the best performance by a Democratic nominee in the county's history.[30]
The Tompkins County Legislature consists of fifteen members, each from a single-member district. In November 2014, the Tompkins County legislature unanimously adopted a resolution recognizing freedom fromdomestic violence as a fundamental human right.[31] In doing so, Tompkins County became the first rural county in the United States to pass such a resolution.[32]
^Menendez, Albert J. (2005).The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, 1868–2004. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. pp. 261–265.
