BROOME County, NY

Broome County in the U.S. state of New York, as of the 2020 United States Census, had a population of 198,683. Its county seat is Binghamton. The county was named for John Broome, the state's lieutenant governor when Broome County was created.

The county is part of the Binghamton, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Broome County is the site of Binghamton University, one of four university centers in the State University of New York (SUNY) system.

History

When counties were established in the Province of New York in 1683, the present Broome County was part of the enormous Albany County, including the northern part of New York State as well as all of the present State of Vermont and, in theory, extending westward to the Pacific Ocean. This county was reduced in size on July 3, 1766, by the creation of Cumberland County, and further on March 16, 1770, by the creation of Gloucester County, both containing territory now in Vermont.

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 of Schenectady, and the county included the western part of the Adirondack Mountains and the area west of the West Branch of the Delaware River. The area then designated as Tryon County now is organized as 37 counties of New York State. The county was named for William Tryon, colonial governor of New York.

In the years prior to 1776, most of the Loyalists in Tryon County fled to Canada. In 1784, following the peace treaty that ended the American Revolutionary War, the name of Tryon County was changed to Montgomery County, for General Richard Montgomery, who had captured several places in Canada and died attempting to capture the city of Quebec, thus replacing the name of the hated British governor.

In 1789, Montgomery County was reduced in size by the splitting off of Ontario County. The actual area split off from Montgomery County was much larger than the present county, also including the present Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Niagara, Orleans, Steuben, Wyoming, Yates, and part of Schuyler and Wayne Counties.

In 1791, Tioga County split off from Montgomery County, along with Herkimer and Otsego Counties. Tioga County was at this time much larger than the present county and included the present Broome and Chemung Counties and parts of Chenango and Schuyler Counties.

In 1798, Tioga County was reduced in size by the splitting off of Chemung County (which also included part of the present Schuyler County) and by the combination of a portion with a portion of Herkimer County to create Chenango County.

In 1806, the present-day Broome County was split off from Tioga County.

Geography

Broome County lies on the southern line of New York. Its southern border abuts the northern boundary of the state of Pennsylvania. The Susquehanna River flows southward through the eastern part of the county, enters Susquehanna County in Pennsylvania, then re-enters Broome and flows northwestward to meet the Chenango River at Binghamton. The combined flow moves west-southwestward into Tioga County to the west. The West Branch Delaware River flows southward along the lower portion of the county's east border, delineating that portion of the border between Broome and Delaware counties.

The county's western portion is hilly, with wide valleys that accommodate Binghamton and its suburbs. In the northern portion, Interstate 81 traverses a wide glacial valley. The eastern part of the county is much more rugged, as the land rises to the Catskill Mountains. The terrain generally slopes to the west. The county's highest point is in the northwest of the county, a U.S. National Geodetic Survey benchmark known as Slawson atop an unnamed hill in the Town of Sanford. It is approximately 2087 feet (636 m) above sea level. An area due east on the Delaware County line in Oquaga Creek State Park also lies within the same elevation contour line. The lowest point is 864 feet (263 m) above sea level, along the Susquehanna River, at the Pennsylvania state line.

The county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.4%) is water.

Adjacent counties

Protected areas

Lakes

Major highways

Climate

Broome has a warm-summer humid continental climate (Dfb) and the hardiness zone is mainly 5b.

Demographics

2000 census

As of the 2000 United States Census, there were 200,536 people, 80,749 households, and 50,225 families in the county. The population density was 284/1/sqmi (109.7/km²). There were 88,817 housing units at an average density of 125.8/sqmi (48.6/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 91.33% White, 3.28% Black or African American, 0.19% Native American, 2.79% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.79% from other races, and 1.59% from two or more races. 1.99% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 16.1% were of Irish, 13.3% Italian, 12.3% German, 11.6% English, 6.4% American and 5.7% Polish ancestry according to Census 2000. 91.4% spoke English, 2.0% Spanish and 1.1% Italian as their first language.

There were 80,749 households, out of which 28.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.60% were married couples living together, 10.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.80% were non-families. 31.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.97.

The county population contained 23.00% under the age of 18, 11.00% from 18 to 24, 26.80% from 25 to 44, 22.80% from 45 to 64, and 16.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 93.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $35,347, and the median income for a family was $45,422. Males had a median income of $34,426 versus $24,542 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,168. About 8.80% of families and 12.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.90% of those under age 18 and 7.20% of those age 65 or over.

Government and politics

For the past few decades, Broome County has been a swing county. Since 1964 the county has selected Democratic and Republican party candidates at approximately the same rate in national elections (as of 2016). The more recent elections had favored the Democratic candidate, until Donald Trump carried the county in 2016, the first Republican to win the county since Ronald Reagan in 1984. Joe Biden carried Broome with 50.5% of the vote in 2020.

Broome County's offices are housed in the Edwin L. Crawford County Office Building of Government Plaza located at 60 Hawley Street in Downtown Binghamton.

Executive

Legislature

The Broome County Legislature consists of 15 members. The 15 legislature members are elected from individual districts. Currently, there are 9 Republicans and 6 Democrats.

Party affiliation

Law enforcement

, the sheriff of Broome County is David E. Harder. Along with Onondaga County, New York, Broome County was sued in 2017 over placing juvenile inmates in solitary confinement.

Education

The primary institutes of higher education in Broome County include:

Communities

Larger Settlements

† - County Seat

‡ - Not Wholly in this County

Towns

Hamlets

Notable people