New York covers 47,214 square miles, with a 2020 estimated population of 20,201,249 people – with 1,364,433 people living in rural New York (USDA-ERS). Albany is the state capital. The state's largest cities are New York, Buffalo and Rochester. According to 2021 data from the U.S. Census Bureau, an estimated 69.6% of the state's population is white, 17.6% is African-American, 9.0% is Asian, 1.0% is American Indian or Alaska Native, 0.1% is Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and 19.3% is of Hispanic or Latino origin.

New York Rural Healthcare Facilities

Selected Social Determinants of Health for Rural New York

4.6% percent of New York residents lack health insurance (Kaiser, 2020). According to the USDA Economic Research Service, the average per capita income for New York residents in 2020 was $74,472, with the rural per capita income at $47,934. The ERS reports, based on 2019 ACS data, that the poverty rate in rural New York is 14.9%, compared with 12.9% in urban areas of the state. 11.1% of the rural population has not completed high school, while 13.3% of the urban population lacks a high school diploma according to 2015-2019 ACS data reported by ERS. The unemployment rate in rural New York is 8.1%, and in urban New York it is 10.1% (USDA-ERS, 2020).

New York State Office of Rural Health (Charles D. Cook Office of Rural Health)
Phone: 518.402.0102
Email: orh@health.ny.gov
A division of the New York State Department of Health focused on rural health issues for the state.
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