Rockland: N.Y.'s fastest growing county in 2014

Rockland County had the state's highest population percentage increase in 2014, edging out the Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn for the top spot, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

New York, which fell out of third place in state population last year to Florida, had 43 counties with estimated population declines last year overall. Forty upstate counties — particularly in the Southern Tier and Mohawk Valley — also had estimated declines in population between 2010 and 2014.

In contrast, New York City and the Lower Hudson Valley had the largest gains, the data showed.

In Westchester, the population grew by more than 2 percent since 2010 to 972,634. But the largest gain in population was seen in Rockland County, which increased by nearly 4 percent during that same time to 323,866.

The only county in the Lower Hudson Valley that saw decreases in population last year was Putnam, which slightly dipped to 99,487 residents.

Experts said upstate continues to struggle with population losses amid a weak economy.

"Economic factors are just a part of it," said Jan Vink, a researcher at Cornell University. "An aging population is another part."

Over the five years, Brooklyn and Queens led the state in estimated population growth, increasing by more than 4 percent each. Rockland County was third, with about a 4 percent increase in people — or about 12,000 more residents — to a total of 324,000.

But population gains aren't necessarily a sign of a burgeoning economy.

Rockland County had historically been under counted and it wasn't until they began challenging the population estimates and working with census officials to identify overlooked areas that Rockland became recognized as a growing county, said Michael D'Angelo, Rockland County's research director.

"We put a lot of work into having them understand this is a growing county," D'Angelo said.

The addition of poor residents can strain schools and services, said Al Samuels, president of the Rockland Business Association. Between 2013 and 2014, Rockland led the state in population growth, up 1 percent or nearly 3,000 people, according to the Census data.

"The people who leave are the people who can afford to leave," Samuels said. "I know that's happened in Rockland."

At the same time, more people from overseas are moving into Rockland than are leaving the county for another domestic destination. D'Angelo said some of the domestic migration out of Rockland are teenagers leaving to attend college.

Whereas in Westchester and Putnam, the opposite is true: more people are moving out of those counties than into it.

Upstate continues to struggle with decades of losses in manufacturing jobs. While the number of jobs is increasing and the unemployment rate has dropped, population declines take a toll on local governments and region's political strength.

In 2010, for example, New York lost two congressional seats, from 29 to 27, because other states grew more quickly. Population gains or losses can also impact state and federal aid.

Also, New York's out-migration is outpacing new residents. About 1.2 million people left to other states between 2000 and 2009, the Empire Center for New York State Policy said in a report.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo this year is proposing a $1.5 billion competitive fund that would provide up to $500 million in aid to three regions of the state. But lawmakers are critical of the competitive nature of the money as the sides hammer out a budget deal for the fiscal year that starts April 1.

"The governor feels strongly that upstate New York has been shortchanged by Albany for too long and now is the time to build on our economic momentum upstate," said Richard Azzopardi, a spokesman for the governor, in a statement in support of the fund.

Some areas outside New York City also had population gains. Tompkins County, home to Ithaca and Cornell, had a 3-percent increase over the past five years to a total of about 105,000 people — a percent increase on par with Manhattan and Westchester County.

Monroe County and its neighbor Ontario County additionally had increases; each were up about 1 percent over the five-year period. Monroe County's population grew faster than Erie County's; Monroe added about 5,500 people to 750,000 total, while Erie was up 3,800 people to 923,000.

Some counties had flat populations. In Putnam and Dutchess counties, their populations fell 0.2 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively. Dutchess had nearly 300,000 people last year, while Putnam had almost 100,000.

But rural counties in the Southern Tier and western New York fared the worst. The 40 counties with population declines lost nearly 45,000 people over the five years, or about 1.3 percent.

The Mohawk Valley lost the most people at 6,956 and the greatest percentage at 1.4 percent, Vink's review of the estimates found. Second was the Southern Tier, which lost 5,390 people or 0.8 percent of its population, he added.

Schoharie County, which was hit hard by major flooding during storms Irene and Lee in recent years, lost the most population over the five years: down 3.6 percent, or about 1,200 of its 31,000 people.

Tioga, Greene, Sullivan and Orleans counties were among 13 counties who lost more than 2 percent of their population over the five years, according to the data.

Broome County's population was down an estimated 1.6 percent over the five-year stretch, a loss of about 850 people to a total of 197,000. There was a similar decline in Chemung County, which had 88,000 people last year, a drop of 1.2 percent over the period.

Kent Gardner, chief economist at the Center for Governmental Research in Rochester, said a population drop of 1 percent may not seem like a lot, but it can add up over time, hurting governments' budgets by leaving fewer residents to pay for services.

"Even small numbers of decline take a toll on local governments," Gardner said.

JSPECTOR@Gannett.com

Twitter: @gannettalbany

Database

For population figures in New York by county, visit:

http://lohud.nydatabases.com/database/2014-census-projections-new-york