Upper Hudson / Capital District

The Capital District, also known as the Capital Region, is the metropolitan area surrounding Albany, the capital of the U.S. state of New York.

With a population of 1,170,483 (2013), the Capital District is the fourth largest metropolitan region in the state and the 45th largest in the country.

The 11 counties of the Capital District are divided into 13 cities and 143 towns, with 62 villages that are inside one or more towns.

One village, Green Island is coterminous with its town and share only one government institution.

The municipalities in the Capital District range in size from villages with a few hundred residents to Albany (the largest city) with over 95,000 and Colonie (the largest town) with over 80,000.

  • Albany County (pop. 304,204) is the largest county by population in the area, the largest city in the Capital District- Albany, and the largest town- Colonie, are within this county. State government dominates the economy.
  • Columbia County (pop. 63,094) is coterminous with the Hudson Micropolitan Statistical Area. Hudson is the largest city and the county seat.
  • Fulton County (pop. 55,073) is coterminous with the Gloversville. Gloversville and Johnstown are popularly referred to as the Twin Cities or Glove Cities. Johnstown is the county seat and Gloversville is the largest city.
  • Greene County (pop. 48,195) is the only county in the Capital District outside the Albany-Schenectady-Amsterdam area. The village of Catskill is the county seat.
  • Montgomery County (pop. 49,708) is coterminous with the Amsterdam Metropolitan Marketing Area , county seat is the village of Fonda, largest city is Amsterdam. Largest employer is St. Mary’s Hospital.
  • Rensselaer County (pop. 152,538) is the third largest county by population, Troy is the largest city and the county seat. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is a world-renowned college.
  • Saratoga County (pop. 200,635) is the second largest county by population. Saratoga Springs is the largest city and Ballston Spa is the county seat. The Saratoga Race Course brings thousands of tourists each August.
  • Schenectady County (pop. 146,555) is the birthplace of General Electric and still retains the core of its alternative energy production. The city of Schenectady is the largest city and county seat.
  • Schoharie County (pop. 32,749) is a rural county in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy MSA. Schoharie is the county seat.
  • Warren County (pop. 63,303) contains the highest concentrated area of medical manufacturers in the state, with many medical inventions originating in the county. Queensbury is the county seat and Glens Falls is the only city and largest municipality.
  • Washington County (pop. 61,042) is a rural county in the Glens Falls MSA, Fort Edward is the county seat.