Central New York is the central region of New York State, roughly including the following counties and cities:

Cayuga County – Auburn 

Cortland County – Cortland 

Herkimer County – Little Falls 

Madison County – Oneida 

Oneida County – Rome, Sherrill (smallest city in New York) and Utica 

Onondaga County – Syracuse (largest city in the region) 

Oswego County – Fulton and Oswego 

Tompkins County – Ithaca

Under this definition, the region has a population of about 1,177,073, and includes the Syracuse metropolitan area.

The total area of the above counties is 8,639 square miles, which is slightly smaller than New Hampshire.