Westchester County, New York

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File:Map of New York highlighting Westchester County.png

Westchester County is a suburban county located in the U.S. State of New York. It was named to commemorate Chester, in England. The county seat is White Plains. Although many of its residents are quite wealthy and although Westchester is home to many extremely affluent suburbs of New York City, it also has a more diverse population, both racially and demographically, than its stereotypical image suggests.

History

Westchester County was an original county of New York State, one of twelve created in 1683. At the time, it also included the present Bronx County, which constituted the Town of Westchester and portions of three other towns: Yonkers, Eastchester, and Pelham. In 1846, a new town, West Farms, was created by secession from Westchester; in turn, in 1855, the Town of Morrisania seceded from West Farms. In 1873, the Town of Kingsbridge seceded from Yonkers.

In 1874, the western portion of the present Bronx County, consisting of the then towns of Kingsbridge, West Farms, and Morrisania, was transferred to New York County, and in 1895 the remainder of the present Bronx County, consisting of the Town of Westchester and portions of the towns of Eastchester and Pelham, was transferred to New York County. By that time, the portion of the town of Eastchester immediately north of the transferred portion had seceded from the town of Eastchester (1892) to become the City of Mount Vernon so that the Town of Eastchester had no border with New York City. In 1914, those parts of the then New York County which had been annexed from Westchester County were constituted the new Bronx County.

Geography

File:Munmap.jpg
Westchester County Municipal Boundaries

The county has a total area of 1,295 km² (500 mi²). 1,121 km² (433 mi²) of it is land and 174 km² (67 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 13.45% water.

Westchester County is in the southeastern part of New York State, immediately north of New York City, between the Hudson River on its west and Connecticut and Long Island Sound on its east.

Cities

There are six cities in Westchester County.

Towns and Villages

There are 19 towns in Westchester County. A town may contain zero, one or multiple villages. Three towns are coterminous with the village of the same name. Some villages are located in two towns. Many towns contain areas which are outside any village. These areas may contain communities often referred to ashamlets. Hamlets are not political or legal boundaries. (The list of hamlets should not be considered complete.)

  • Harrison, coterminous with the village of the same name
  • Mamaroneck, containing two villages:
    • Larchmont
    • Mamaroneck (This village is shared with the Town of Rye.)
    • (plus additional area belonging to no village)
  • Ossining, containing two villages:
    • Briarcliff Manor (This village is shared with the Town of Mount Pleasant.)
    • Ossining (The village of Ossining is contained within the Town of Ossining.)
    • (plus additional area belonging to no village)
  • Pelham, containing two villages:
  • Scarsdale, coterminous with village of same name

Demographics

As of 2000, there are 923,459 people, 337,142 households, and 235,325 families residing in the county. The population density is 824/km² (2,134/mi²). There are 349,445 housing units at an average density of 312 persons/km² (807 persons/mi²). The racial makeup of the county is 71.35% White, 14.20% African American, 0.25% Native American, 4.48% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 6.63% from other races, and 3.05% from two or more races. 15.61% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 337,142 households out of which 34.00% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.90% are married couples living together, 12.20% have a woman whose husband does not live with her, and 30.20% are non-families. 25.70% of all households are made up of individuals and 10.30% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.67 and the average family size is 3.21.

In the county the population is spread out with 25.00% under the age of 18, 7.20% from 18 to 24, 30.40% from 25 to 44, 23.50% from 45 to 64, and 14.00% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 38 years. For every 100 females there are 91.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 87.30 males.

The median income for a household in the county is $63,582, and the median income for a family is $79,881. Males have a median income of $53,136 versus $39,966 for females. The per capita income for the county is $36,726. 8.80% of the population and 6.40% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 11.00% are under the age of 18 and 7.60% are 65 or older.

See also

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