Monroe County, New York


Monroe County is a county in the Finger Lakes region of New York, in the United States. The county is along Lake Ontario's southern shore. As of 2019, Monroe County's population was 741,770, a decrease since the 2010 census. Its county seat and largest city is the city of Rochester. The county is named after James Monroe, the fifth President of the United States. Monroe County is part of the Rochester, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area. The current County Executive is Adam Bello.

History

When counties were established in the Province of New York in 1683, the present Monroe County was part of Albany County. This was an enormous county, including the northern part of New York State as well as all of the present State of Vermont and, in theory, extending westward to the Pacific Ocean. This county was reduced in size on July 3, 1766 by the creation of Cumberland County, and further on March 16, 1770 by the creation of Gloucester County, both containing territory now in Vermont.
On March 12, 1772, what was left of Albany County was split into three parts, one remaining under the name Albany County. One of the other pieces, Tryon County, contained the western portion. The eastern boundary of Tryon County was approximately five miles west of the present city of Schenectady, and the county included the western part of the Adirondack Mountains and the area west of the West Branch of the Delaware River. The area then designated as Tryon County now includes 37 counties of New York State. The county was named for William Tryon, colonial governor of New York.
In the years prior to 1776, most of the Loyalists in Tryon County fled to Canada. In 1784, following the peace treaty that ended the American Revolutionary War, the name of Tryon County was changed to Montgomery County in order to honor the general, Richard Montgomery, who had captured several places in Canada and died attempting to capture the city of Quebec, replacing the name of the hated British governor.
In 1789, Ontario County was split off from Montgomery. The actual area split off from Montgomery County was much larger than the present county, also including the present Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Niagara, Orleans, Steuben, Wyoming, Yates, and part of Schuyler and Wayne counties.
Genesee County was created by a splitting of Ontario County in 1802. This was much larger than the present Genesee County, however. It contained the present Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Niagara, Orleans, Wyoming, and portions of Livingston and Monroe counties.
Finally, Monroe County was formed from parts of Genesee and Ontario counties in 1821.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county's total area is, of which is land and is water.
Monroe County is in Western New York State's northern tier, northeast of Buffalo and northwest of Syracuse. The northern county line is also the state line and the border of the United States, marked by Lake Ontario. Monroe County is north of the Finger Lakes.

Adjacent counties

County government

Monroe County was chartered as a municipal corporation by the New York State Legislature in 1892 and re-chartered under New York's Municipal Home Rule Law in 1965.

Executive branch

The county's executive branch is headed by the County Executive, Adam Bello. The executive's office is on the first floor of the County Office Building on West Main Street in Rochester.
The county was exclusively governed by a Board of Supervisors for the first 114 years of its history. In 1935, the position of County Manager, appointed by the Board, was approved by popular referendum. In 1983, the position was replaced by a County Executive, directly elected by popular vote, with expanded powers. In 1993, the legislature enacted term limits for the executive office of 12 consecutive years to start in 1996.
NameTitlePartyTerm
Clarence A. SmithCounty ManagerRepublicanJanuary 1, 1936 – December 31, 1959
Gordon A. HoweCounty ManagerRepublicanJanuary 1, 1960 – December 31, 1971
Lucien A. MorinCounty Manager
County Executive		RepublicanJanuary 18, 1972 – December 31, 1982
January 1, 1983 – December 31, 1986
Thomas R. FreyCounty ExecutiveDemocratJanuary 1, 1987 – December 31, 1991
Robert L. KingCounty ExecutiveRepublicanJanuary 1, 1992 – January 14, 1995
John D. "Jack" DoyleCounty ExecutiveRepublicanJanuary 14, 1995 – December 31, 2003
Maggie BrooksCounty ExecutiveRepublicanJanuary 1, 2004 – December 31, 2015
Cheryl L. DinolfoCounty ExecutiveRepublicanJanuary 1, 2016 – December 31, 2019
Adam J. BelloCounty ExecutiveDemocratJanuary 1, 2020 –

Legislative branch

The county's legislative branch consists of a 29-member County Legislature which replaced the earlier 43-member Board of Supervisors on January 1, 1967. It meets in the Legislative Chambers on the fourth floor of the County Office Building. All 29 members of the legislature are elected from districts. Currently, there are 15 Republicans and 14 Democrats, and the President of the Legislature is Dr. Joe Carbone. In 1993, the legislature enacted term limits of 10 consecutive years to start in 1996. Legislators can return to the office after not being in the Legislature for a term. Since the enacting of term limits, as of 2020 two Legislators returned after previously being term limited.

Judicial branch

After redistricting based on the 2010 United States Census, Monroe County was split between two congressional districts:
DistrictAreas of Monroe CountyCongresspersonPartyFirst took officeResidence
New York's 25th congressional districtAll of Monroe County except those portions represented by the 27th districtJoseph D. MorelleDemocratic2018Irondequoit, Monroe County
New York's 27th congressional districtHamlin, Mendon, Rush, Wheatland, and the southwest corner of ClarksonChris JacobsRepublican2020Buffalo, Erie County

Representation at the state level

New York State Senate

After redistricting based on the 2010 United States Census, Monroe County was split between six state senate districts:
DistrictAreas of Monroe CountySenatorPartyFirst took officeResidence
54WebsterPam HelmingRepublican2017Canandaigua, Ontario County
55East Rochester, Irondequoit, Mendon, Penfield, Perinton, Pittsford, Rush, northeastern part of the City of RochesterRich FunkeRepublican2015Fairport, Monroe County
56Brighton, Clarkson, Gates, Greece, Hamlin, Parma, northwestern part of the City of RochesterJoseph E. RobachRepublican2003Greece, Monroe County
59Henrietta, WheatlandPatrick M. GallivanRepublican2011Elma, Erie County
61Chili, Riga, southern part of the City of RochesterMichael H. RanzenhoferRepublican2009Amherst, Erie County
62Ogden, SwedenRobert OrttRepublican2015North Tonawanda, Niagara County

New York State Assembly

After redistricting based on the 2010 United States Census, Monroe County was split between seven state assembly districts:
DistrictAreas of Monroe CountyAssemblypersonPartyFirst took officeResidence
133Mendon, Pittsford, Riga, Rush, WheatlandMarjorie ByrnesRepublican2019Monroe County
134Greece, Ogden, ParmaPeter LawrenceRepublican2015Greece, Monroe County
135East Rochester, Penfield, Perinton, WebsterMark C. JohnsRepublican2011Webster, Monroe County
136Brighton, Irondequoit, northwest portion and easternmost tip of the City of RochesterVacant
137Gates, center of the City of RochesterVacant
138Chili, Henrietta, parts of the City of RochesterHarry B. BronsonDemocratic2011Rochester, Monroe County
139Clarkson, Hamlin, SwedenStephen M. HawleyRepublican2006Batavia, Genesee County

Courts

Monroe County is part of
Monroe County is a home to a number of international businesses, including Eastman Kodak, Paychex, and Pictometry International, all of which make Monroe County their world headquarters. While no longer headquartered in Rochester, Xerox has its principal offices and manufacturing facilities in Monroe County , and Bausch and Lomb was headquartered in Rochester until it was acquired by Valeant Pharmaceuticals. Monroe County is also home to regional businesses such as Wegmans, Roberts Communications, Inc., Holding Corp., and major fashion label Hickey Freeman.

High technology

, the technologically recognized area of eastern New York State, has spawned a western offshoot into the Rochester, Monroe County, and Finger Lakes areas of New York State. Since the 2000s, as the more established companies in Rochester downsized, the economy of Rochester and Monroe County has been redirected toward high technology, with new, smaller companies providing the seed capital necessary for business foundation. The Rochester and Monroe County area is important in the field of photographic processing and imaging as well as incubating an increasingly diverse high technology sphere encompassing STEM fields, in part the result of private startup enterprises collaborating with major academic institutions, including the University of Rochester and Cornell University. Given the high prevalence of imaging and optical science among the industry and the universities, Rochester is known as the world capital of imaging. The Institute of Optics of the University of Rochester and the Rochester Institute of Technology in nearby Henrietta both have imaging programs.
Major Employers:
Several industries occupy a major portion of the jobs located regionally, with healthcare comprising a significant portion of jobs in Monroe County. The U of R is the largest employer regionally with over 27,000 workers; Rochester Regional Health is the second largest consisting of over 15,000. Wegmans is third with about 13,000 local employees.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 735,343 people, 286,512 households, and 184,513 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,115 people per square mile. There were 304,388 housing units at an average density of 462 per square mile. The county's racial makeup was 79.14% White, 13.75% African American, 0.27% Native American, 2.44% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 2.44% from other races, and 1.94% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.31% of the population. 18.6% were of Italian, 15.3% German, 11.3% Irish and 8.3% English ancestry according to Census 2000. 4.64% of the population reported speaking Spanish at home, while 1.43% speak Italian.
There were 286,512 households out of which 31.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.40% were married couples living together, 13.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.60% were non-families. 28.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.08.
In the county, the population was spread out with 25.60% under the age of 18, 9.50% from 18 to 24, 29.30% from 25 to 44, 22.60% from 45 to 64, and 13.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 93.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.20 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $44,891, and the median income for a family was $55,900. Males had a median income of $41,279 versus $29,553 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,821. About 8.20% of families and 11.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.50% of those under age 18 and 7.40% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Primary and secondary education

The public school system educates the overwhelming majority of Monroe County's children. The schools operated by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester or Roman Catholic religious orders educate the next largest segment of children, although collectively, they are a distant second.

Public schools

There are some 26 public school districts that serve Monroe County, including the Rochester City School District, 10 suburban school districts in Monroe #1 BOCES, seven in Monroe #2–Orleans BOCES, and several primarily serving other counties.
NameBOCESEstablishedDistrict populationProfessional staffSupport staffMedian teacher salaryEnrollmentBudgetPer pupil cost
Brighton Central School DistrictMonroe #1196626450372293$635803681$74.0 million$18444
Brockport Central School DistrictMonroe #2–Orleans192730000356362$599713411$78.9 million$23128
Churchville-Chili Central School DistrictMonroe #2–Orleans195030000350322$597523845$82.6 million$21523
East Irondequoit Central School DistrictMonroe #1195627000335352$564473145$76.3 million$24257
East Rochester Union Free School DistrictMonroe #11920820012591$538291179$27.4 million$23282
Fairport Central School DistrictMonroe #1195140000645516$656305905$123.3 million$20874
Gates Chili Central School DistrictMonroe #2–Orleans195635000451402$614234123$100.8 million$24459
Greece Central School DistrictMonroe #2–Orleans19289600011271249$7210011094$221.2 million$19941
Hilton Central School DistrictMonroe #2–Orleans194925323421367$604074452$80.0 million$17965
Holley Central School DistrictMonroe #2–Orleans1949777412587$533661051$24.4 million$23216
Honeoye Falls-Lima Central School DistrictMonroe #1196910500219205$620742212$48.5 million$19542
Kendall Central School DistrictMonroe #2–Orleans195730008676$53551704$17.4 million$22269
Penfield Central School DistrictMonroe #1194831000438477$616124564$93.3 million$20445
Pittsford Central School DistrictMonroe #1194633000575656$678485685$125.5 million$22280
Rochester City School District-18412090005786 5786 $6161730217$864.7 million$21546
Rush-Henrietta Central School DistrictMonroe #1194746000613603$633445247$119.9 million$22838
Spencerport Central School DistrictMonroe #2–Orleans194923000408351$623483584$77.1 million$21521
Webster Central School DistrictMonroe #1194854093801631$664088549$163.9 million$19167
West Irondequoit Central School DistrictMonroe #1195323754344258$598553568$71.2 million$19916
Wheatland–Chili Central School DistrictMonroe #2–Orleans195551008063$54967691$17.8 million$23837

Private schools

There are three private schools that serve more than 200 students each:
There is one small, but historically significant school: Rochester School for the Deaf in the city

Parochial schools

The county is home to nine colleges and universities:
Additionally, four colleges maintain satellite campuses in Monroe County:
The following is a list of parks owned and maintained by Monroe County:

City

Villages in New York State are incorporated municipalities located within Towns. The town in which each village is located is noted in parenthesis.
In New York State the term "Hamlet", although not defined in law, is used to describe an unincorporated community and geographic location within a town. The town in which each Hamlet is located is in parenthesis.