| Home |
 |
|
district profile |
|
| Buffalo-Niagara Falls Metro Area |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Erie and Niagara Counties The Buffalo-Niagara Falls metropolitan area is home to slightly over 1.1 million people, based on the 2010 Census, with roughly 80 percent residing in Erie County, which includes the city of Buffalo. Niagara County, which includes the city of Niagara Falls, is less densely populated. Population in both counties has declined for the past four decades, including a 3 percent decline between 2000 and 2010. Looking at the educational profile of the population, 27 percent of adults hold a college degree—somewhat below the statewide average of 31.6 percent but close to the nationwide average. Median household income is also somewhat below average in both counties. In terms of the area's demographic profile, Blacks make up roughly 12 percent of the population—close to the national average. Hispanics account for 4 percent of the population and Asians for just above 2 percent—both well below the nationwide figures. Historically, Buffalo's key industries largely involved durable goods manufacturing, particularly steel. In recent decades, however, many of these industries have contracted substantially at the national level, and even more sharply locally. Manufacturing accounts for a slightly above-average share of employment in the Buffalo area today. Key industries within the manufacturing sector for the metropolitan area include transportation equipment, primary and fabricated metals, machinery, plastics and chemicals. As manufacturing’s share of the local economy has dwindled, health & education, as well as some other service industries, have accounted for increasingly large shares of economic activity. Being on the border with Canada, trade with Canada has also continued to play an important role in the local economy. Contrary to previous recessions, during the recent economic downturn—from early 2008 to late 2009—metropolitan Buffalo sustained somewhat milder job losses (3.6 percent) than the state as a whole (4.0 percent) and considerably milder than the national decline of 6 percent. In 2010, metropolitan Buffalo’s job market began to recover, in line with the nation’s, with private-sector employment expanding at a roughly 1 percent annual rate. The area's housing market also held up much better than the nation’s during the recession—the median house price rose throughout 2008 and leveled off in 2009 but did not fall significantly. Prices resumed their moderate upward trend in the first half of 2010, eclipsing their early-2009 peak, but retreated moderately in the latter part of the year1. Recent Trends _________________________
August 2011 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
