WELCOME TO Upstate New York

THOUGH THE PRECISE BOUNDARY IS UP FOR DEBATE, Upstate New York generally refers to the geographic region north of and excluding the New York City metropolitan area. It includes the cities of Albany, Buffalo, Syracuse, and Rochester.

Before European colonization, Upstate New York was populated by several Native American tribes and the home to the Six Nations. Beginning with the Dutch founding Fort Orange (present-day Albany) in 1624, the land was ceded from the indigenous tribes of the region. By the end of the American Revolutionary War, the land had all but been ceded over to European settlers in the formation of New York and the United States.

The 1825 opening of the Erie Canal across upstate transformed the economy, greatly increasing movement of goods across the state and ushering in a hotbed of manufacturing to the region during the Second Industrial Revolution.

Due to the vast swathes of ariable rural land, Upstate New York is home to a strong agricultural industry, known for its dairy, maple syrup, apples, and wine.