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Watertown Metro Area

Located in the northern part of New York State near the St. Lawrence River, Watertown is one of New York’s smallest metropolitan areas, with a population of 117,000. The area has seen little population or employment growth in recent decades.

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Watertown Metro Area Economic Indicators

Economic and Demographic Trends

	Population 2020	Pop growth 2020, 10-year change (%)	GDP 2020, billions ($)	Job growth 2021, 5-year change (%)	Median household income 2020 ($)	Median home price 2020 ($)	Pop share age 25+ with BA+ 2020 (%)
Watertown	117,000	0.4	7	-6.8	59,000	140,000	23.3
North Country*	305,000	-3.8	14	-4.4	56,000	121,000	24.6
Syracuse*	662,000	-0.1	42	-5.1	63,000	150,000	32.2
New York State	20,201,000	4.2	1,725	-4.1	72,600	350,000	39.4
United States	331,449,000	7.4	20,894	1.2	67,000	250,000	35.1

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis; IPUMS USA-University of Minnesota. Data retrieved through data.census.gov, Moody's Economy.com, or directly from source.

*Neighboring Metros

The New York Fed publishes indicators, trends, research and analysis on our Second District. Explore the content below to learn more.

Beige Book: Economic Activity in the Second District Held Steady

April 17, 2024

Each Federal Reserve Bank gathers anecdotal information on current economic conditions in its District through reports from Bank directors and interviews with businesses, community organizations, economists, market experts, and other sources.

Business Leaders Survey: Service Sector Activity Declined Modestly

Business Leaders Survey: Service Sector Activity Holds Steady

April 16, 2024

Activity remained steady in the region’s service sector, as the headline business activity index was little changed at -0.6. Learn more in our monthly regional service sector survey on current and future business trends.

Empire State Manufacturing Survey: General Business Conditions Remain Negative

Empire State Manufacturing Survey: Manufacturing Activity Continues to Decline

April 15, 2024

Business activity continued to contract among New York State manufacturers. The headline general business conditions index rose seven points but remained below zero at -14.3. Learn more in our monthly state survey of manufacturers assessing current and forward-looking indicators.

Regional Employment Trends

April 12, 2024

These interactive charts illustrate payroll employment trends for more than 20 geographies in the Second District, from the state level down to metropolitan areas.

Regional Equitable Growth Indicators (EGIs)

April 9, 2024

The regional EGIs present disparities in inflation, real and nominal earnings, employment, and real and nominal spending across the New York-New Jersey metro area, as well as all other counties in New York state.

Full Regional Report | Regional Data

Mapping Home Price Changes

February 2024

Explore year-over-year changes in home prices both regionally and nationally, using this dynamic map — updated monthly with new home price index data on 1,200 U.S. counties since 2003.

Quarterly Household Debt & Credit Report (with state information)

February 6, 2024

The report provides unique data and insight into the credit conditions of U.S. consumers and provides a quarterly snapshot of household trends in borrowing and indebtedness, including data about mortgages, student loans, credit cards, auto loans and delinquencies.

The State of Low-Income America: Credit Access & Housing

BY Claire Kramer-Mills, Ambika Nair, Belicia Rodriguez, and Joelle Scally | JANUARY 18, 2024

As part of our mission to make the U.S. economy stronger and the financial system more stable for all segments of society, the New York Fed issues periodic reports on credit access for low-income Americans. The 2024 report examines low-income households’ access to credit, ability to repay loans, and use of mortgage refinancing through Q3 of 2023.

Small Business Recovery after Natural Disasters

Banks versus Hurricanes

November 20, 2023

Puerto Rico’s location in the Caribbean leaves it highly exposed to all manner of severe weather. Hurricane Maria, which struck the island on September 17, 2017, was a worst case in some respects as it struck just two weeks after Hurricane Irma flooded the island. Even so, the island’s economy and banks recovered surprisingly quickly. This post discusses the various protections—including homeowners’ insurance, federal aid, and mortgage guarantees—that helped buttress the island’s economy and banks.

Flood-Prone Basement Housing in New York City and the Impact to Low-and-Moderate Income Renters

November 17, 2023

Hurricane Ida, which struck New York in early September 2021, exposed the region’s vulnerability to extreme rainfall and inland flooding. The storm inflicted extensive damage to the housing stock, particularly low-lying units. This post introduces new data to estimate with greater precision the flood risk to basement apartments in New York City. The authors show that these risks potentially impact roughly 10 percent of low- and moderate-income individuals, immigrants, and racial and ethnic minorities.

Supplemental Survey Report: Workforce Issues

November 16, 2023

This report summarizes responses to topical questions posed periodically in the New York Fed’s Empire State Manufacturing Survey and Business Leaders Survey.

Small Business Recovery after Natural Disasters in the Fed’s Second District

November 16, 2023

This is the second of the two-part series on how natural disasters such as hurricanes, floods, wildfires, droughts, and winter storms affect small businesses in the Federal Reserve’s Second District. While the previous post focused on the impact of such disasters using data from the Small Business Credit Survey for the period 2021-22, this post focuses on the aftermath of such disasters, and examines disparities in the ability of firms to reopen their businesses and access disaster relief.

How Do Natural Disasters Affect Small Business Owners in the Fed’s Second District?

November 15, 2023

Data from the Federal Reserve’s Small Business Credit Survey shed light on how small businesses in the Second District are impacted by natural disasters (such as hurricanes, floods, wildfires, droughts, and winter storms). The author finds that increasing shares of small business firms in the region sustain losses from natural disasters, with minority-owned firms suffering losses at a disproportionately higher rate than white-owned firms.

Inaccurate flood zones in the Fed’s Second District

Flood Risk and Firm Location Decisions in the Fed’s Second District

November 14, 2023

The intensity, duration, and frequency of flooding have increased over the past few decades. As the frequency of flood events continues to increase, the number of people, buildings, and agriculture exposed to flood risk is only likely to grow. This post focuses on the distribution of flood risk within the Federal Reserve's Second District and examines its effect on establishment location decisions over the last two decades.

How Do Banks Lend in Inaccurate Flood Zones in the Fed’s Second District?

November 13, 2023

This post examines the impact of flood risk, particularly on bank lending in the Federal Reserve’s Second District. Using data on the accuracy of flood maps, the authors examine banks’ lending practices within “very inaccurate” and “inaccurately” mapped areas. A map is considered “very inaccurate” If a property faces significant flooding damage (highest damage quartile) but is not mapped into a flood zone, and “inaccurate” If properties in an area face moderate damage but are insufficiently mapped.

Potential Flood Map Inaccuracies in the Fed’s Second District

November 10, 2023

The National Flood Insurance Program flood maps, which designate flood-prone areas, are updated periodically through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and community efforts. Even so, many of these maps are outdated. Given that climate-related risks vary geographically, it is crucial to produce accurate maps for such risks, like flooding. This post uses detailed data on the flood risk faced by individual dwellings as well as digitized FEMA flood maps to assess the accuracy of flood mapping in the Federal Reserve’s Second District.

Transition Risks in the Fed’s Second District and the Nation

November 09, 2023

Climate change may pose two types of risk to the economy—from policies and consumer preferences as the energy system transitions to a lower dependence on carbon (transition risks) or from damages stemming from the direct impacts of climate change (physical risks). This post complements a previous blog in the series that studies the Second District’s exposure to physical risk by considering how transition risks affect different parts of the District, and how they differentially affect the area relative to the nation.

Comparing Physical Risk: The Fed’s Second District versus the Nation

November 08, 2023

There are several types of risks that may interest policymakers and academics who are focused on understanding a region’s exposure to physical risks. There are also a great many ways of quantifying and aggregating these risks. This post discusses the climate-related risks faced by the Federal Reserve’s Second District and compare these with risks faced by the nation as a whole. The comparison helps contextualize the risks while framing them in the broader context of a changing climate at the national level.

Blog Series on the Economic and Financial Impacts of Extreme Weather Events in the Fed’s Second District

November 08, 2023

Extreme weather events, along with human adaption to cope with them, may have large effects on the economy and financial markets. Therefore, it is crucial to provide research on the economy’s vulnerability to such events to policymakers, households, financial institutions, and other players in the world economy in order to help them make informed decisions.

Window of Opportunity: New York’s Small Multifamily Buildings, Expiring Equipment, and Clean Energy Goals

October 25, 2023

As part of its work on climate, the New York Fed’s Community Development team researched the challenges of electrifying small-to midsize-properties. The authors identify key roadblocks and potential solutions for electrifying these properties, drawing on insights shared in interviews and roundtables with more than two dozen experts.

Businesses Want Remote Work, Just Not as Much

August 23, 2023

Results from the New York Fed’s August regional business surveys show that more than 20 percent of all service work and 4 percent of all manufacturing work is currently being done remotely, nearly identical to what was reported a year ago.

Press Briefing: The Region’s Recovery from the Pandemic Recession

April 13, 2023

The press briefing discussed economic conditions across the Second District since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, focusing on employment trends.

The Tri-State Region’s Recovery from the Pandemic Recession Three Years On

April 13, 2023

Although the U.S. has seen job counts rise above pre-pandemic levels, the recovery has been uneven in the tri-state region. A dearth of available workers remains a significant constraint on growth in the region, particularly in upstate New York, which had already been suffering from a lack of workers before the pandemic began.

Richard Deitz's Briefing on Regional Economic Conditions in New York State

March 07, 2023

In a presentation to the Independent Bankers Association of New York, Richard discussed economic conditions in New York State, including business activity, jobs, housing, commercial real estate.

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