New York is a first-level division of United States, in North America. Its mapped cities centre on 42.7323° N, 75.8874° W.

What is the largest city in New York?

New York is the largest city mapped in New York, with a metropolitan population of about 19.04 million.

How many cities are in New York?

YearMaps maps 16 cities and towns in New York, with a combined metropolitan population of about 23.35 million. This counts mapped settlements, not every municipality.

What is the highest mountain in New York?

The highest summit mapped in New York is Slide Mt at 1,274 m.

What is the largest lake in New York?

The largest lake mapped in or beside New York is Lake Ontario, at about 19,732 km².

New York Map — Cities & Geography, United States

Interactive Map of New York

6.4

About New York

New York, also called New York State, is a state located in the Northeastern United States. Bordering New England to its east, Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, and Canada to its north, New York extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and the Great Lakes. It is the fourth-most populous state in the United States, with over 20 million residents, and the 27th-largest state by area, with a total area of 54,556 square miles (141,300 km2).

New York has a varied geography. The southeastern part of the state, known as Downstate, encompasses New York City, the most populous city in the United States; Long Island, with approximately 40% of the state's population, the nation's most populous island; and the cities, suburbs, and wealthy enclaves of the lower Hudson Valley. These areas are the center of the expansive New York metropolitan area and account for approximately two-thirds of the state's population. The larger Upstate area spreads from the Great Lakes to Lake Champlain and includes the Adirondack Mountains and the Catskill Mountains (part of the wider Appalachian Mountains). The east–west Mohawk River Valley bisects the more mountainous regions of Upstate and flows into the north–south Hudson River valley near the state capital of Albany. Western New York, which is sometimes considered to be a separate region from the Upstate, is home to the cities of Buffalo and Rochester, and is part of the Great Lakes region, bordering Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. Central New York is anchored by the city of Syracuse; between the central and western parts of the state, the Finger Lakes are a prominent landmark and tourist destination. To the south, along the state border with Pennsylvania, the Southern Tier sits atop the Allegheny Plateau, representing some of the northernmost reaches of Appalachia.

New York was one of the original Thirteen Colonies that went on to form the United States.

Summary adapted from Wikipedia: New York (state) (CC BY-SA 4.0).

New York in Depth

History

The Native American tribes in what is now New York were predominantly Haudenosaunee and Algonquian. Long Island was divided roughly in half between the Algonquian Wampanoag and Lenape peoples. The Lenape also controlled most of the region surrounding New York Harbor. North of the Lenape was a third Algonquian nation, the Mohicans. Starting north of them, from east to west, were two Iroquoian nations: the Mohawk—part of the original Five Nations of the Haudenosaunee, and the Petun. South of them, divided roughly along Appalachia, were the Susquehannock and the Erie.

Many of the Wampanoag and Mohican peoples were caught up in King Philip's War, a joint effort of many New England tribes to push Europeans off their land.

Geography

The state of New York covers a total area of 54,555 square miles (141,297 km2) and ranks as the 27th-largest state by size. The highest elevation in New York is Mount Marcy in the Adirondack High Peaks in Northern New York, at 5,344 feet (1,629 meters) above sea level; while the state's lowest point is at sea level, on the Atlantic Ocean in Downstate New York.

In contrast with New York City's urban landscape, the vast majority of the state's geographic area is dominated by meadows, forests, rivers, farms, mountains, and lakes. Most of the southern part of the state rests on the Allegheny Plateau, which extends from the southeastern United States to the Catskill Mountains; the section in the State of New York is known as the Southern Tier.

Economy

According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the State of New York's gross domestic product was $2.467 trillion and its per capita personal income was $88,847 in 2025. If the State of New York were an independent nation, it would rank as the 11th-largest economy in the world. However, in 2022, the multi-state, New York City-centered metropolitan statistical area produced a gross metropolitan product (GMP) of over US$2.16 trillion, the largest metropolitan economy worldwide and behind the GDP of only nine nations. In 2025, 99.8% of New York businesses were small businesses and employed 46.6% of the state's work force, or 3.9 million people, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy. Over 267,000 new businesses formed within the state in 2025.

Demographics

New York was the most populous state in the U.S. from the 1810s until 1962. As of 2024, it is the nation's fourth-most populous state behind California, Texas, and Florida. Growth has been distributed unevenly. The New York metropolitan area and the Capital District (particularly Saratoga County) have been growing robustly overall, while the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area, Rochester, Syracuse, and other population centers have been losing residents or have been stagnant for decades before resuming growth more recently.

Sections adapted from Wikipedia: New York (state) (CC BY-SA 4.0).

New York: Key Facts

Key facts about New York
Population	20,201,249 (2020)
Area	141,300 km²
Capital	Albany
Head of government	Kathy Hochul
Highest point	Mount Marcy
Established	26 July 1788

Facts from Wikidata Q1384 (CC0).

History of New York: Empires and States

The atlas records 7 polities whose mapped territory included part of New York, from Haudenosaunee in 1450 CE to 2024 CE. They are listed in the order they first appear.

Polities that held New York, in chronological order
Polity	Period here
Haudenosaunee	1450–1782 CE
New Netherland	1626–1669 CE
Kingdom of England	1670–1708 CE
English Colonial Empire	1670–1712 CE
British Colonial Empire	1709–1782 CE
The British Empire	1709–1782 CE
United States of America	1776–2024 CE

Historical Maps of New York

New York on the world map in each year one of these states held it:

Derived by testing mapped cities against dated territorial polygons. Dates are when the polygons cover this place, not the polity's whole lifespan, and polities absent from the source dataset are not listed.

Visiting New York

The state of New York is a state of superlatives. Of course everyone knows the Big Apple, New York City, and it's certainly a premier travel destination, but the state is so much more than just one famous metropolis. Go beyond the concrete canyons of Manhattan and you'll find a large state with a variety of attractions.

From the magnificent Niagara Falls to the farms and wineries of the Finger Lakes; from the untamed wilderness of the Adirondacks to the large and small cities scattered throughout the state — every corner of New York has something you can't find elsewhere.

Travel notes adapted from Wikivoyage: New York (state) (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Largest Cities in New York

16 cities mapped. Ranked by metropolitan population. A port city's harbour is written up on the page of its sea.

Largest Cities in New York
#	Name	Population	Region	Role
1	New York	19.04 million	New York	Populated place
2	Buffalo	1.02 million	New York	Populated place
3	Albany	870,716	New York	Admin-1 capital
4	Rochester	755,000	New York	Populated place
5	Syracuse	662,577	New York	Populated place
6	Poughkeepsie	170,996	New York	Populated place
7	Niagara Falls	153,134	New York	Populated place
8	Schenectady	149,255	New York	Populated place
9	Binghamton	139,895	New York	Populated place
10	Utica	105,150	New York	Populated place
11	Elmira	62,376	New York	Populated place
12	Ithaca	59,930	New York	Populated place
13	Saratoga Springs	55,793	New York	Populated place
14	Jamestown	45,756	New York	Populated place
15	Watertown	33,821	New York	Populated place
16	Plattsburg	29,238	New York	Populated place

Highest Mountains in New York

1 mountain mapped. Ranked by summit elevation above sea level. A summit on a border is listed under both countries. Assigned by the nearest mapped city, so features near the boundary may belong to a neighbouring division.

Highest Mountains in New York
#	Name	Elevation	Feet	Region
1	Slide Mt	1,274 m	4,180 ft	North America

Largest Lakes in New York

8 lakes mapped. Ranked by mapped surface area. A lake on a border is listed under each country it lies in, with the area of the whole lake. Assigned by the nearest mapped city, so features near the boundary may belong to a neighbouring division.

Largest Lakes in New York
#	Name	Surface Area	Type
1	Lake Ontario	19,732 km²	Lake
2	Oneida Lake	197 km²	Lake
3	Seneca Lake	161 km²	Lake
4	Cayuga Lake	143 km²	Lake
5	Keuka Lake	66 km²	Lake
6	Canandaigua Lake	51 km²	Lake
7	Skaneateles Lake	45 km²	Lake
8	Owasco Lake	26 km²	Lake

Ports in New York

23 ports mapped. Ranked by approach channel depth, the figure that limits which ships can call. Harbours link to their write-up on the page of the sea or coast they lie on. Assigned by the nearest mapped city, so features near the boundary may belong to a neighbouring division.

Ports in New York
#	Name	Channel Depth	Class	Sea	Max Vessel
1	Sackets Harbor	56.7 m	Very Small	Great Lakes & St. Lawrence Seaway	medium vessels
2	Dunkirk	56.7 m	Very Small	Great Lakes & St. Lawrence Seaway	medium vessels
3	Catskill	56.7 m	Very Small	Atlantic Coast of the United States	medium vessels
4	Kingston	53 m	Small	Atlantic Coast of the United States	medium vessels
5	Alexandria Bay	53 m	Very Small	Great Lakes & St. Lawrence Seaway	medium vessels
6	Sodus Bay	53 m	Very Small	Great Lakes & St. Lawrence Seaway	point_of_interest
7	Youngstown	53 m	Very Small	Great Lakes & St. Lawrence Seaway	medium vessels
8	Tonawanda	53 m	Small	Great Lakes & St. Lawrence Seaway	medium vessels
9	Troy	53 m	Very Small	Atlantic Coast of the United States	medium vessels
10	Ogdensburg	49.4 m	Small	Great Lakes & St. Lawrence Seaway	point_of_interest

The other 13 (channel depth, class, sea, max vessel)

Rensselaer · 49.4 m · Very Small · Atlantic Coast of the United States · medium vessels
Rochester · 49.4 m · Small · Great Lakes & St. Lawrence Seaway · medium vessels
Niagara · 49.4 m · Very Small · Great Lakes & St. Lawrence Seaway · medium vessels
Oswego · 45.7 m · Small · Great Lakes & St. Lawrence Seaway · medium vessels
Clayton · 45.7 m · Very Small · Great Lakes & St. Lawrence Seaway · medium vessels
Poughkeepsie · 45.7 m · Very Small · Atlantic Coast of the United States · medium vessels
Newburgh · 42.1 m · Very Small · Atlantic Coast of the United States · large vessels
Chaumont · 42.1 m · Very Small · Great Lakes & St. Lawrence Seaway · medium vessels
Buffalo · 42.1 m · Major · Great Lakes & St. Lawrence Seaway · large vessels
Yonkers · 38.4 m · Small · Atlantic Coast of the United States · medium vessels
City Island · 34.7 m · Very Small · Atlantic Coast of the United States · point_of_interest
Brooklyn · 31.1 m · Major · Atlantic Coast of the United States · large vessels
Weehawken · 31.1 m · Small · Atlantic Coast of the United States · large vessels

UNESCO World Heritage Sites in New York

1 World Heritage Site mapped. Listed by year of inscription, earliest first. Sites shared with another country appear under each. Assigned by the nearest mapped city, so features near the boundary may belong to a neighbouring division.

UNESCO World Heritage Sites in New York
#	Name	Inscribed	Type	Criteria
1	Liberty Island	1984	Cultural	(i) (vi)

New York: Quick Answers

Where is New York?: New York is a first-level division of United States, in North America. Its mapped cities centre on 42.7323° N, 75.8874° W.
What is the largest city in New York?: New York is the largest city mapped in New York, with a metropolitan population of about 19.04 million.
How many cities are in New York?: YearMaps maps 16 cities and towns in New York, with a combined metropolitan population of about 23.35 million. This counts mapped settlements, not every municipality.
What is the highest mountain in New York?: The highest summit mapped in New York is Slide Mt at 1,274 m.
What is the largest lake in New York?: The largest lake mapped in or beside New York is Lake Ontario, at about 19,732 km².