Largest and Most Notable Cities in New York State

New York State's population is dominated by New York City, but the state has a network of substantial upstate cities with distinct identities.

New York City — 8.3 million (metro: 20 million)
The largest city in the United States and one of the great cities of the world. New York City is the global capital of finance (Wall Street, the Federal Reserve), media (Times Square, the major TV networks), fashion, and the arts (Broadway, the Metropolitan Museum, MoMA, Lincoln Center). The city comprises five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, and Staten Island. The subway system — 472 stations, 245 miles of routes — is the most extensive in the Western Hemisphere.

Buffalo — 280,000 (metro: 1.2 million)
Western New York's largest city, 20 miles from Niagara Falls. Buffalo had a painful deindustrialization in the late 20th century but has experienced significant downtown revival in the 2010s. The Albright-Knox Art Gallery (now the Buffalo AKG Museum, after a major expansion) has one of the finest modern art collections in the country. The Elmwood Village neighborhood is one of the most walkable urban neighborhoods in upstate New York. Buffalo wings were invented here at the Anchor Bar in 1964.

Rochester — 210,000 (metro: 1.1 million)
The hometown of Kodak and Xerox, Rochester has deep roots in photography, imaging, and optics technology. The George Eastman Museum is the world's oldest photography museum. The Strong National Museum of Play is the only museum in the world dedicated to play, and the National Toy Hall of Fame is here. RIT (Rochester Institute of Technology) and the University of Rochester give the city strong academic anchors.

Albany — 100,000 (metro: 900,000)
The state capital since 1797, Albany has a compact but architecturally rich downtown. The New York State Capitol building (completed 1899, 32 years and $25 million in construction) is an extraordinary example of Romanesque and Renaissance Revival architecture. The Empire State Plaza — a 1960s–1980s urban renewal project — holds the New York State Museum (excellent natural history and cultural collections).

Yonkers, Syracuse, and Ithaca round out the larger upstate cities, with Ithaca being one of the most livable and intellectual small cities in the northeastern US due to Cornell and Ithaca College.