Capital Region towns lead state population growth

ALBANY — The Capital Region is New York state’s boomtown, with six of the 15 fastest growing communities clustered within commuting distance of the State Capitol, hospitals, universities and research centers.

A Times Union analysis of the latest population estimates released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau show Halfmoon and Ballston in Saratoga County leading the state when it comes to percentage growth in population between 2010 and 2017.

Halfmoon’s residential surge of 14 percent and Ballston’s 13 percent don’t match the growth in many southern and western communities, but they are far stronger that the vast majority of towns and cities in the northeast, according to Census Bureau demographers.

“It’s definitely growing faster than the region as a whole,” Joseph Bowman, a bureau demographer, said about the Capital Region towns running ahead of northeastern towns and cities.

The four other booming local towns are Malta in Saratoga County at 9 percent and three towns at 8 percent – Brunswick in Rensselaer County, Stillwater in Saratoga County and the town of Amsterdam in Montgomery County.

“We have a lot to offer – low taxes, great services,” Halfmoon Supervisor Kevin Tollisen said.

Halfmoon is investing in expanding its water system and making other infrastructure improvements such as paving roads and increasing recreational offerings, Tollisen said.

The town’s 2017 estimated population of 24,436 is up from 21,517 in 2010.  The Northway passes through the town, making it easier for the growing population to get to jobs in Albany to the south or GlobalFoundries and its Fab 8 computer chip factory in Malta.

But the 7,563 residents the six towns gained between 2010 and 2017 don’t compare to the Southern and Western U.S. cities that are attracting new residents. It was less than one-third of what San Antonio added just between 2016 and 2017.

"San Antonio, Texas added more people than any other city in 2017, with an increase of over 24,000 since 2016. This was enough to push San Antonio's population over the 1.5 million milestone, " Bowman said.

The Capital Region has ridden out much of the economic decline that has shrunk upstate New York counties to the west and north due to the presence of the state capital in Albany with its base of state government jobs.  The region also has been a center of high tech development. Those jobs are supplemented by its health services and higher education economic sectors.

Falling just outside the 6 percent cutoff for the top 15 growing towns and cities are Moreau, Saratoga Springs, Bethlehem and Wilton with populations expansion of between 5 and 6 percent. Other growing communities are Milton and Cohoes at 4 percent and Schodack at 3 percent.

From 2010 to 2017, New York state ranked fifth nationally for adding new housing units with at 219,000, according to the Census Bureau’s 2017 estimates. Albany, Rensselaer, Saratoga and Schenectady counties were the location for 16 percent of the new units added in the state outside of New York City.

“The Northeast’s housing units are growing slower than other areas in the nation,” said David Armstrong, a Census Bureau demographer.  New housing usually is tied to population growth, he said.

Brunswick Supervisor Phil Herrington said his town’s mix of new single-family homes and apartments has helped spur slow, steady growth.  The town’s 2017 population is estimated to be 12,902 compared to 11,952 in 2010.

“The growth is very controlled. We’re getting the growth right now where the comprehensive plan calls for it,” Herrington said about new construction in the west side of the town where there is water and sewer, while the eastern section remains rural.

Slow, steady growth is what the Capital Region towns and cities gaining population see year after year. A low single digit rise in population is what most growing communities see and this is borne out in the change in 2016 to 2017.

During that one-year period, 29 of the 56 towns and cities in Albany, Rensselaer, Saratoga and Schenectady counties had population growth.  The towns of Halfmoon and Colonie added the most residents with Halfmoon gaining 501 people and Colonie 464.  At the other end, Albany lost 136 residents and Troy 138 residents, according to the Census Bureau.