The Center for Research, Regional Education and Outreach (CRREO) recently released the first annual Regional Well-Being Report for Dutchess, Orange, Sullivan, and Ulster County.  The eight well-being categories covered in this report are Economy, Education, Environment, Community & Equity, Governance, Health, Arts & Culture and Safety. 

The categories are rated from 0 to 100.  Ulster County scored very well in three categories, with an 80 in Arts & Culture, 71 in Safety, and 70 in Governance.  Dutchess County was the only other county that scored at least a 70 in any category, scoring a 71 in Governance.  To see the full report CLICK HERE.


Regional Snapshot

The region has a total land area of 3,715 square miles. It is nearly twice the size of the state of Delaware. Ulster County alone is larger than the state of Rhode Island. Nearly one million people reside in our four-county region.

Dutchess County has almost a third (31%) of the region’s people, but less than a quarter (22%) of the land area. About two in five (41%) regional residents live in Orange County, where there is a land area about the same as in Dutchess (22%).

Sullivan County, with more than a quarter of the land (26%), is the least populous (8%). Ulster County has 30% of the land in the region and 20% of the population.

Age: About one quarter (23%) of our region’s residents are under the age of eighteen. Twenty-three percent are age 18 to 34, 30% are age 35 to 54 and 24% are 55 years of age or older.

Children, those under age 18, live in 36% percent of regional households. Seniors, those age 65 or older, reside in 23% of the households in the region.

Race: Seventy-five percent of residents in our region are white, 12% are Hispanic or Latino, 8% are Black or African-American, 3% are Asian and 2% reported some other race.

Land Use: Approximately one third (32%) of the region’s land is classified as residential. Just under a quarter (24%) of the land is deemed vacant and about one in every five acres (21%) is wild, forested, conservation lands or public parks.

Agricultural lands comprise 10% of the region. Each of the remaining categories – Commercial, Public Services, Recreation and Entertainment, and Industrial represent less than 5% of land use in our region.

Of the four counties, Dutchess County has the most land dedicated to residential development (41%) and agriculture (18%). Sullivan County has the most vacant land (30%). In Ulster County, home of the Catskill Forest Preserve, over one third (34%) of the acreage is wild.

To see the full report CLICK HERE.