The Southern Tier is located on the Pennsylvanian border of New York State, lying North-west of New York City and south-west of the State Capitol (Albany).  Containing Broome, Chemung, Chenango, Delaware, Schuyler, Steuben, Tioga, and Tompkins counties, the region boasts some of the state’s finest natural resources and agriculture, as well as significant educational institutions and readiness for manufacturing companies. 

In addition to housing both a booming tourism industry and dozens of prominent universities such as Binghamton and Cornell, the Southern Tier is also the location of many businesses that employ over 350,000 highly-skilled workers. 

While mostly known for industrial machinery and materials processing, and contributing to the electronics, imaging, and simulation industries, businesses choose the Southern Tier for its proximity to the marketplace, abundant natural resources, and its extremely well-educated workforce.  

 

 

General Overview
Area – 6,251.09 square miles
Population (2009) – 646,210
By county:
    Broome: 194,630
    Chemung: 88,331
    Chenango: 50,620
    Delaware: 45,514
    Schuyler: 18,720
    Steuben: 96,552
    Tioga: 50,064
    Tompkins: 101,779

2009 Labor Force: 325,200
2009 Per capita income: $23,516

BUSINESS INFORMATION
Market Access

Highways
Easy north-south access is provided by I-81, which connects the Southern Tier with Canada to the north and the Mid-Atlantic and Southern states to the south. Buffalo and New York City metropolitan areas are accessed via Rte. 17 I-86, the Southern Tier Expressway. This route traverses the Southern Tier of the state, and serves as a major through-route for recreational and commercial traffic. It is the only major east west through-facility between I-90 (NYS Thruway) and I-80. Most importantly, it ties together other routes on the Interstate and U.S. route systems. I-88 provides quick and easy access to Albany and New England.

Air Service
Three regional airports, at Binghamton, Elmira, and Ithaca, provide passenger service through US Airways and a number of commuter airlines connecting the Southern Tier to national and international destinations. The region also has six general aviation airports.

Rail Service
The region is well served by freight rail service, with Norfolk Southern, the New York Susquehanna and Western, Canadian Pacific (Delaware and Hudson) and Owego and Harford providing trackage and service to all areas.

Bus Service
Extensive public and private bus transportation is provided throughout the region by Greyhound, Short Line and Capitol Trailways.

 

Hospitals
Arnot Ogden Medical Center
St Joseph’s Hospital
Binghamton General Hospital
Lourdes Hospital
Wilson Medical Center

 

Principal Industries
Industrial Machinery
Electronics Imaging Simulation
Materials processing
Transportation equipment
Insurance Industry
Distribution
Tourism
Agriculture
Education

 

Colleges and Universities
The Southern Tier has more than a dozen colleges and universities including:
Cornell University
Elmira College
Ithaca College
Morrisville State College-Norwich Campus
SUNY Binghamton University
SUNY Broome County Community College
SUNY Corning Community College
SUNY Delhi SUNY
SUNY Tompkins Cortland Community College (TC3)

 

Local Utilities
New York State Electric & Gas Corp
Steuben Rural Electric Cooperative
Corning Natural Gas Corporation

 

Top Five Employers by Size of Work Force
Corning
Lockheed
Sikorsky
BAE
Frito Lay
Borg Warner

 

Fortune 500 Companies
Corning