This map of New York State shows the fall enrollment of students in public and secondary schools. When looking at this particular map, one can see a particular trend when looking at this map. The overall pattern for this map is that higher populated areas of New York State have a higher amount of fall enrollment of elementary students in public and secondary school and that the lower populated areas of New York State have a lower number of students enrolled in public and secondary schools.  New York City and its metro area, Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse all have high enrollment numbers because these cities have some of the highly populated areas in New York State. Looking at the counties that make up the North Country and the Southern Tier regions of New York State, fall enrollment in public and secondary schools in these regions is less than that of the urban areas of New York State.

The reason for why for enrollment differences in New York State are primarily due to population. The higher the population is, more students are going to be enrolled in public and secondary schools and the lower the population is, there is going to be a lower number of students enrolled in public and secondary schools. New York City, including the Boroughs, has a population of about 8 million people. Looking at the map, New York City overall has the highest number of students enrolled in public and secondary schools. Looking at Erie, Monroe and Onondaga Counties, these counties have a high percentage of students enrolled in public schools because these counties have a high population because these counties host the next largest urban centers in New York State. The population of Erie County, NY has a population of about 920,000, while Monroe and Onondaga have populations of 730,000 and 456,000 people respectively.

Looking at the rural counties in the North Country and the Southern Tier region, these counties have a low number of students enrolled in public schools because these counties have a low population. Hamilton County, NY has the lowest number of students enrolled in public and secondary schools because they have the lowest population in New York State. The population of Hamilton is about 5,000 people, so there is going to be less people enrolled in public and secondary schools in Hamilton County. Looking at other counties with a small population, like Tioga, Chemung and Stueben Counties in the Southern Tier region of New York State, these counties all have a low population ranging from 50,000-80,000 people which tells the reader that these counties also have a low number of students enrolled in public and secondary schools.

 When looking at New York State fall enrollment of students in New York State, the number of students enrolled has a direct relationship with population. The higher the population is, the higher number of students enrolled, while the lower the population is, the fewer number of students enrolled in public and secondary school.             

Work Cited

1)      "New York total population by county." New York population by County - . US Places, 2006. Web. 14 May 2012. <http://www.us-places.com/New-York/population-by-County.htm>.