Italian Population in Schenectady County, NY by City : 2025 Ranking & Insights

The Italian population in Schenectady County, NY is officially recorded at 26,839, with all of the county''s incorporated cities reporting residents of Italian ancestry. Among them, Rotterdam town (8,100), Schenectady (7,128), and Glenville town (6,088) account for the largest shares. Interestingly, when adding up individual city estimates, the total surpasses the county-level figure - a difference that often arises from how city and county statistics are modeled separately. Below, we explore how Italian communities are distributed across New York''s more urbanized and fragmented counties.

Top 5 cities with the largest Italian population in Schenectady County

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  • 1
    Rotterdam town
    Italian population in Rotterdam town is 8,100
    26.57% of Rotterdam town population is Italian
  • 2
    Schenectady
    Italian population in Schenectady is 7,128
    10.40% of Schenectady population is Italian
  • 3
    Glenville town
    Italian population in Glenville town is 6,088
    20.79% of Glenville town population is Italian
  • 4
    Niskayuna town
    Italian population in Niskayuna town is 4,462
    19.06% of Niskayuna town population is Italian
  • 5
    Scotia
    Italian population in Scotia is 1,521
    20.95% of Scotia population is Italian

Overview of Italian population in Schenectady County

  • Population Count and Percentage: American Community Survey data document Schenectady County with 26,839 Italian residents (16.8% of 159,603 total county population), placing the jurisdiction at the 95th percentile nationally among counties and 67th percentile within New York for Italian population density, with demographic concentrations among the highest nationwide.
  • Comparison to State and National Averages: Census Bureau's ACS show Schenectady County's Italian population of 16.8% surpassing both New York's state average of 11.1% and the national average of 4.9%, positioning the county as a high-concentration jurisdiction exceeding demographic benchmarks across all geographic scales.
  • Share of Total State Population: Official American Community Survey show Schenectady County's 26,839 Italian residents constitute 1.2% of New York's total Italian population of 2.2 million.
  • Population Density per Square Mile: U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey indicate Schenectady County's density of 131.1 Italian Americans per square mile exceeds New York's average of 46.8 per square mile by more than double, establishing the county as a significant concentration center for Italian demographic communities.
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7 Cities in Schenectady County Ranked by Italian Population

View Methodology
ACS data [1] confirm Italian populations in every incorporated city in the county, with the largest counts in Rotterdam town, Schenectady, Glenville town, and Niskayuna town. The table below provides detailed figures, including total population, density measures, and demographic distributions, based on the current ACS data for all 7 incorporated cities included in this analysis*.
cities in Schenectady County, NY ranked by Italian population count
Rank by Italian Population
City
Italian Population
% of Total City Population
% of Total Schenectady County Italian Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Rotterdam town 8,100 26.57% 30.18%
2 Schenectady 7,128 10.40% 26.56%
3 Glenville town 6,088 20.79% 22.68%
4 Niskayuna town 4,462 19.06% 16.63%
5 Scotia 1,521 20.95% 5.67%
6 Duanesburg town 611 10.23% 2.28%
7 Princetown town 450 23.27% 1.68%
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Methodology

This ranking list is based on data from the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The ACS is one of the most reliable sources for understanding population trends across different locations, and it provides estimates for various racial and ethnic groups at city, county, state and all geography levels down to the Census block group.
This list ranks city in Schenectady County, NY by their Italian population, using the most recent ACS data available.

How the Census defines Italian population

The U.S. Census Bureau allows people to self-identify their ancestry, meaning individuals can write upto ancestries when responding to the survey. In this ranking, we include everyone who identifies as having Italian ancestry, whether alone or in combination with another ancestry.
Here are a few important things to know about how ancestry is reported:
  • Some people identify as Italian alone, while others identify as Italian along with another race (such as Italian and German).
  • We’ve used the “Italian alone or in any combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the Italian population in each area.

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as Italian alone or in combination in city. To provide additional context, we’ve also included two key percentages:
  1. % of Total City Population – This shows what percentage of the total state population identifies as Italian .
  2. % of Total Schenectady County Italian Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. Italian population lives in that state.
To keep things simple, all population numbers have been rounded to the nearest whole number, and percentages are rounded to one decimal place. Because of rounding, some percentages may not add up to exactly 100%.

Things to Keep in Mind

Like all survey-based data, ACS estimates come with some limitations. Here are a few things to be aware of:
  • In places with very small Italian populations, the numbers may not be reported at all due to privacy protections or sampling variability in the survey.
  • Since the ACS is based on a sample, the numbers are estimates, not exact counts. That means they may slightly differ from other sources like the decennial U.S. Census.
  • City that don’t have any reported Italian population are not included in the ranking but are listed separately below for reference.
This ranking is meant to provide a clear, data-driven look at where Italian populations are most concentrated while keeping the numbers easy to understand.

Sources

  1. 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.
  2. 2023.