Populations at Risk

Abstract

The county is rural/suburban in nature; there are no real urban centers. The county contains large park areas and large areas are set aside as part of the New York City watershed and reservoir system. This extensive uninhabited area effectively divides the two (2) population areas. On the west, the town of Philipstown with its small connected villages of Cold Spring and Nelsonville lies along the Hudson River. The major artery on this side of the county goes north and south and leads the population to services and resources outside the county.The east side of the county has the largest population in the towns of Southeast and Carmel which includes Mahopac. Outside of the small villages of Carmel and Brewster, the landscape is largely suburban. The major roads, US 84 and US 684, are primarily north and south. Route 6 connects the two towns and then exits into Westchester County. Route 22 runs north and south through Putnam County from Dutchess to Westchester counties on the east side of the County.The last three (3) towns, Patterson, Kent and Putnam Valley are rural/suburban in character. Some parts of each of these towns can be quite remote. PopulationFrom 1980-1990, the county grew by 6,778 persons from 77,193 to 83,941 for a growth rate of 8.7. The total population in 1996 has been estimated differently. The New York State Department of Health estimates 1996 total population as 88,700. The Empire State Development Center estimated the population in that year as 90,983. In 7/1/98, the estimated population by the same group was 92,382 for a growth rate of 10.06 since 1990. This makes Putnam County the fastest growing county in the state. The Mid-Hudson region has a growth rate of 3.54. The Development Center projects continued growth, in the year 2000 to 91,800 and in the year 2005 the population will have grown to 95,200. Estimates of the population in the various towns shows that growth has been most rapid in the towns of Kent, Patterson and Southeast on the eastern side of the county.