Schenectady, New York

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Schenectady
City
Nott Memorial Hall at Union College
Flag Seal
Motto(s):  "The city that lights and hauls the world."
Schenectady Location in New York (state) Show map of New York Schenectady Location within the United States Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 42°48′51″N 73°56′14″W / 42.81417°N 73.93722°W / 42.81417; -73.93722
Country	United States
State	New York
County	Schenectady
Region	Capital District
Settled	1661
Incorporated	1798
Government
• Mayor	Gary R. McCarthy (D)
Area [1]
• City	10.98 sq mi (28.43 km2)
• Land	10.81 sq mi (27.99 km2)
• Water	0.17 sq mi (0.44 km2)
Population  (2020)
• City	67,047
• Density	6,203.46/sq mi (2,395.24/km2)
• Metro	1,170,483
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP code	12301–12309, 12325, 12345
Area code	518
FIPS code	36-65508
GNIS feature ID	0964570
Website	www.cityofschenectady.com

Schenectady (/skəˈnɛktədi/ skə-NEK-tə-dee)^[2][3] is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-most populous city and the twenty-fifth most-populous municipality.^[4] The city is in eastern New York, near the confluence of the Mohawk and Hudson rivers. It is in the same metropolitan area as the state capital, Albany, which is about 15 miles (24 km) southeast.^[5]

Schenectady was founded on the south side of the Mohawk River by Dutch colonists in the 17th century, many of whom came from the Albany area. The name "Schenectady" is derived from the Mohawk word skahnéhtati, meaning "beyond the pines" and used for the area around Albany, New York.^[6] Residents of the new village developed farms on strip plots along the river. Connected to the west by the Mohawk River and Erie Canal, Schenectady developed rapidly in the 19th century as part of the Mohawk Valley trade, manufacturing, and transportation corridor. By 1824, more people worked in manufacturing than agriculture or trade; like many New York cities, it had a cotton mill that processed cotton from the Deep South. In the 19th century, nationally influential companies and industries developed in Schenectady, including General Electric and American Locomotive Company (ALCO), which were powers into the mid-20th century. Schenectady was part of emerging technologies, with GE collaborating in the production of nuclear-powered submarines and, in the 21st century, working on other forms of renewable energy.