Binghamton, New York

Binghamton is a city located in the Southern Tier of New York in the United States. It is located near the Pennsylvania border, situated in a bowl-shaped valley at the confluence of the Susquehanna and Chenango Rivers. Binghamton is the county seat of Broome County and is the principal city and cultural center of the Greater Binghamton metropolitan area (also known as the Triple Cities), home to a quarter million people. The population of the city itself, according to the 2010 census, is 47,376.From the days of the railroad, Binghamton was a transportation crossroads and a manufacturing center, known at different times for the production of cigars, shoes, and high-tech products. IBM was founded in the region, and Edwin Link invented the flight simulator in the city, leading to a notable concentration of electronics- and defense-oriented firms that continue to exist to this day. The population of the city has declined significantly in the second half of the 20th century, from a high of 85,000 in 1950, a result of suburbanization and economic stagnation. The region lost a significant portion of its manufacturing-based industry, following cuts made by defense firms after the end of the Cold War. Some, but not all, of these jobs have been replaced by significant retail development and the growth of the region as an educational center.Today, Greater Binghamton is home to Binghamton University, a driving force in the community as an academic, athletic, and arts center, along with a continued concentration of high-tech firms, including Lockheed Martin, IBM, BAE Systems, and Rockwell Collins. Despite the loss of industry, Binghamton still retains a very ethnically diverse population.