Utica, NY cityscape

Mohawk Valley

Contact Allison Madmoune
Industry Contact Regional Director Allison Madmoune
Ribbon Cutting at Wolfspeed

Tech, manufacturing and more are making inroads in this growth-focused region

Ribbon Cutting at Wolfspeed

Building on unique regional assets, the Mohawk Valley offers a competitive business climate with its exceptional quality of life and strategic location, in cities including Utica and Rome and six counties at the geographic center of upstate New York – Otsego, Oneida, Schoharie, Montgomery, Fulton and Herkimer. Businesses will find a landscape of opportunity, with a wealth of academic and research institutions — including the Masonic Medical Research Institute and Marcy Nanocenter on the SUNY Polytechnic Institute campus near Utica — and major industry clusters that drive innovation and success. 

Key Industries in the Mohawk Valley

The main floor of a distribution facility.

Distribution

New York, with a vast transportation network and strategic access to East Coast markets, is a key distribution hub for major companies.
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Homeland and Cybersecurity

New York State’s growing homeland and cybersecurity sector produces defense industry and commercial data protection products and services.
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Tech and Electronics

With robust R&D, tech and talent, New York State is growing the electronics industry from semiconductors and photonics to nanotechnology.
Glass making at the Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, New York in the Southern Tier Region.

Materials Processing

New York State’s materials processing manufacturers—of alloys, ceramics, polymers and more—create many industries’ “enabling technology.”
Our strategic expansion to the Mohawk Valley is the next chapter in Wolfspeed's exciting story ... a place that is rich in talent, drive, and promise for the future.
Gregg Lowe, CEO, Wolfspeed
Exterior of Wolfspeed

Thriving industry clusters are building around distribution, materials processing, industrial machinery and services, agriculture, financial services, information and technology and semiconductors. Marcy, N.Y., is home to Wolfspeed's $1 billion 200mm silicon carbide wafer (SiC) fabrication facility, the Mohawk Valley Fab.

Craft Beverage Week

Other major employers in the region include MetLife, Bank of New York Mellon, ECR International Inc., the nationally acclaimed Brewery Ommegang, Briggs & Stratton, Indium Corporation, Semikron-Danfoss, and distribution centers for Walmart, Target, Family Dollar, Tractor Supply, Orgill and Dollar General. Direct access to markets in Canada, Pennsylvania, New York City and Buffalo allows businesses to expand their reach, while proximity to north-south interstate highways simplifies logistics. 

SUNY Fulton-Montgomery Community College’s newly-constructed Cyber Range

Cybersecurity has become a keystone industry base here, with firms such as AFRL, PAR Technology, BAE Systems, ITT Industries, Black Rivers Systems, Assured Information Security, and Booz Allen-Hamilton all in the region. Utica University has the expertise to create the first cyber-nano test range in the nation for use in the private sector — cybersecurity professionals in the Mohawk Valley, and throughout New York State, will be able to test computer systems to gauge their reactions to security threats.

SUNY Fulton-Montgomery Community College’s newly-constructed Cyber Range, developed through a collaboration between IBM and Amazon Web Services, is an on-campus state-of-the-art training facility that prepares students and workplace professionals alike to skillfully respond to cyber threats through realistic, fully-immersive simulations.
Aerial image of Griffis Test Spot in Rome, NY

Griffiss International Airport is one of seven national sites testing the commercial use of unmanned aerial systems, an effort led by NUAIR (Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research Alliance). 

Mohawk Valley By The Numbers

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2.5%

new net income tax for small businesses — the lowest rate since 1917 — down from 6.5% 

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$4.5B

spent by visitors in 2023

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1 of 40

colleges honored — Mohawk Valley C.C. was recognized by the NSA and Department of Homeland Security for cyber defense excellence 

Age Distribution 2024

Population 2024

Labor Force Status 2024

Education Attainment 2024

Data source: ZoomProspector (Applied Geographic Solutions)

Doing Business in the Mohawk Valley

Construction of the New NY Bridge in New York's Mid-Hudson Region.

Tax-Based Incentives

All forms of tax incentives that enable savings and cost advantages to businesses.
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Operational Support

Programs offering assistance or training to ensure more competitive businesses.
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Growth Support

Funds, loans and other means of financial support to stimulate business growth.
People working and talking in co-working space in the Thomas R. Beecher, Jr. Innovation Center

Innovation Development Support

Leverage New York State’s unparalleled investment in world-class tech assets, programs and expertise to grow your business.

Explore opportunities in the Mohawk Valley

Visit the Mohawk Valley Regional Economic Development Council site to see strategic plans, current projects and the latest economic data, plus access funding applications and more.

Regional Office

The Mohawk Valley regional office works hand-in-hand with new and existing businesses to help identify economic development programs to support business growth and expansion—for building new facilities, relocating a business, expanding operations and workforce and entering new and global markets.