📖 Reading Passage: New York State

New York State is located in the northeastern United States and is known as the Empire State. It has 62 counties, each with its own county seat or capital city. The state capital is Albany, located in Albany County.

Some of the most important counties include New York County (Manhattan), which is home to New York City, the largest city in the United States. Kings County contains Brooklyn, while Queens County is home to Queens. The Bronx is located in Bronx County, and Staten Island makes up Richmond County.

Upstate New York has many other significant counties. Erie County's seat is Buffalo, a major city near Niagara Falls. Monroe County's capital is Rochester, famous for being the headquarters of Kodak and Xerox companies. Onondaga County's seat is Syracuse, known for its university and salt production history.

New York's counties vary greatly in size and population. Hamilton County in the Adirondack Mountains has fewer than 5,000 people, while Kings County (Brooklyn) has over 2.5 million residents. Each county government provides important services like courts, sheriff departments, and road maintenance to help citizens in their daily lives.

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