BY KENNETH C. CROWE, Times Union

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. — Forget about Saratoga County being the Capital Region’s fastest-growing county.

For the past year that honor goes to Schenectady County, which ranked second statewide for percentage growth — though it came at the sluggish rate of 0.1 percent, according to U.S. Census Bureau county population estimates released Thursday.

Schenectady County added 220 residents to reach 155,299 from 2018 to 2019, the only one of the Capital Region’s four central counties to see population growth. And the county ranked fourth for its actual increase in numbers, the census estimates report.

But Saratoga County still ranked tops in the state for percentage growth from 2010-2019, a period in which it added 10,265 people to reach 229,863 residents, showing a growth rate of 4.7 percent, the population estimates show.

Albany County’s population declined by 1,079 from 2018-19 to reach 305,506; Rensselaer County fell by 569 to 158,714; and Saratoga County declined by 307 to hit 229,863.

Saratoga, Albany and Schenectady counties added residents from 2010 to 2019. Over that longer period, Albany County added 1,298 more residents, and Schenectady County added 548 residents. Rensselaer County, however, lost 719 people to drop to 158,714 over the past decade.

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