The demographic makeup of Orange County is very similar in many respects to the composition of the entire Mid-Hudson Valley region. For instance, as with the larger Mid-Hudson Valley population, about six in ten people living in Orange County reside in households with an annual income of more than $50,000.
However, there are some areas in which Orange County households differ from the region as a whole. For example, the average household size in Orange County is larger than the average Mid-Hudson Valley household. It is 3.2 compared with the regional average of 2.8. In 2002, the average household size in Orange County was 3.1 while the average Mid-Hudson Valley home was 2.9. The average household size of Orange County households with children is 4.4 compared with the regional average of 4.2.
Compared with the typical household in the Mid-Hudson region Orange County households are more likely to have children. Half of Orange County households have at least one child in contrast to the 44% of households across the region. 20% of Orange County households have a family member who is under age five compared with the regional proportion of 15%. 43% of Orange County households include children age five to eighteen which compares with 38% of households in the region overall that have school age children.
22% of Orange County children live in households where the total annual income is less than $30,000. This compares with 21% of children in the region as a whole. Similar to the entire Mid-Hudson region, single parents head 8% of Orange County households with children.
Orange County is more racially diverse than the Mid-Hudson region as a whole. 77% of Orange County residents report they are white compared with 83% regionally. Of the seven counties, Orange County has the largest Latino population. 14% of Orange County residents are Latino compared with one in ten Mid-Hudson Valley residents. 9% of Orange County residents are African American compared with 7% of the region as a whole.
Many residents of Orange County do not have a college degree. As with the region as a whole, two-thirds of all county residents have not completed college.
Since 2002, the proportion of residents in Orange County without health care coverage has remained the same. About a quarter of all Orange County households have at least one member who has experienced a gap in coverage over the past year, and 12% of all households have someone who is not presently insured. These figures mirror those of the region as a whole.
The proportion of uninsured children in Orange County has remained relatively stable since 2002. 15% of all households with children have at least one child who has not had continuous coverage over the past year compared with 13% five years ago. 8% do not currently have insurance compared with 6% who were uninsured in 2002. The reported rates of uninsured children in Orange County are comparable to the overall Mid-Hudson region.
