Johnson City is a village in Broome County, New York, United States. The population was 15,343 at the 2020 census. from the Square Deal given to all employees of Endicott Johnson Corporation, Johnson City was originally incorporated in 1892 as the village of Lestershire. In 1916, the village was renamed Johnson City in honor of George F. Johnson, who led the company that was by then known as Endicott Johnson. Much of Johnson City's history is rooted in the prosperity of the Endicott Johnson Corporation, and later in the prosperity brought by IBM in neighboring Endicott. However, the deindustrialization that occurred across the United States impacted Johnson City heavily. The loss of nearly all industry in the span of a couple decades left the economy of Upstate New York, and thus Johnson City, devastated and in recession, explaining in part the village's population decline over time.

Johnson City is on the north side of the Susquehanna River.

The junction of New York State Route 17 and New York State Route 201, which connects the community to the south side of the Susquehanna River, is in Johnson City. New York State Route 17C parallels NY-17.

Johnson City is also located near multiple interstates, including Interstate 81, Interstate 86 (Pennsylvania–New York), and Interstate 88 (New York).

Demographics

thumb|right|alt=Red Robin Diner in downtown Johnson City, NY|The former Red Robin Diner in downtown Johnson City

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Johnson City had a population of 15,343, with 6,699 households and 3,651 families.

The median age was 41.5 years. 18.8% of residents were under the age of 18 and 23.0% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 88.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 85.3 males age 18 and over.

There were 7,726 housing units, of which 13.3% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.6% and the rental vacancy rate was 7.2%.

The average household size was 2.12 and the average family size was 2.88.

Education

The K-8 Elementary, Intermediate, and Middle School is located just above the high school on 601 Columbia Drive; and the Johnson City High School is located on 666 Reynolds Road. The schools are operated by Johnson City Central School District.

Colleges

Davis College was a private Baptist bible college in Johnson City. It was founded in 1900 under the leadership of John Adelbert Davis. The first location was on Harrison Street where Wilson Hospital now stands. The present site was bought in 1910 and the college moved to Riverside Drive in 1911. As of October 1911, that location also became known as the post office of Bible School Park, New York. The college had about 329 students. In September 2023, the property was sold to Birchwood Management Group.

Baptist Bible College & Seminary was based at First Baptist Church in Johnson City from 1932 until it relocated to Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania in 1968.

The Binghamton University Decker health sciences campus is located on Corliss Ave, in the blocks bounded by Arch St, Broad St, and Willow St.

Johnson City is also located across the Susquehanna River from Binghamton University's main campus, which is in Vestal, New York.

Notable people

  • Danijal Brković, soccer player
  • Fred Coury, drummer for 80s hair-metal band Cinderella
  • Jerry D'Amigo, professional ice hockey player, graduated from Johnson City High School in 2009.
  • Howard G. Garrison, US Army major general
  • George F. Johnson, founded the Endicott Johnson Corporation here.
  • Jim Johnson, professional baseball player, was born here.
  • DaQuan Jones, professional NFL player for the Buffalo Bills, graduated from Johnson City High School in 2010.
  • David Sedaris, American humorist, comedian, author, and radio contributor.
  • Jiverly Antares Wong, mass murderer.

References

  • Village of Johnson City official website
  • Gerald Zahavi, "The Endicott Johnson Corporation:19th Century Origins": https://www.albany.edu/faculty/gz580/ejhistory/origins.html