What does this indicator measure?

This indicator is a measure of the 2011 US Economic Development Administration’s innovation index score for the Syracuse Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), as well as several comparative geographies.   MSA’s are a geographic unit used by the census to capture economic “systems”.  They usually include one county with an urban core/city and some adjoining counties that conduct a lot of commerce with each other.

Some other notes:

-Upstate New York is defined as a 19-county region that includes the 5 county Buffalo region (Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, and Niagara), 9 county Rochester region (Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Orleans, Wayne, Wyoming, Yates, and Seneca), and 5 county Syracuse region (Cayuga, Cortland, Onondaga, Oswego, and Madison).

-The US Economic Development Administration Innovation Index combines measures on human capital, economic dynamics, productivity and employment, and economic well-being.