Albany is the capital of New York State. New York City is the largest city in the United States but holds none of the state government: the legislature, the governor and the Court of Appeals are all in Albany.
"New York" is a state and a city with the same name, and only the state has a capital.
Albany, on the Hudson about 220 kilometres north of New York City, has been the state capital since 1797. It holds the New York State Capitol, the Legislature, the governor's office and the Court of Appeals, the state's highest court. Its population is around 100,000, roughly one-eightieth of New York City's.
New York City was the state capital until 1797, and it was the capital of the United States from 1785 to 1790: George Washington was inaugurated on Wall Street in 1789. The state moved its government upriver for the ordinary reason capitals move: a central location, away from a single dominant city, easier to reach from the rest of the state by the transport of the day.
If the question is where New York City governs itself from, that is City Hall in Lower Manhattan, one of the oldest city halls still in use in the United States. A city's seat is not a capital, for the same reason London has none.
Most American state capitals are not the largest city in their state. New York, California, Illinois, Florida, Texas and Pennsylvania all put the government somewhere other than the biggest place.
The places above come from GeoNames, reconciled against Wikidata. Last checked 21 September 2026. How we know · Suggest a correction