Upstate New York is a geographic region of New York State that lies north and northwest of the New York City metropolitan area of downstate New York. Upstate includes the Hudson Valley, the Capital District, the Mohawk Valley region, Central New York, the Southern Tier, the Finger Lakes region, Western New York, and the North Country. Major cities across upstate New York from east to west include the state capital of Albany, Utica, Binghamton, Syracuse, Rochester, and Buffalo. - Source: Wikipedia