Elmira is a city in Chemung County, New York, USA. It is the principal city of the Elmira Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses Chemung County, New York. The population was 30,940 at the 2000 census. ^[1] It is the county seat of Chemung County. The City of Elmira is located in the south-central part of the county, surrounded on three sides by the Town of Elmira. It is in the Southern Tier of New York a short distance north of the Pennsylvania state line.