Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Lysander grades B overall, 304th among New York's 745 graded towns, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. The median household earns $108K. It also does better than most on health: residents are healthier than 75% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Its lowest everyday mark is in cost of living: the typical home is worth about $288K, 3.8 years of the Syracuse metro’s $75K median household income. 12% of the land in Lysander is conserved, where New York’s towns sit at 5.2% and U.S. towns at 4.3%. Three Rivers Wildlife Management Area, at 3,571 acres with 5.3 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
Where Lysander beats most towns.
Census counts: 1,723 in 1820, 23,074 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1891 and 3 maps from 1900 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Lysander is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Lysander. Close and well known come first.
16 mi Stadium & arenaJMA Wireless Dome
11 mi LakeOnondaga Lake
38 mi LakeCayuga Lake
13 mi Stadium & arenaAlliance Bank Stadium
15 mi Stadium & arenaOncenter War Memorial Arena
22 mi State parkGreen Lakes State ParkJMA Wireless Dome: Jimhoward03, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Onondaga Lake: R. A. Nonenmacher, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cayuga Lake: The original uploader was Cornellrockey at English Wikipedia. Later versions we, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Alliance Bank Stadium: Quintin Soloviev, CC BY 4.0 · Oncenter War Memorial Arena: Crazyale, Public domain · Green Lakes State Park: Ebedgert at English Wikipedia, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Lysander, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Aug 3, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Lysander.
Lysander gets more snow than nearly all U.S. towns, has less no health insurance than most of New York and has commutes shorter than most of New York.
The average commute for its 10,198 working residents takes 24 minutes, against 32.6 across New York. Jobs based here grew from 4,210 in 2013 to 6,090.
Most working residents leave Lysander for work: only 12% work in town. Jobs based in Lysander grew to 6,090 in 2023, 1,880 more than in 2013. 5.8% of Lysander residents live below the poverty line, below both New York’s towns (9.5%) and U.S. towns (9.6%).
| Lysander | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $108,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 17% | 12% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 5.8% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Baldwinsville Central School District. Two of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Charles W Baker High School, with 1,240 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harry E Elden Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 504 | C+ |
| Charles W Baker High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 10–12 | Grades 10–12 | 1,240 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with New York is no health insurance: 4.8% of those 18–64 have no health insurance, against 7.9% statewide. Against the 7,454 U.S. towns with household incomes like Lysander’s, it is healthier than 56%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
82% of adults had a checkup this year in Lysander. Lysander beats the New York average on 11 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 4. 15% of adults say their health is fair or poor in Lysander.
| Lysander | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 82% | 81% | 79% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 17% | 19% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 25% | 25% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 4.8% | 5.9% | 8.1% |
| What stands out | Lysander | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 4.8% | 7.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 10.7% | 17.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.1% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Three Rivers Wildlife Management Area | 5.3 mi | 3,571 |
| 2. Beaver Lake Nature Center | 3.8 mi | 555 |
| 3. Lysander Town Park | 0.9 mi | 44 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Adults 18 to 34 are 14% of residents (23% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 44% of residents (39% statewide). 48% of Lysander adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more.
| Lysander | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 48% | 32% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 24% | 20% | 22% |
| Median age | 43.6 years | 42.9 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 18% | 20% | 18% |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±1.7 points. Across New York, 51.2% of residents are women. Median age: women 44.6, men 42.7.
| Lysander | NY | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.4% | 11% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 15% | 9.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.5% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 8.3% | 14.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.5% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 14.2% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 16.6% | 13.3% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.9% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.7% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.7% | 12% | 10.4% |
| High school | 18.5% | 24.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 14.7% | 14.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 14.5% | 8.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 27% | 22.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 20.6% | 17.9% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
The Baldwinsville weather station records that 79 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 95% of U.S. towns.
Lysander has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Lysander’s July high is 81°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 62% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 45 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Lysander.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
2 within 15 miles of the center of Lysander
About 4 of every 100 Lysander residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
Where Lysander’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
3 places in Lysander on the National Register of Historic Places.
Town in New York, United States
Lysander is a town in Onondaga County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 23,074. The town was named after Lysander, a Spartan military leader, by a clerk interested in the classics. Lying to the northwest of Syracuse, much of the town is suburban in character.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
10 towns share a border with Lysander.
Geddes next door grades lower for schools (C to Lysander’s B+) and higher for cost of living (B to C).
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lysander | #304 | B | C | — | B+ | B+ |
| Van Buren | #250 | B+ | C | — | B+ | A− |
| Clay | #302 | B | C | — | C+ | A− |
| Schroeppel | #572 | C | C+ | — | C | B− |
| Elbridge | #196 | A− | A− | — | B− | B |
| Radisson | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Cato | — | — | B− | — | B | B− |
| Geddes | #308 | B | B | C+ | C | B+ |
Cato has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Lysander, Van Buren, Clay, Schroeppel, Elbridge and Cato report no FBI crime data of their own. Radisson isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Lysander with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Lysander grades B overall, better than 62% of U.S. towns and #304 of 745 in New York. It grades B+ for health and B+ for schools.
The typical home is worth about $288,000, 45% below the New York typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
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