Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A regional job hub with 4,090 jobs.
Oneonta grades C− overall, 611th of 745 graded towns in New York, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. It has 10 miles of trail. On the other side, its public schools trail 79% of New York towns on state tests and graduation. 11% of residents are under 18 in Oneonta, below both New York’s towns (20%) and U.S. towns (22%). Stonehouse Farm is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Where Oneonta beats most towns.
Where Oneonta’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Oneonta is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,061 in 1870, 13,079 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1884 and 3 maps from 1915 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Oneonta, 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 Oneonta.
Oneonta draws workers from Oneonta and beyond and gets more snow than nearly all U.S. towns.
4,090 jobs are based in Oneonta, 2.3 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 21.7 minutes, against 32.6 across New York.
The top destinations are Oneonta (22%), New York (7%) and Otsego (4%). For most workers, Oneonta is a place to come home to: only 13% work in town. In Oneonta, 14% of residents live below the poverty line. Half commute less than 19 miles.
| Oneonta | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 14% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 13% | 10% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its one school is below. The Oneonta City School District runs its public schools. Enrollment at the town’s public school: 283 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greater Plains Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 283 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
The biggest park or preserve is Fortin Park, at 40 acres. 3 parks and preserves cover 44 acres in Oneonta. Its density of trails stands at 0.3 miles per square mile.
| Oneonta | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 9.1% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Fortin Park | — | 40 |
| 2. Neahwa Park | — | 3 |
| 3. Charlotte River Fishing Access | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
For adults in Oneonta, the share who had a checkup this year is 77%. This New York town beats the New York average on 9 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 5. 36% of adults in Oneonta feel lonely; 19% report frequent mental distress.
| Oneonta | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 34% | 35% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 32% | 33% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 16% | 17% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 33% | 35% |
| What stands out | Oneonta | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6.1% | 7.9% |
| Fewer adults with diabetes | 8.9% | 11.5% |
| More adults in frequent mental distress | 19% | 15% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Oneonta’s median age is 52.2 years. It is shrinking: down 2% since 2020, to 4,961 residents (2025 estimate). Also worth knowing: among adults 25 and older here, 42% hold a bachelor’s degree or more.
| Oneonta | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 52.2 years | 42.9 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 25% | 20% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 42% | 32% | 29% |
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±5.3 points. Across New York, 51.2% of residents are women.
| Oneonta | NY | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 5.5% | 11% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 5.9% | 9.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.5% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10.8% | 14.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 15.3% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.5% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 19.6% | 13.3% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 13.4% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 11.6% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 9.3% | 12% | 10.4% |
| High school | 24% | 24.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 16% | 14.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.8% | 8.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 29.5% | 22.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 12.4% | 17.9% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 5,000, single groups can be off by several points
The Emmons weather station, 5 miles away, records that 83 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 95% of U.S. towns.
July afternoons reach 81° and January nights drop to 13°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
FEMA puts 74% of Oneonta’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 16% to cold waves. Storm and flood damage is expected to run higher than in 56% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 32 flood insurance claims have been paid out here.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
3 within 15 miles of the center of Oneonta
About 1 of every 100 Oneonta residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
21 notable people were born in Oneonta.
City in New York, United States
Oneonta ( OH-nee-ON-tə) is a city in southern Otsego County, New York, United States. It is one of the northernmost cities of Appalachia. Oneonta is home to the State University of New York at Oneonta and Hartwick College. SUNY Oneonta began as a normal school and a teacher's college in 1889, and Hartwick College moved into the city in 1928. The approximately 5,800 students from SUNY Oneonta and the approximately 1,500 students at Hartwick make up a significant percentage of the population of Oneonta. As of the 2020 census, Oneonta had a population of 13,079. While the word "oneonta" is of undetermined origin, it is popularly believed to mean "place of open rocks" in the Mohawk language. Th…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Oneonta.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oneonta | #611 | C− | C+ | — | C− | B+ |
| Davenport | #582 | C | B− | — | C− | B+ |
| Milford | #439 | C+ | B+ | — | C− | B+ |
| Laurens | — | — | B− | — | C− | B |
| Otego | #661 | D | B | — | C− | B− |
| Franklin | — | — | B | — | B+ | B |
Laurens and Franklin have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Oneonta, Davenport, Milford, Laurens, Otego and Franklin report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Oneonta with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Oneonta grades C− overall, better than 22% of U.S. towns and #611 of 745 in New York. It grades B+ for health and C− for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a C−.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
21 notable people were born here, including Jerry Jeff Walker and Jim Metzler.
