Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Oswegatchie gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $97K for a typical one, or 1.5 years of the Massena area’s $63K median household income. It grades B− overall, ranked 381st of 745 in New York. The low prices come with trade-offs. Residents are less healthy than 76% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. No town among the 265 in New York we compare has a lower typical home value than Oswegatchie. Oswegatchie’s January low is 9°F, against 16°F in New York’s towns and 22°F across U.S. towns. On civic life, just 103 of New York’s 1,187 towns do worse.
Where Oswegatchie beats most towns.
Census counts: 1,661 in 1820, a peak of 10,821 in 1860, 4,158 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1865 and 3 maps from 1904 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Oswegatchie is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Oswegatchie, 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 Oswegatchie.
Oswegatchie has homes that are cheap against local pay and has commutes shorter than most of New York.
At 1.5 years of the Massena area’s $63K median household income, the typical home (about $97K) costs less against local pay than in 98% of New York towns; that ratio is one input to its A for cost of living. Its typical home is the least expensive on its borders; Ogdensburg is next at $116K.
Typical home values rose 9% in the year to September 2026. 87% of Oswegatchie households own their home. The typical Oswegatchie home is worth about $97,000, up 9% in a year, 82% below the New York typical home.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by the Heuvelton Central School District. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Heuvelton Central School, with 510 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Townline School PrivateLargest elementary schoolGrades 1–8 | Grades 1–8 | 22 | – |
| Heuvelton Central SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades PK–12 | Grades PK–12 | 510 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
44% of adults have obesity in Oswegatchie. Oswegatchie beats the New York average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 17. 39% of adults have high blood pressure in Oswegatchie.
| Oswegatchie | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 33% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 13% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 25% | 25% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 14% |
| What stands out | Oswegatchie | NY |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 9.4% | 6% |
| More adults with obesity | 43.5% | 28.8% |
| More smokers | 17% | 11.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Oswegatchie has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Oswegatchie’s July high is 80°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 1,419 working residents takes 19.5 minutes, against 32.6 across New York.
Most working residents leave Oswegatchie for work: only 13% work in town. The average trip to work in Oswegatchie is 20 minutes. Since 2013, Oswegatchie has lost 275 jobs, to 1,119 in 2023.
| Oswegatchie | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 14% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 13% | 10% | 8% |
| Median household income | $85,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
9.1 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Saint Lawrence State Park, at 309 acres.
| Oswegatchie | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.9% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Saint Lawrence State Park | — | 309 |
| 2. Eel Weir State Park | — | 12 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 55% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 8 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Oswegatchie.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
None within 15 miles of Oswegatchie; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Oswegatchie residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
6 towns share a border with Oswegatchie.
It grades higher overall than all 3 graded towns on its borders; Canton (C+) comes closest.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oswegatchie | #381 | B− | A | — | C+ | C− |
| De Peyster | — | — | A− | — | B− | C |
| Ogdensburg | #671 | D | B+ | D | C | C− |
| Lisbon | #457 | C+ | B+ | — | C+ | B− |
| Morristown | — | — | C+ | — | B− | D |
| De Kalb | — | — | A− | — | C− | C− |
| Canton | #447 | C+ | C+ | — | B− | B |
De Peyster, Morristown and De Kalb have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Oswegatchie, De Peyster, Lisbon, Morristown, De Kalb and Canton report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Oswegatchie with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Oswegatchie grades B− overall, better than 51% of U.S. towns and #381 of 745 in New York. It grades C− for health and C+ for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a C−.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A.