Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Oswego grades D overall, 668th among New York's 745 graded towns, mostly because of incomes and safety. The median household income is $53K, and 21% of residents live below the poverty line. It reports more crime per resident than 86% of U.S. towns, including 45 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. One bright spot: it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 97% of U.S. towns. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 97% of U.S. towns, with 34 places on the National Register. 35% of working residents work locally in Oswego, where New York’s towns sit at 10% and U.S. towns at 8%. Its National Register listings include NASH (harbor tug) and Fort Ontario.
Where Oswego beats most towns.
NASH (harbor tug) is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 12,205 in 1850, a peak of 23,626 in 1920, 16,921 in 2020. The archive holds 11 old photos and papers going back to 1839 and 5 maps from 1900 on.
34 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Oswego is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Oswego, 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 Oswego.
Oswego gets more snow than nearly all U.S. towns, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has homes that are cheap against local pay.
Reported crimes fell from 651 to 401 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The property crime rate in Oswego is 20.8 per 1,000 residents. Oswego reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 86% report less. The violent crime rate in Oswego is 2.6 per 1,000 residents.
| Oswego | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 20.8 per 1,000 residents | 7.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.6 per 1,000 residents | 0.8 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its public schools are run by the Oswego City School District. Two of its 7 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oswego Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 7–8 | Grades 7–8 | 572 | C− |
| Oswego High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,079 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 88% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 10 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Oswego.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
3.4 miles of trail in 13 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Fort Ontario State Historic Site, at 64 acres.
| Oswego | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 3.3% | 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. Washington Square | 0.4 mi | 5 |
| 2. Fort Ontario State Historic Site | 0.3 mi | 64 |
| 3. Franklin Square | 0.3 mi | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The Oswego weather station records that 140 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 99% of U.S. towns.
Oswego has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Oswego’s July high is 79°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 6,606 working residents takes 18.5 minutes, against 32.6 across New York.
About one in 3 of Oswego’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Oswego (8%), Syracuse (7%) and Fulton (4%). Half commute less than 10 miles.
| Oswego | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $53,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 8.6% | 12% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 6,823 U.S. towns with household incomes like Oswego’s, it is healthier than 74%, so its C+ isn’t only a matter of income.
Oswego beats the New York average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 12. 41% of Oswego adults sleep under 7 hours.
| Oswego | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 37% | 36% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 16% | 17% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 25% | 25% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 14% | 14% |
| What stands out | Oswego | NY |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 8.4% | 6% |
| More smokers | 15.3% | 11.3% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 17.2% | 12.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
At 1.6 years of the Syracuse metro’s $75K median household income, the typical home costs less against local pay than in 97% of New York towns; that ratio is one input to its C+ for cost of living.
50% of households own their home in Oswego.
| Oswego | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 50% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,109 a month | $1,098 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Oswego. Close and well known come first.
35 mi Stadium & arenaJMA Wireless Dome
in town LandmarkFort Ontario
30 mi LakeOnondaga Lake
39 mi State parkGreen Lakes State Park
34 mi Stadium & arenaOncenter War Memorial Arena
31 mi Stadium & arenaAlliance Bank StadiumJMA Wireless Dome: Jimhoward03, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Fort Ontario: Ad Meskens, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Onondaga Lake: R. A. Nonenmacher, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Green Lakes State Park: Ebedgert at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Oncenter War Memorial Arena: Crazyale, Public domain · Alliance Bank Stadium: Quintin Soloviev, CC BY 4.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Oswego
About 10 of every 100 Oswego residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
34 places in Oswego on the National Register of Historic Places.
27 notable people were born in Oswego.
City in Oswego County, New York, US
Oswego ( oss-WEE-goh, Onondaga: Deyoʼswé·geʼ ) is a city in and the county seat of Oswego County, New York, United States. The population was 16,921 at the 2020 census. Oswego is situated at the mouth of the Oswego River on the southeastern shore of Lake Ontario in Upstate New York, about 40 miles (64 km) northwest of Syracuse and 74 miles (119 km) east-northeast of Rochester by road. The city promotes itself as "The Port City of Central New York". The first European settlement at Oswego was a British trading post established in 1722, and it was first incorporated as a village in 1828 before becoming a city in 1848. British forces briefly captured the city during the War of 1812, but were d…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Oswego.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oswego | #668 | D | C+ | D | C− | C+ |
| Oswego | #501 | C+ | B− | — | C− | B |
| Minetto | — | — | B+ | — | C− | B |
| Scriba | #351 | B | B+ | — | C | B |
| SUNY Oswego | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Minetto has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Oswego, Minetto and Scriba report no FBI crime data of their own. SUNY Oswego isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Oswego with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Oswego grades D overall, better than 13% of U.S. towns and #668 of 745 in New York. It grades C+ for health, D for safety and C− for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D.
The typical home is worth about $121,000, 77% 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+.
27 notable people were born here, including Joey Belladonna and Morgan Robertson.
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