Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 8,505, settled in 1796.
Oswego's standout: natural-hazard risk is low. Overall it grades C+, 501st of 745 graded towns in New York. It is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns. Its weakest subject is incomes: the median household income is $78K, and 19% of residents live below the poverty line. Oswego’s median age is 20.7 years, below both New York’s towns (43 years) and U.S. towns (40.5 years). Oswego is home to State University of New York at Oswego. Oswego's public schools trail 78% of New York towns on state tests and graduation.
Where Oswego beats most towns.
| College | Students |
|---|---|
| State University of New York at Oswego | 5,577 |
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Oswego is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
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.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
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 is shaped by its college students, gets more snow than nearly all U.S. towns and has commutes shorter than most of New York.
46.1% of residents are enrolled in college, against 7% statewide, which pulls the median age down.
For residents in Oswego, the share who are under 18 is 12%. Adults 18 to 34 are 55% of residents (23% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 22% of residents (39% statewide). This New York town is growing: up 7.5% since 2020, to 8,505 residents (2025 estimate). New York has two in five adults 25 and older with a bachelor’s degree or more; here it is 36%.
| Oswego | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 12% | 20% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 12% | 20% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 36% | 32% | 29% |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.5 points. Across New York, 51.2% of residents are women. Median age: women 20.4, men 21.0.
| Oswego | NY | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 4.8% | 11% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7.1% | 9.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 49.1% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 5.5% | 14.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 5.2% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 7.7% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 8.8% | 13.3% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.4% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 3.4% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 11.9% | 12% | 10.4% |
| High school | 26.5% | 24.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 16.7% | 14.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9% | 8.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 19.3% | 22.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 16.5% | 17.9% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
For Oswego, the natural-hazard score from FEMA is 7 of 100. Federal aid has come to Oswego households in 5 declared disasters; the latest was in 2019. Of the losses FEMA expects in the town, 74% come from inland flooding and 5% from strong winds. One flood insurance claim has been paid locally since 1981.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Oswego weather station records that 140 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 99% of U.S. towns.
July afternoons reach 80° and January nights drop to 17°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 2,273 working residents takes 18.8 minutes, against 32.6 across New York. Jobs based here grew from 2,150 in 2013 to 3,076.
Between 2013 and 2023, jobs in Oswego rose by 926, to 3,076. For most workers, Oswego is a place to come home to: only 10% work in town. Also worth knowing: the town’s average trip to work stands at 19 minutes. The top destinations are Oswego (22%), Syracuse (6%) and Scriba (4%).
| Oswego | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 10% | 10% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
In Oswego, the trail network density is 0.1 miles per square mile. Count the trails in 1 park or preserve and they come to 2.3 miles.
| Oswego | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.6% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Village Commons Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Oswego: 27% of adults get no exercise outside work. Of 32 CDC measures, Oswego beats the New York average on 2 and trails it on 5. In Oswego, 18% of adults binge drink, and 34% feel lonely.
| Oswego | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 37% | 36% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 16% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 32% | 33% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 25% | 25% |
| What stands out | Oswego | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6.3% | 7.9% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 12.3% | 14.5% |
| More adults with depression | 22.1% | 17.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Oswego. Close and well known come first.
33 mi Stadium & arenaJMA Wireless Dome
28 mi LakeOnondaga Lake
5 mi LandmarkFort Ontario
32 mi Stadium & arenaOncenter War Memorial Arena
38 mi State parkGreen Lakes State Park
30 mi Stadium & arenaAlliance Bank StadiumJMA Wireless Dome: Jimhoward03, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Onondaga Lake: R. A. Nonenmacher, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Fort Ontario: Ad Meskens, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Oncenter War Memorial Arena: Crazyale, Public domain · Green Lakes State Park: Ebedgert at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Alliance Bank Stadium: Quintin Soloviev, CC BY 4.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Oswego
College town 46 of every 100 Oswego residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
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)
5 towns share a border with Oswego.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oswego | #501 | C+ | B− | — | C− | B |
| Minetto | — | — | B+ | — | C− | B |
| SUNY Oswego | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Oswego | #668 | D | C+ | D | C− | C+ |
| Sterling | #472 | C+ | A− | — | C− | C+ |
| Hannibal | #690 | D | B | — | C− | C |
Minetto has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Oswego, Minetto, Sterling and Hannibal 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 C+ overall, better than 36% of U.S. towns and #501 of 745 in New York. It grades B for health and C− for schools. Jobs & income 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 B−.
27 notable people were born here, including Joey Belladonna and Morgan Robertson.
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