Seward. (Township), 1866
Seward’s story
177 years in pictures
Census counts: 2,088 in 1840, 1,583 in 2020. The archive holds 1 old photo or paper going back to 1866 and 4 maps from 1904 on.
- 1849Seward is settled
SewardNY
A town of 1,588, settled in 1849.
Population
1,588
2025 Census estimate · +0.1% since 2020
Median home value
$199K
Census ACS
Household income
$87K
median
Median age
39.5
years
Jobs based here
27
A commuter town
Is Seward a good place to live?
Seward’s best subject grades are an A− for cost of living and a B+ for health; its weakest is a C for incomes. Seward’s average trip to work is 37 minutes, against 25 minutes in New York’s towns and 25 minutes across U.S. towns. Among 759 New York towns, just 1 have a lower share of working residents who work in town than Seward. Only 18 of New York’s 1,216 towns score lower on the outdoors. The biggest place to walk is Settles Mountain Nature Preserve, 142 acres with 2.3 miles of trail. Seward has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
A shrinking town
Seward has shrunk 10% since 2010
1,763 counted in 2010 and 1,583 in 2020; an estimated 1,588 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
How Seward grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Seward is from typical.
Cost of livingA−Open →Jobs & income$87K median household incomeCOpen →HealthCobleskill Regional Hospital 5.3 miles awayB+Open →Hazard riskFEMA risk higher than 30% of U.S. communities; inland flooding tops the listB+Open →WalkabilityEPA walkability 3.3 of 20; 7% of households have no car; 6% of workers walk, bike or ride transitC+Open →SchoolsBehind 58% of New York districts on tests and graduationC+Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Outdoors6 miles of trails; 0% conserved landDOpen →HistoryB+Open →Civic life0.2 community nonprofits per 1,000 residentsCOpen →
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Getting set up
The full setup list →Moving to Seward: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Seward, and how to reach them.
PowerNational Grid19.9¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterValley MHP LLCNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet3 providers85% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & dumpNot on file yetWe don’t have Seward’s trash rules yet
Register to voteOnlineIn New York you can register online until 10 days before Election Day, in person until 10 days before Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 15 days before and received 10 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereSchoharie County Board of ElectionsSchoharie County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Aug 2015
ZIP codes12043, 13459, 1214912043 92% · 13459 6% · 12149 2%Census 2020
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Aug 3, 2026.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Seward.
Work & commuteJobs & income grade C
Seward has 0.1 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Most working residents leave Seward for work: only 1% work in town. 16% of residents live below the poverty line in Seward, where New York’s towns sit at 9.5% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. Jobs based in Seward fell to 27 in 2023, 109 fewer than in 2013.
1%work in town
| Seward | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 16% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 13% | 12% | 11% |
| Median household income | $87,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
In Seward1%
Cobleskill14%
Sharon9%
New York7%
Schoharie6%
29 mi
median commute distance
27
jobs based in Seward
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
C+
Walkability grade: more walkable than 42% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
HealthB+
Residents of Seward are healthier than 71% of U.S. towns
Seward beats the New York average on 5 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 5. 18% of adults binge drink in Seward.
71%healthier than U.S. townsB+Health Grade
| Seward | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 16% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 9.9% | 11% | 12% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 16% | 17% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 33% | 35% |
32 measures vs. New York
5 better22 too close to call5 worse
| What stands out | Seward | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.8% | 7.9% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 10.7% | 14.5% |
| More adults with depression | 21.1% | 17.5% |
Cobleskill Regional Hospital
5.3 mi away · emergency room
2 of 3
care shortages: primary care, mental health
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade B+
Low risk in Seward, with inland flooding at the top
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 70% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Seward since 2011.
30risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingTornadoes
1
paid flood claims since 2011
9
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Climate
Seward has snowy winters and pleasant summers
Seward has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. The July high in Seward is 80°F.
54″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter15–33°
Spring32–55°
Summer55–78°
Fall38–59°
Oct 4
typical first frost
May 9
typical last frost
+0.9°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
OutdoorsD
Conserved land covers 0.2% of Seward
5.8 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. Among 741 New York towns, just 10 have a lower share of conserved land than Seward.
0.2%conserved
| Seward | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.2% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
0.2%
conserved · 45 of 23,189 acres
5.8 mi
of trails · 0.2 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Settles Mountain Nature Preserve | 2.3 mi | 142 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
HousingCost of living grade A−
Homes in Seward sell for about $200K
88% of Seward households own their home.
$200Kmedian sale price
| Seward | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 88% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,180 a month | $1,101 a month | $1,185 a month |
1
homes sold in May
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Nearby attractions
All 58 attractions →National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum and 12 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Seward. Close and well known come first.
Big draw17 mi MuseumNational Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum315K visitors a year9 mi CaveHowe Caverns30 mi LandmarkFort Dayton
40 mi Ski areaHunter Mountain62 runs · 1,532 ft vertical
33 mi TheatreProctor's Theatre
18 mi MuseumFenimore Art MuseumSources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons
Photo credits
National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum: Beyond My Ken, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Hunter Mountain: The original uploader was Daniel Case at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0 · Proctor's Theatre: UpstateNYer, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fenimore Art Museum: Ser Amantio di Nicolao, CC BY-SA 3.0
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Seward
18pages on Seward
The big questions
Out and about
The story
Day to day
After high school
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Seward
About 5 of every 100 Seward residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
A commuter town
99% of working residents leave Seward for work
Where Seward’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
27jobs based in Seward
1%of working residents work in town
29 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
About Seward
Town in New York, United States
Seward is a town in Schoharie County, New York, United States. The population was 1,583 at the 2020 census. The town is named after senator, governor, and secretary of state William H. Seward. The Town of Seward is in the northwestern part of the county and is northeast of Oneonta.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 37 sq mi
- Elevation
- 1,158 ft
Seward’s neighbors
5 towns share a border with Seward.
SharonRichmondvilleRoseboomDecaturCobleskillSeward
How the neighbors grade
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seward | — | — | A− | — | C+ | B+ |
| Sharon | — | — | B | — | C− | B− |
| Richmondville | — | — | B+ | — | C+ | B− |
| Roseboom | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Decatur | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Cobleskill | #395 | B− | B− | — | C+ | B+ |
Seward, Sharon and Richmondville have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Seward, Sharon, Richmondville and Cobleskill report no FBI crime data of their own. Roseboom and Decatur aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Seward with a neighbor →
Questions about Seward
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Seward, NY expensive?
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−.