Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Solvay's standout: natural-hazard risk is low. Overall it grades B, 350th of 745 graded towns in New York. It is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns. Its weakest subject is schools: its public schools trail 75% of New York towns on state tests and graduation. 51% of households own their home in Solvay, against 75% in New York’s towns and 73% across U.S. towns. The biggest park or preserve is Gertrude Street Park, at 23 acres.
Where Solvay beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Solvay is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
![Solvay Process Co.'s works, Syracuse [i.e. Solvay], N.Y](https://images.townratings.com/story/11636/fc0e4ef8d82b9db33235-l.jpg)
Census counts: 563 in 1890, 6,645 in 2020. The archive holds 13 old photos and papers going back to 1890 and 5 maps from 1895 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Solvay. Close and well known come first.
4 mi Stadium & arenaJMA Wireless Dome
2 mi LakeOnondaga Lake
36 mi LakeCayuga Lake
3 mi Stadium & arenaOncenter War Memorial Arena
3 mi Stadium & arenaAlliance Bank Stadium
3 mi MuseumEverson Museum of ArtJMA Wireless Dome: Jimhoward03, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Onondaga Lake: R. A. Nonenmacher, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cayuga Lake: The original uploader was Cornellrockey at English Wikipedia. Later versions we, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Oncenter War Memorial Arena: Crazyale, Public domain · Alliance Bank Stadium: Quintin Soloviev, CC BY 4.0 · Everson Museum of Art: Crazyale, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Solvay, 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 Solvay.
Solvay 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.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 96% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 6 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Solvay.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Syracuse Hancock Intl Ap weather station, 7 miles away, records that 128 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 99% of U.S. towns. The Syracuse Hancock Intl Ap weather station, 7 miles away, records that about 10 days a year reach 90°: fewer than most of the country, but more than 78% of New York places with climate records.
Solvay has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 82° and January nights drop to 16°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 2,858 working residents takes 19.3 minutes, against 32.6 across New York.
Most working residents leave Solvay for work: only 6% work in town. The average trip to work in Solvay is 19 minutes. The top destinations are Syracuse (32%), DeWitt (10%) and Geddes (8%).
| Solvay | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 6.9% | 12% | 11% |
| Median household income | $61,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 6.9% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Solvay's reported crime rate is below New York's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. 9 violent crimes were reported in 2025.
| Solvay | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 10.2 per 1,000 residents | 7.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.4 per 1,000 residents | 0.8 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Against the 9,213 U.S. towns with household incomes like Solvay’s, it is healthier than 82%, so its B isn’t only a matter of income.
Solvay beats the New York average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 7. 38% of Solvay adults have obesity.
| Solvay | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 33% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 16% | 17% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 32% | 33% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 17% | 16% |
| What stands out | Solvay | NY |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with depression | 23.3% | 17.5% |
| More adults with obesity | 37.7% | 28.8% |
| More smokers | 13.8% | 11.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
| Solvay | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.2% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Gertrude Street Park | 0.1 mi | 23 |
| 2. Woods Road Park | — | 7 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
At 2 years of the Syracuse metro’s $75K median household income, the typical home costs less against local pay than in 89% of New York towns; that ratio is one input to its B for cost of living.
Solvay’s median rent is $946 a month.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
8 within 15 miles of the center of Solvay
About 7 of every 100 Solvay residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New York.
3 notable people were born in Solvay.
Village in New York, United States
Solvay is a village located in the town of Geddes, Onondaga County, New York, United States, and a suburb of the city of Syracuse. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,645. The village is named after the Solvay brothers, Belgian inventors of the chemical process employed by the Solvay Process Company, formerly the major industry of the village.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Solvay.
Camillus next door grades higher for schools (B+ to Solvay’s C) and lower for cost of living (C to B).
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solvay | #350 | B | B | — | C | B |
| Geddes | #308 | B | B | C+ | C | B+ |
| Syracuse | #734 | D− | B− | D− | D− | C− |
| Fairmount | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Camillus | #106 | A | C | B+ | B+ | A |
Solvay reports no FBI crime data of its own. Fairmount isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Solvay with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Solvay grades B overall, better than 55% of U.S. towns and #350 of 745 in New York. It grades B for health and C for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a C.
The typical home is worth about $150,000, 71% 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 B.
3 notable people were born here, including Leonard Bacon and Richard Jay-Alexander.
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