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Towns / New York

Mexico, New York

Mexico is a small town of about 1,600 people in Oswego County, New York. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.3 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Rochester, is about 73 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
1,553
down 1.2% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$167,100
Oswego County prices up 29% since 2022
Household income
$73,229
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Syracuse area
95.7
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
14 miles
Oswego, NY
To Rochester
73 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 4.3% below the U.S. average in the Syracuse metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.3 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Mexico itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town3 public schools: 1 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byOswego Hospital in Oswego, about 14 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityRochester is about 73 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Mexico meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$167,100U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 29%Oswego County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$893 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$73,229U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
50%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$4,176 a yearNew York: $6,582
Homes built before 1940
41%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
2%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
1%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
95.7U.S. average = 100 (the Syracuse metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 29% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Syracuse metro area, not Mexico alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
1,5532020: 1,572
Median age
31.9 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
17%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
23%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
19%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
5%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Retail (11%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (10%)
Unemployment rate
1%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
28 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
6%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
8%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Oswego Hospital, Oswego, NY, about 14 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 3 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

3 public schools in Mexico, run by Mexico Central School District.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on New York's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
70%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
89%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
11°F
July average high
78°F
Days 90°F or hotter
3 a year
Nights at or below freezing
158 a year
Rain and melted snow
46.7 inches a year
Snow
159 inches a year
Elevation
380 feet

Weather stations: Pulaski (9 miles away) and Fulton (14 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Oswego Hospital, Syracuse, Rochester.

Oswego County is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

17 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including Hamilton Farmstead, the Mexico Village Historic District, Phineas Davis Farmstead and Slack Farmstead.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Harriet Tubman National Historical Park41 miles
  • Fort Stanwix National Monument43 miles
  • Women's Rights National Historical Park49 miles

Read about Mexico's history on Wikipedia.

Know Mexico?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Parish, NY445 people, 7 miles
  • Altmar, NY (unincorporated)243 people, 12 miles
  • Minetto, NY (unincorporated)1,437 people, 13 miles
  • Sandy Creek, NY618 people, 14 miles
  • Sand Ridge, NY (unincorporated)838 people, 14 miles
  • Lacona, NY662 people, 15 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.