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Towns / New York

Oswego, New York

Oswego is a small town of about 17,000 people in Oswego County, New York. It's the county seat. 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 59 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
17,024
up 0.7% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$120,600
Oswego County prices up 29% since 2022
Household income
$53,172
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Syracuse area
95.7
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Oswego Hospital
To Rochester
59 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 neighborhood45 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 2.6 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 20.8 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town6 public schools: 4 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byOswego Hospital is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityRochester is about 59 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 Oswego 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
$120,600U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 29%Oswego County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,109 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$53,172U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
50%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$3,362 a yearNew York: $6,582
Homes built before 1940
53%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
3%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
2%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 Oswego 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
17,0242020: 16,910
Median age
35.7 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
18%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
22%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
26%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
5%U.S.: 6%
College students
10%share of all residents

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
Schools, health care and social services (31%); retail (16%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (10%)
Unemployment rate
8%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
19 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
9%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
21%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, in town. 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

6 public schools in Oswego, run by Oswego City School District.

Colleges in or next to town: State University of New York at Oswego (5,000 to 9,999 students).

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
80%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
91%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
19°F
July average high
80°F
Days 90°F or hotter
3 a year
Nights at or below freezing
119 a year
Rain and melted snow
43.1 inches a year
Snow
140 inches a year
Elevation
304 feet

Weather station: Oswego (2 miles away). 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: 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

35 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including Fort Ontario, the Franklin Square Historic District, the Kingsford Historic District and the Montcalm Park Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Harriet Tubman National Historical Park38 miles
  • Women's Rights National Historical Park42 miles
  • Fort Stanwix National Monument55 miles

Campus life. Check State University of New York at Oswego's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Oswego's history on Wikipedia.

Know Oswego?

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

  • Minetto, NY (unincorporated)1,437 people, 4 miles
  • Hannibal, NY536 people, 10 miles
  • Fair Haven, NY770 people, 14 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.