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Towns / New York

SUNY Oswego, New York

SUNY Oswego is an unincorporated community of about 3,600 people in Oswego County, New York. It has no city government of its own: local services come from the county, or in some states from the town or township. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Rochester, is about 58 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
3,564
Census survey, 2020-24
Prices, Syracuse area
95.7
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
1 mile
Oswego, NY
To Rochester
58 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 moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in SUNY Oswego to say.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI doesn't publish crime figures for unincorporated communities. Call the county sheriff's office (or the town or township police, where there is one) and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byOswego Hospital in Oswego, about 1 mile away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityRochester is about 58 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 SUNY 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

Home prices since then
Up 29%Oswego County, 2022 to 2025
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 SUNY 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, 2020-2024 Census survey
3,564The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age
19.5 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
0%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
1%U.S.: 22%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
47%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
Arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (46%); schools, health care and social services (21%); retail (13%)
Average commute
9 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
14%U.S.: 15%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Oswego Hospital, Oswego, NY, about 1 mile 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

2 public schools in SUNY 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.

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
267 feet

Weather station: Oswego (less than a mile 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: 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

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Harriet Tubman National Historical Park37 miles
  • Women's Rights National Historical Park41 miles
  • Fort Stanwix National Monument57 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 SUNY Oswego's history on Wikipedia.

Know SUNY 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, 5 miles
  • Hannibal, NY536 people, 10 miles
  • Fair Haven, NY770 people, 12 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.