Syracuse earned the nickname Salt City from the salt springs that made its first fortune, and it is central New York's main city with about 145,000 people. Syracuse University sits on the hill above downtown and drives the sports and student energy, and the New York State Fair takes over the fairgrounds every late summer.
There is more to do than the size suggests. Armory Square has restaurants and nightlife, the Everson Museum and MOST are good rainy-day stops, and Onondaga Lake Park has a long trail for walking and biking. Skaneateles and the Finger Lakes are easy day trips. Housing is among the cheapest in the Northeast. The big tradeoff is winter: Syracuse gets well over 100 inches of lake-effect snow in a typical year, so plan for icy roads and long, gray months. Violent crime is above the national average and concentrated on the south side, near east side and parts of the southwest, while downtown and University Hill are generally comfortable.
Cities with a similar character, anywhere on the site.
Out of 10. Open any score to see how it’s worked out. “Data-based” scores come from published figures; “Hey! En Route estimate” scores are worked out from what we know about the city; “Hey! En Route rating” scores were set by our editors.
- Known as
- The Salt City; Home of Syracuse University Orange; Crossroads of New York State; Emerald City of Central New York
- Founded
- 1786 first settlement (Salt Springs area); 1820 incorporated as a village; 1848 incorporated as a city
- Languages
- English; Spanish; Arabic; Chinese; Somali and Nepali (refugee communities); Burmese
- Airports
- Syracuse Hancock International (SYR), about 7 miles north of downtown; Greater Binghamton (BGM), about 75 miles south; Ithaca Tompkins (ITH), about 55 miles south; Rochester (ROC), about 85 miles west
- Tipping
- Restaurants 18-20%; bars $1-2 per drink; taxis and rideshare 15-20%; hotel housekeeping $3-5 per night; bellhops $2-5 per bag; counter service optional
About this data
Population 144,896 (Census Vintage 2025, July 1, 2025), land area 25.06 sq mi, median value and rent from Census QuickFacts. Metro figure 652,273 is the FRED July 1, 2025 estimate for the Syracuse NY MSA. Visitor and event URLs (Visit Syracuse) were seen in search results but not load-tested. Elevation, coordinates, founding, event months, hotel ranges, tipping, cost-of-living index, crime rates and airport distances are approximate or from general knowledge and not verified in this pass.
