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Onondaga County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of 2000, the population was 458,336. The estimated population for 2004 is 459,805, an increase of 0.3%. The county seat is Syracuse. The name Onondaga is in honor of the Haudenosaunee tribe that lives in the region.
History When counties were established in New York State in 1683, the present Onondaga County was part of Albany County. This was an enormous county, including the northern part of New York State as well as all of the present State of Vermont and, in theory, extending westward to the Pacific Ocean. This county was reduced in size on July 3, 1766 by the creation of Cumberland County, and further on March 16, 1770 by the creation of Gloucester County, both containing territory now in Vermont. On March 12, 1772, what was left of Albany County was split into three parts, one remaining under the name Albany County. One of the other pieces, Tryon County, contained the western portion (and thus, since no western boundary was specified, theoretically still extended west to the Pacific). The eastern boundary of Tryon County was approximately five miles west of the present city of Schenectady, and the county included the western part of the Adirondack Mountains and the area west of the West Branch of the Delaware River. The area then designated as Tryon County now includes 37 counties of New York State. The county was named for William Tryon, colonial governor of New York. In the years prior to 1776, most of the Loyalists in Tryon County fled to Canada. In 1784, following the peace treaty that ended the American Revolutionary War, the name of Tryon County was changed to Montgomery County to honor the general, Richard Montgomery, who had captured several places in Canada and died attempting to capture the city of Quebec, replacing the name of the hated British governor. In 1789, the size of Montgomery County was reduced by the splitting off of Ontario County from Montgomery. The actual area split off from Montgomery County was much larger than the present county, also including the present Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Niagara, Orleans, Steuben, Wyoming, Yates, and part of Schuyler and Wayne Counties. In 1791, Herkimer County was one of three counties split off from Montgomery (the other two being Otsego, and Tioga County). This was much larger than the present county, however, and was reduced by a number of subsequent splits. In 1794, Onondaga County was split off from Herkimer County. This county was larger than the current Onondaga County, including the present Cayuga, Cortland, and part of Oswego Counties. In 1799, Cayuga County was split off from Onondaga. In 1808, Cortland County was split off from Onondaga. In 1816, parts of Oneida and Onondaga Counties were taken to form the new Oswego County. Geography Onondaga County is in the west central portion of New York State, west of Utica and east of Ithaca. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,087 km² (806 mi²). 2,021 km² (780 mi²) of it is land and 66 km² (25 mi²) of it (3.15%) is water. Onondaga Lake is bordered by many of the larger communities in the county. Adjacent Counties Demographics As of the census² of 2000, there were 458,336 people, 181,153 households, and 115,394 families residing in the county. The population density was 227/km² (587/mi²). There were 196,633 housing units at an average density of 97/km² (252/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 84.78% White, 9.38% African American, 0.86% Native American, 2.09% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.89% from other races, and 1.97% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.44% of the population. There were 181,153 households out of which 31.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.90% were married couples living together, 12.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.30% were non-families. 29.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.07. In the county the population was spread out with 25.80% under the age of 18, 9.50% from 18 to 24, 28.80% from 25 to 44, 22.10% from 45 to 64, and 13.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 91.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.70 males. The median income for a household in the county was $40,847, and the median income for a family was $51,876. Males had a median income of $39,048 versus $27,154 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,336. About 8.60% of families and 12.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.50% of those under age 18 and 7.10% of those age 65 or over. Cities, towns, villages, and hamlets Syracuse is the only city in Onondaga County. The following is a complete list of official towns and villages, and a list of unofficial hamlets: Villages labeled "(in part)" span the border between multiple towns. Indian reservations | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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