ExecutivePulse
Official Federal Data

Onondaga County, New York

FIPS 36067 · Syracuse, NY · Population 471,129
9 Sources Updated June 22, 2026
$76,945
Median Income
$80,734 national
3.6%
Unemployment
4% national
$42.5B
GDP
39.2%
Bachelor's+
35.7% national

Demographics & Population

Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 · 5-Year Estimates

Household Income

Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median Household
$76,945
Per Capita
$43,166
Mean Household
$102,088
Poverty Rate
13.8%
Median Income Comparison
Onondaga County$76,945
New York$85,974
National$80,734

Population Profile

Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B02001, B03003
65+: 18.7% (87,986 residents) 55-64: 13.7% (64,472 residents) 35-54: 23.7% (111,533 residents) 18-34: 23% (108,584 residents) Under 18: 20.9% (98,554 residents) 40 Median Age
Cohorts
Under 18 · 20.9%
18-34 · 23%
35-54 · 23.7%
55-64 · 13.7%
65+ · 18.7%
Race & Ethnicity
White74.8%
Black or African American10.8%
Asian4.1%
Hispanic or Latino(any race)5.9%
Hispanic or Latino is an ethnic category and overlaps with the race categories above.

Educational Attainment

Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · Population 25+
91.8%
High School+
National: 89.6%
▲ +2.2 pts
39.2%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
▲ +3.5 pts
17.6%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
▲ +3.5 pts

Employment Overview

Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
471,129
Population
239,494
Labor Force
Employed
226,402
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
3.6% ▲ +0.2 pts YoY
Mean Commute 6 min below national avg
20.2 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
13.1%
Key Takeaways
  • Broadly in line with U.S. norms across income, poverty, and education.

Economy & Industry

Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis

$42.5B
Gross Domestic Product · 2024
Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis · CAGDP1 Regional GDP

Top Industries by Employment

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics · Quarterly Census of Employment & Wages 2025 Annual
Top industries by employment in Onondaga County, New York, with employment, share of top sectors, and average wage
IndustryEmploymentShare of Top 10Avg Wage
1Health Care and Social Assistance
36,973 21.1%
$65,119
2Retail Trade
24,399 13.9%
$42,126
3Manufacturing
20,103 11.5%
$93,333
4Accommodation and Food Services
16,939 9.7%
$28,698
5Administrative and Support and Waste Management
16,556 9.4%
$73,894
6Transportation and Warehousing
16,089 9.2%
$55,621
7Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
13,247 7.5%
$96,627
8Wholesale Trade
11,340 6.5%
$92,400
9Construction
10,332 5.9%
$90,061
10Educational Services
9,499 5.4%
$73,015
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Key Takeaways
  • Largest sector: Health Care and Social Assistance employs 36,973 workers (21.1% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $65,119.
  • Economic scale: Regional GDP of $42.5B (2024).
  • Wage stratification: Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services averages $96,627 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $28,698, a 3.4x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.
Source: BLS QCEW + BEA Regional GDP.
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Industry Concentration

Location Quotient measures regional specialization vs. national average. LQ > 1.0 = concentrated.

Location Quotient Analysis

Concentrated Industries
Source: BLS QCEW · 3-digit NAICS sub-sector · Location Quotient vs. national employment share
Same source as the Top Industries table above, sub-sector view surfaces the specialization the supersector view masks (e.g., Plastics & Rubber Manufacturing inside the Manufacturing supersector).
Transit and Ground Passenger Transportation
3.86x
3,500
Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing
3.57x
5,720
Miscellaneous Manufacturing
2.24x
2,200
2.23x
817
Utilities
2.19x
2,118
Warehousing and Storage
2.07x
6,329
Paper Manufacturing
2.01x
1,134
Educational Services
1.82x
9,499
Printing and Related Support Activities
1.71x
949
Beverage and Tobacco Product Manufacturing
1.69x
892

Cluster Depth

Source: BLS QCEW · Sub-sectors with LQ ≥ 1.5 indicate genuine cluster concentration
Dominant Cluster
Manufacturing Cluster
Coherent grouping of concentrated sub-sectors, signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
10,895
Cluster Employment
3.57x
Peak LQ
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
Transit and Ground Passenger Transportation
3.86x 3,500
Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing
3.57x 5,720
Miscellaneous Manufacturing
2.24x 2,200
2.23x 817
Utilities
2.19x 2,118
Warehousing and Storage
2.07x 6,329
Paper Manufacturing
2.01x 1,134
Educational Services
1.82x 9,499
Printing and Related Support Activities
1.71x 949
Beverage and Tobacco Product Manufacturing
1.69x 892

Attraction Opportunities

LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, realistic diversification targets. Source: BLS QCEW
0.19x
Air Transportation
173 employed
0.29x
Publishing Industries and Telecommunications
411 employed
0.36x
Securities, Commodity Contracts, Investments
639 employed
0.37x
Primary Metal Manufacturing
217 employed
0.37x
Computing Infrastructure Providers and Data Processing
290 employed
Key Takeaways
  • Top specialization: Transit and Ground Passenger Transportation concentrates at 3.86x the national norm, strong concentration that anchors the local economy and supports supply-chain attraction strategy.
  • Cluster depth: 10 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, suggesting an interconnected industrial base rather than reliance on a single employer or sector.
  • Attraction whitespace: 8 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5, candidates for diversification or recruitment depending on labor-market fit.
Source: BLS QCEW sub-sector Location Quotients.
Onondaga County's Top Sectors by Workforce Share
Each rectangle's area is proportional to that sector's share of total private-sector employment across all NAICS supersectors. Hover for exact employment.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW 2025 Annual · Private sector, NAICS supersectors

Housing & Affordability

Census ACS · HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026

Housing Overview

Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates · Tables B25001, B25077, B25064
$200,200
Median Home Value vs 2019
$1,108
Rent/Mo
65.9%
Owner-Occ
6.7%
Vacancy
2.6x
Home Value to Income Ratio - Affordable
vs. ~4.1x national average

HUD Fair Market Rents

Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026
Studio
$995/mo
1 Bedroom
$1,123/mo
2 Bedroom
$1,392/mo
3 Bedroom
$1,691/mo
4 Bedroom
$1,848/mo
30% of monthly median household income (~$1,924/mo) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Key Takeaways
  • Affordable market: Home value to income ratio of 2.6x is well below the ~4.1x national average; supports talent attraction and family settlement narratives.
  • Broadly affordable rents: All 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom tiers sit below the 30%-of-median-income affordability threshold (~$1,924/mo), a clear cost-of-living advantage for workforce attraction.
Source: Census ACS housing tables + HUD Fair Market Rents.

Workforce Pipeline

Labor force readiness, commuting, and workforce composition

Labor Market Overview

Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B23025, B08303, B08301
284,589
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 6 min below national avg
20.2 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
13.1%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
82.4%
of prime-age population
Labor force participation rate: 64.3% of working-age population (18-64) 64% Participation
▼ vs 2019

Education & Talent Pipeline

Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
39.2%
HS Diploma+
91.8%
Regional / Statewide Institutions
Total credentials awarded
58,559/yr
New York University 18,769/yr
University at Buffalo 9,530/yr
Cornell University 8,800/yr
Stony Brook University 8,368/yr
Syracuse University 7,300/yr
CUNY Hunter College 5,792/yr

Aging Workforce

Source: Census Bureau ACS · Derived from age & employment tables
22.7%
55-64 of working-age population (18-64)
Elevated retirement risk, above the 20% threshold. Succession planning recommended.

Workforce by Occupation

Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+
Management / Professional
48.1%
Service
15.9%
Sales & Office
19.6%
Construction / Maint.
5.6%
Production / Transport
10.9%
Bars scaled 2× for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 226,402 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
  • Succession risk is real: 22.7% of working-age residents are 55-64. Plan for retirements over the next decade and pair attraction strategy with talent retention.
  • Short commutes: 20.2-minute mean commute is a quality-of-life and labor-access advantage worth surfacing for site selectors.
  • Talent pipeline: 6 regional institutions feed the workforce; the top three combined produce 37,099 annual credentials.
Source: ACS workforce data and College Scorecard.

AI Insights

AI-assisted analysis, drawn from 9 federal data sources

Sample AI Insight

Onondaga County shows meaningful potential for transit and ground passenger transportation attraction, with a 3.86x concentration and 3,500 jobs in this sub-sector. Near-term succession risk is elevated, with 22.7% of the working-age population within 10 years of retirement age.

The interconnected base across transit and ground passenger transportation, computer and electronic product manufacturing, and miscellaneous manufacturing creates supply-chain attraction leverage rather than single-employer risk, a structural advantage for industrial recruitment.

Industry Shift Analysis

Manufacturing Automation Risk
High
Healthcare Growth Forecast
+4.2% CAGR
Remote Work Migration
67/100

Prospect Match Scores

Advanced Manufacturing
92/100
Life Sciences
84/100
Data Centers
71/100
Illustrative example

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Data Sources

Updated from official federal government data.

Census ACS 5-Year2024
BLS QCEW2025 annual
BLS LAUS (via FRED)2025 annual
BEA Regional GDP2024
Census CBP2023
HUD Fair Market RentsFY2026
FCC Broadband Map2024
USAspending.govFY2026
College ScorecardAY 2022-23

Frequently Asked Questions

Key economic and demographic figures for Onondaga County, New York, from federal data sources.

What is the population of Onondaga County, New York?

471,129 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).

What is the median household income in Onondaga County, New York?

$76,945 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).

What is the unemployment rate in Onondaga County, New York?

3.6% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).

What is the GDP of Onondaga County, New York?

$42.5B (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP1).