Onondaga County is located in the central portion of New York State, west of Utica, east of Rochester, and north of Ithaca. The county seat is Syracuse. The name Onondaga derives from the name of the Native American people who lived here, who called themselves Onoda'gega, sometimes spelled Onontakeka. The word means "People of the Hills." Sometimes the term was Onondagaono ("The People of the Hills"). Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) people continue to reside in a separate nation within Onondaga County....
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Onondaga County is located in the central portion of New York State, west of Utica, east of Rochester, and north of Ithaca. The county seat is Syracuse. The name Onondaga derives from the name of the Native American people who lived here, who called themselves Onoda'gega, sometimes spelled Onontakeka. The word means "People of the Hills." Sometimes the term was Onondagaono ("The People of the Hills"). Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) people continue to reside in a separate nation within Onondaga County.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 806 square miles, of which 780 square miles is land, and 25 square miles (3.15%) is water. Onondaga Lake is bordered by many of the larger communities in the county.
The northern part of the county is fairly level lake plain, extending northward to Lake Ontario. Oneida Lake three rivers, as well as the Erie and subsequent Barge Canals are in the lake plain. The main line of the New York Central Railroad and the New York State Thruway extend east and west across the county through the lake plain. The southern part of the county is Appalachian Plateau, with high hills rising at the southern edge of Syracuse. This is the eastern part of the Finger Lakes region. Skaneateles Lake and Otisco Lake are both in Onondaga County. US 20 extends east and west across the county, traversing dramatic hill-and-valley terrain. Between the lake plain and Appalachian highlands is a zone noted for drumlins, smaller, scattered hills formed as mounds of debris left by the last glacier. Tully is geologically noted for the terminal moraine deposited there by the glacier, filling the deep Tully Valley, which might have been another Finger Lake, had the moraine been left closer to Syracuse, impounding water. Tully is at the divide between two major watersheds, one flowing northward to the Atlantic Ocean by way of the St. Lawrence River and the other southward to the ocean vie the Susquehanna River. Onieda Lake, the Finger Lakes, and smaller bodies of water provide recreation. Several ski slopes are located in the Appalachian hills, where there are waterfalls and historic villages as attractions, as well as parks and large forest preserves.
As of the census of 2000, there were 458,336 people, 181,153 households, and 115,394 families residing in the county. The population density was 587 people per square mile. There were 196,633 housing units at an average density of 252 per square mile. 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. 17.5% were of Italian, 16.2% Irish, 12.4% German, 9.4% English and 6.0% Polish ancestry according to Census 2000. 91.4% spoke English, 2.4% Spanish and 1.1% Italian as their first language.
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.
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