Syracuse is the county seat of Onondaga County, New York and the 5th most populous city in New York state. Syracuse is the educational and economic hub of Central New York and takes its name from the original Syracuse in Italy.
Syracuse Diversity and Religion
There are 26 neighborhoods in Syracuse, many of which reflect the city's historically ethnic population. Polish, Irish, and Ukrainian Americans are primarily found on the west side of the city in Little Italy while Jewish Americans settled on the east side. The African-American population is concentrated on the south side while Italian and German Americans have a large presence on the north side.
Many religions are represented in Syracuse, including Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Islam, and Judaism.
Forbes recently ranked Syracuse as the 4th best place in the United States to raise a family with a low crime rate, excellent education, and low cost of living.
Syracuse Population Growth
Syracuse has experienced negative growth for every census since the city reached a peak population of 209,000 in 1930. Between 1970 and 2000, the population declined from 197,000 to 146,000. After more than 70 years of population decline, it appears that Syracuse is finally halting the loss and experiencing some growth. City leaders were surprised to find that the population of Central New York grew by 1.4% in the last decade, hitting an all-time high of 742,000 in the 4-county Syracuse area.
Today, the downtown area is experiencing a booming residential population growth, with the downtown area experiencing a notable 47% population increase over the last ten years and a 21% increase over the previous 3 years.