Outdoor Advertising Billboards for Rent in Syracuse, NY

Syracuse (locally IPA: [ˈsɛrəkjuːs], sometimes pronounced /ˈsɪrəkjuːs/ or /ˈsɪərəkjuːs/ by non-natives) is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, and the fifth largest city in the state. At the 2000 census, the city population was 147,306, and its metropolitan area had a population of 732,117. It is the economic and educational hub of Central New York, a region with over a million inhabitants. Syracuse is also well-provided with convention sites, with a downtown convention complex and, directly west of the city, the Empire Expo Center, which hosts the annual Great New York State Fair. Syracuse was named after the original Syracuse, (Siracusa in Italian) a city on the eastern coast of the Italian island of Sicily.

The city has functioned as a major crossroads over the last two centuries, first between the Erie Canal and its branch canals, then of the railway network. Today, Syracuse is located by the intersection of Interstates 81 and 90, and its airport is the largest in the region.

Syracuse is home to Syracuse University, a major research university, as well as several smaller colleges and professional schools.

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1850	22,271		—
1860	28,119		26.3%
1870	43,051		53.1%
1880	51,792		20.3%
1890	88,143		70.2%
1900	108,374		23.0%
1910	137,249		26.6%
1920	171,717		25.1%
1930	209,326		21.9%
1940	205,967		−1.6%
1950	220,583		7.1%
1960	216,038		−2.1%
1970	197,208		−8.7%
1980	170,105		−13.7%
1990	163,860		−3.7%
2000	147,306		−10.1%
Est. 2007	139,079		−5.6%

Syracuse Compared (monetary values in United States dollars)
2000 Census	Syracuse	NY State	U.S.
Total population	147, 306	18,976,457	281,421,906
Population, percent change, 1990 to 2000	-10.4%	+5.5%	+13.1%
Population density	5,871/sq mi	402/sq mi	80/sq mi
Median household income (1999)	$25,000	$43,393	$41,994
Per capita income	$15,168	$23,389	$21,587
Bachelor's degree or higher	23%	27%	24%
Foreign born	8%	20%	11%
White	64%	62%	69%
Black	25%	16%	12%
Hispanic	5%	15%	13%
Asian	10%	6%	4%

As of the census of 2000, there were 147,306 people, 59,482 households, and 30,335 families residing in the city. The population density was 5,871.0 people per square mile (2,266.8/km²). There were 68,192 housing units at an average density of 2,717.8/sq mi (1,049.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 64.26% White, 25.35% African American, 1.13% Native American, 3.37% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 2.23% from other races, and 3.61% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.27% of the population. The largest ancestries include Irish (15.9%), Italian (14.1%), German (12.2%), English (7.6%), and Polish (5.0%).[1]

There were 59,482 households out of which 30.46% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 12.65% were married couples living together, 14.84% had a female householder with no husband present, and 48.58% were non-families. 38.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 3.11.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.0% under the age of 18, 16.8% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 17.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 88.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $25,000, and the median income for a family was $33,026. Males had a median income of $30,312 versus $23,997 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,168. About 21.7% of families and 27.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 35.1% of those under age 18 and 12.4% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

Public transportation

Syracuse is served by the Central New York Regional Transportation Authority, or CNYRTA. The CNYRTA operates bus service in Syracuse and its suburbs, as well as to outlying metropolitan area cities such as Auburn, Fulton, and Oswego.

The Pyramid Companies have also proposed a monorail linking the university to the airport via downtown, their proposed Destiny Resort, the transportation center, and their proposed DestiNY Technology Park. The cost of such a line has been estimated at $750 million.

In 2005, local millionaire Tom McDonald proposed an aerial tramway system, called Salt City Aerial Transit (S.C.A.T.), to link the university to the transportation center. The first segment from Syracuse University to downtown has been estimated to cost $5 million, which McDonald plans to raise himself. Due to the perceived low operating costs, the system could run continuously. As of late 2006, the project remains in the planning stage.

Commute

According to the 2000 Census, this is how people aged 16 and over commute to work:

• 65.9% drive alone
• 13.7% carpool
• 10.1% walk
• 6.8% use public buses (CENTRO)
• 0.6% bike
• 0.2% use a taxicab
• 0.013% use elevated rail (OnTrack, now defunct)

Syracuse currently ranks 50th in the United States for high transit ridership and 12th for most pedestrian commuters. 38,332 people commute daily into Onondaga County from the four adjoining counties (2006).

Rail

The city lies on Amtrak's Empire Service, Lake Shore Limited, and Maple Leaf lines.

The Empire Service runs several times daily from Niagara Falls to New York Penn Station, with major stops in Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Utica, and Albany along the way.

The Lake Shore Limited connects Syracuse to the same cities as above (except Niagara Falls), but continues westward from Buffalo to Chicago via Cleveland and Toledo, and eastward to Boston. This train completes one roundtrip daily.

Also completing one roundtrip a day, the Maple Leaf follows the path of the Empire Service train, but continues to Toronto.

Amtrak's station is part of the William F. Walsh Regional Transportation Center.

A regional commuter rail service, OnTrack, was active from 1994 until it was discontinued in 2007 due to low ridership. Its sole route connected the Carousel Center to southern Syracuse, often extending to Jamesville in the summer.

Bus

Greyhound Lines and Trailways provide long-distance bus service. Both also use the William F. Walsh Regional Transportation Center located in the northern area of the city.

Air service

Syracuse is served by the Syracuse Hancock International Airport in nearby Salina, near Mattydale. The airport is served by 17 airlines (9 major), which provide non-stop flights to destinations as far away as Dallas-Fort Worth, as well as several daily flights to other important airline hubs and business centers such as Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit, New York City, Orlando, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Washington, DC. Six cargo carriers also serve the airport. New York City can be reached in under an hour flight.

Major Highways and Roads that serve the Syracuse Area

Four Interstate Highways run through the Syracuse area:

• Interstate 81 (Highway 401 via Highway 137 in Canada to Knoxville) runs north-south through Syracuse, and provides access to Canada, Pennsylvania and points south. Its downtown portion is extremely narrow, only consisting of four lanes and essentially no onramps. It forms a physical and psychological border between downtown and University Hill, an issue both Syracuse University and local politicians are trying to address. Moreover, it essentially marks the boundary between two State Senate districts.

• Interstate 90 (Seattle to Boston), also known as the New York State Thruway runs east-west, just north of the city. It is a toll highway that provides access to Rochester, Buffalo, Albany, and the north-south (Interstate 87) part of the Thruway which leads to New York City.

• Interstate 690 runs east-west through the city, and provides access to Interstate 90, as well as to Syracuse's northwestern and eastern suburbs. A spur off I-690 directly west of the city, NY 695, provides freeway access to the southwestern suburbs. It meets Interstate 81 in downtown Syracuse in a highly-complex and incomplete intersection. Most of its routing through the city directly replaced elevated rail lines, a fact quite notable by the city's former main rail terminal, where the freeway spans the width between the terminal and its outermost platform. In 1981 artist Duke Epolito erected sculptures of "passengers" on the far platform. The piece is entitled "Waiting for a Night Train."

• Interstate 481 forms an eastern loop around the city and continues to the northwest as NY 481 to Fulton and Oswego, on the shore of Lake Ontario.

Two US Highways run through the Syracuse area:

• U.S. Highway 11 (Route 223 in Canada to New Orleans) passes through Syracuse, including downtown, and it follows the route of Salina and State Streets.

• U.S. Highway 20 (Boston to Newport, Oregon) passes south of Syracuse.

New York State Route Expressways:

• New York State Route 481 - Travels from NY 104 in Oswego to the junction of Interstate 81 and Interstate 481 north of Syracuse.

• New York State Route 690 - Was built as an extension of Interstate 690 in the northwest suburbs of Syracuse. The route is a four-lane divided highway from its southern end at I-690, where it meets Interstate 90 (NYS Thruway), to its end northwest of Baldwinsville in Lysander at NY 48 and NY 631.

• New York State Route 695 - Is a short state highway located west of Syracuse in the town of Solvay in Onondaga County. The number of the highway was derived from the two highways that NY 695 links, Interstate 690 and NY 5.