Should I Move To
Roughly 146,134 people live in Syracuse, New York. Living here costs affordable relative to the rest of the country, 6% below the national average. Median rent runs about $932/mo; the typical household pulls in $43,584. On the UrbRank Score it pulls a 53/100 — a C-, putting it at #369 nationally.
UrbRank Score · General
Each dimension scored 0-100 against every other US city.
Based on overall cost of living vs. other US cities.
Inverse of violent + property crime rate per 100,000 residents.
Temperate summers & winters, moderate precipitation.
Walk Score — how feasible daily errands are on foot.
Unemployment rate plus household income vs. national median.
Air quality index (EPA AQS data).
Share of residents 25+ with a bachelor's degree or higher.
By the composite index, Syracuse sits at 94 — affordable when stacked against the rest of the country. Running the rent-to-income math ($932/mo against $43,584 median household income), housing eats roughly 26% of a typical paycheck — right inside the standard 30%-of-income guideline. Buying-side, the median home value is $117,900.
Full cost-of-living breakdown →The weather here is cold-winter: roughly 80°F in summer, 21°F in winter. Annual precipitation lands near 35 inches. A walker's paradise by US standards. Many people here genuinely skip car ownership. Reported crime is somewhat above average, though specific neighborhoods vary widely. AQI runs about 30 — a "good" reading.
Verdict by lifestyle profile — same data, different priorities.
For families, Syracuse isn't the strongest match. The profile-weighted score is 51/100 — a C-. Its standout dimension is environmental quality (97/100); the soft spot is job market (3/100).
For retirees, Syracuse is workable — not standout, not weak. The profile-weighted score is 59/100 — a C. Its standout dimension is environmental quality (97/100); the soft spot is job market (3/100).
For remote workers, Syracuse is workable — not standout, not weak. The profile-weighted score is 64/100 — a C+. Its standout dimension is environmental quality (97/100); the soft spot is job market (3/100).
For young professionals, Syracuse isn't the strongest match. The profile-weighted score is 46/100 — a D. Its standout dimension is environmental quality (97/100); the soft spot is job market (3/100).
Our overall score for Syracuse is 53/100 — a C-, sitting at #369 in the national ranking. It's a weighted average across the seven UrbRank dimensions.
By the composite index, Syracuse sits at 94 — affordable, 6% below the national average. Median renter pays around $932 a month.
Syracuse runs cold-winter on the weather. Summer's near 80°F, winter's near 21°F; 35 inches of precipitation annually.
Walk Score: 92/100. A walker's paradise by US standards. Many people here genuinely skip car ownership.
Roughly 146,134 people live here, with 30% college-educated (bachelor's or higher) among adults 25+ with a median age of 32.
Drop Syracuse into the comparison tool with any other US city and you'll get housing costs, salaries, demographics, and quality-of-life data lined up side by side. Profile-specific leaderboards (families, retirees, remote workers, young professionals) are linked from the navigation.
Every US city is scored 0-100 on seven dimensions using public data from the US Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, FBI Crime Data Explorer, EPA Air Quality System, NOAA NCEI, and Walk Score. Each dimension is a percentile rank against every other city — so a score of 80 means the city is in the top 20% nationally on that dimension.
The overall score is a weighted average. Five lifestyle profiles — general, families, retirees, remote workers, young professionals — weight the dimensions differently to reflect what each cares about. Families get more weight on safety and schools; young professionals get more weight on jobs and walkability; retirees get more weight on climate.
Compare Syracuse with other New York cities scored on UrbRank.
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