Madison County, New York

Madison County is a county in New York, United States, in the central part of the state between Syracuse and Utica. It had a population of 68,016 at the 2020 census and covers 661 square miles (1,710 km2) centred near 42°55′N 75°40′W.

Wampsville is the county seat, and its postal code is 13163. The county has 1 city, 15 towns, 9 villages, and dozens of smaller hamlets, and it sits in the Eastern time zone.

Towns & Villages in Madison County

Madison County has one city (Oneida), nine incorporated villages, and a long list of unincorporated hamlets scattered across its 15 towns. The table below covers the incorporated places and the county’s best-known hamlets; type legend: CDP = census-designated place, Unincorp. = unincorporated hamlet with no separate government.

Three villages carry the same name as their surrounding town — Hamilton, Madison, and DeRuyter each pair a village with an identically named township, so search by the specific place name rather than the town alone. Earlville and Bridgeport both straddle a town line inside the county and are listed under both townships above. Several very small crossroads from older gazetteers — trailer-park listings, single-farm names, and duplicate spellings of the same hamlet — are omitted here; see notes.md for the full drop list.

Townships

New York’s towns function as the county’s civil townships, each governing the hamlets and villages inside its boundaries.

ZIP Codes

• 13421 — Oneida (also serves Kenwood)
• 13163 — Wampsville
• 13032 — Canastota
• 13037 — Chittenango (also serves Bridgeport)
• 13035 — Cazenovia (also serves New Woodstock area farms)
• 13346 — Hamilton (also serves Hubbardsville)
• 13408 — Morrisville
• 13409 — Munnsville
• 13332 — Earlville
• 13052 — DeRuyter (also serves Sheds)
• 13310 — Bouckville
• 13122 — New Woodstock
• 13072 — Georgetown
• 13061 — Erieville

Smaller hamlets such as Solsville, Peterboro, Randallsville, and the Brookfield settlements share the ZIP of their nearest post-office town rather than carrying one of their own.

Geography

Madison County sits on the divide between the Mohawk Valley and the Susquehanna watershed, rising from the flat shoreline of Oneida Lake in the north to rolling hills in the south that form the edge of the Appalachian Plateau. Oneida Lake forms the county’s northern boundary, and Chittenango Creek and the Oneida Creek drain the county’s northern towns toward the lake. The Erie Canal historically ran along the county’s northern edge through Canastota.

Madison County is bordered by Oswego County across Oneida Lake to the north, Oneida County to the northeast, Otsego County at its southeastern corner, Chenango County to the south, and Onondaga County to the west (with Cortland County touching the southwestern corner).

Demographics

Madison County had 68,016 residents at the 2020 census, a density of about 104 people per square mile across its 655 square miles of land. Oneida, the county’s only city, is its largest community, followed by the village of Canastota. The county’s median household income runs below the New York median of $82,095, reflecting its rural and small-college-town economy rather than the state’s metro-area wages.

Economy & Local Life

Colgate University in Hamilton and SUNY Morrisville in Eaton are the county’s two largest employers outside of local government and health care, and both draw a steady flow of students and staff into otherwise small towns. Oneida’s economy centers on light manufacturing and retail along Route 5, while Cazenovia and Chittenango lean on tourism, antique shops, and weekend visitors from Syracuse. The Bouckville area hosts one of the region’s best-known antiques markets each August, and Chittenango holds an annual “Oz-Stravaganza” festival celebrating author L. Frank Baum, who was born there.

History

Madison County was organized in 1806 out of the eastern part of Chenango County and named for James Madison. Much of its early settlement land came from the 1788 “Clinton Purchase,” a cession of Oneida Nation land later found by the courts to have been made unlawfully, a dispute over Oneida land claims in the county that continued into modern litigation. Peterboro, in the town of Smithfield, was the home of abolitionist Gerrit Smith and a stop on routes used by escaped slaves before the Civil War, and it is now home to the National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum.

Getting There

Interstate 90 (the New York State Thruway) crosses the county’s northern towns through Canastota and Verona, and U.S. Route 20 runs east–west through Cazenovia, Nelson, and Madison village. New York Route 12B links Hamilton to Oneida.

• Syracuse — 25 miles west
• Utica — 25 miles northeast
• Cortland — 20 miles southwest
• Norwich — 25 miles south

The nearest commercial airport is Syracuse Hancock International Airport, about a 30-minute drive from Canastota.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Madison County, New York?
It lies in central New York between Syracuse and Utica, on the south shore of Oneida Lake.

What is the population of Madison County?
68,016 people, according to the 2020 census.

How big is Madison County?
661 square miles (1,710 km2), of which 655 square miles are land.

What is the county seat of Madison County?
Wampsville is the county seat.

How many towns and villages are in Madison County?
The county has 15 towns, 9 incorporated villages, and one city (Oneida), plus dozens of unincorporated hamlets.

What ZIP codes are in Madison County?
Major ZIP codes include 13421 (Oneida), 13163 (Wampsville), 13032 (Canastota), 13037 (Chittenango), and 13346 (Hamilton), among others listed above.

What college is in Madison County?
Colgate University, a private liberal arts college, is in the village of Hamilton, and SUNY Morrisville is in the town of Eaton.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in New York.