When counties were established in theProvince of New York in 1683, the present Cayuga County was part ofAlbany County. This was an enormous county, including the northern part of the present state of New York and all of the present state ofVermont and, in theory, extending westward to thePacific Ocean. This county was reduced in size on July 3, 1766, by the creation ofCumberland County, and further on March 16, 1770, by the creation ofGloucester County, both containing territory now in Vermont.
On March 12, 1772, what was left of Albany County was split into three parts, one remaining under the name Albany County. One of the other pieces,Tryon County, contained the western portion (and thus, since no western boundary was specified, theoretically still extended west to the Pacific). The eastern boundary of Tryon County was approximately five miles west of the present city ofSchenectady, and the county included the western part of theAdirondack Mountains and the area west of the West Branch of theDelaware River. The area then designated as Tryon County now includes 37 counties of New York State. The county was named forWilliam Tryon, colonial governor of New York.In the years prior to 1776, most of the Loyalists in Tryon County fled toCanada.
In 1784, following the peace treaty that ended theAmerican Revolutionary War, the name of Tryon County was changed toMontgomery County in honor of the general,Richard Montgomery, who had captured several places in Canada and died attempting to capture the city ofQuebec, replacing the name of the hated British governor.
Onondaga County was formed in 1794 by the splitting of Herkimer County.
Cayuga County was formed in 1799 by the splitting of Onondaga County. This county was, however, much larger than the present Cayuga County. It then included the presentSeneca andTompkins Counties.
In 1804, Seneca County was formed by the splitting of Cayuga County. Then in 1817, in turn, a portion of Seneca County was combined with a piece of the remainder of Cayuga County to form Tompkins County.
In the late 19th and early 20th century, this region attracted European immigrants who developed farms or took over existing ones, particularly from Italy and Poland.
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 864 square miles (2,240 km2), of which 692 square miles (1,790 km2) is land and 172 square miles (450 km2) (20%) is water.[3]
Cayuga County is located in the west central part of the state, in theFinger Lakes region.Owasco Lake is in the center of the county, andCayuga Lake forms part of the western boundary.Lake Ontario is on the northern border, andSkaneateles Lake andCross Lake form part of the eastern border. Cayuga County has more waterfront land than any other county in the state not adjacent to theAtlantic Ocean.
Cayuga County, New York – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
There were 30,558 households, out of which 32.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.00% weremarried couples living together, 11.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.80% were non-families. 26.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.04.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.10% under the age of 18, 8.20% from 18 to 24, 29.70% from 25 to 44, 22.60% from 45 to 64, and 14.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 102.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.80 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $37,487, and the median income for a family was $44,973. Males had a median income of $33,356 versus $23,919 for females. Theper capita income for the county was $18,003. About 7.80% of families and 11.10% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 14.90% of those under age 18 and 8.20% of those age 65 or over.
At 2.3%, Cayuga County has the highest share of Ukrainian Americans of any county in New York State.[21] The Ukrainian-American population in Cayuga County is heavily concentrated in the Auburn area.
Cayuga County is considered a swing county in national elections. In 2000, DemocratAl Gore won Cayuga County with 50% of the vote toGeorge W. Bush's 44%. In 2004, however, incumbent President Bush defeatedJohn Kerry by a narrow margin of only 0.58%, or 49.22% to 48.64%. In 2008, it was won by DemocratBarack Obama, with 53% of the vote to RepublicanJohn McCain's 45%. In 2012, Obama won the county again by a slightly larger margin over RepublicanMitt Romney.
However, like most of upstate New York, Cayuga County swung right in 2016. RepublicanDonald Trump carried it with 52.41% of the vote toHillary Clinton's 40.76%, the largest Republican vote share since 1988 and the largest margin of victory for a Republican since 1984. In 2020, Trump carried the county again, this time taking 53.49% of the vote (the largest vote share for any Republican since 1984) toJoe Biden's 44.27%. Biden became the first Democrat to win the presidency without carrying Cayuga County sinceJimmy Carter in1976. In 2024 this trend continued, with Donald Trump winning the highest percentage of the vote for any candidate of either party sinceReagan in 1984.[23]
In statewide elections it has gone for Democrats: bothEliot Spitzer and Hillary Clinton won it in 2006 with more than 60% of the vote. In 2010, DemocratAndrew Cuomo defeated RepublicanCarl Paladino 53% to 40% for the governorship, with 3% going to Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins. Also in 2010, both Democratic U.S. Senators,Kirsten Gillibrand andChuck Schumer, carried Cayuga County. Gillibrand won 54% of the vote, while Schumer won 61%.
The Cayuga County Legislature consists of 15 members, each of whom are elected fromsingle-member districts.
Marker at the burial site of Helmer and his wife on the north side of Cottle Road in the Town ofBrutus, New York. Their grave stones were moved to theWeedsport Rural Cemetery.
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