Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,473, settled in 1881. 3.3 times the nonprofits per person than the typical Arizona town.
Trash day: look up yoursWilliams earns a D, ranked 128th of 139 in Arizona, mostly because of safety and incomes. Its crime rate is higher than 89% of U.S. towns, with 28 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. The median household income is $76K, and 14% of residents live below the poverty line. What it does well: it has 46 miles of trail and 79% conserved land. 36% of working residents work locally in Williams, where Arizona’s towns sit at 10% and U.S. towns at 8%. On history, just 3 of Arizona’s 207 towns do better. Williams's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 98% of U.S. towns.
Where Williams beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Census counts: 199 in 1890, 3,202 in 2020. The archive holds 24 old photos and papers going back to 1905 and 2 maps from 1922 on.
6 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Arizona), ordered by how far Williams is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Williams, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025.
Ordered by what stands out in Williams.
Williams keeps more of its land conserved than most of Arizona, but it is a long drive from an emergency room and reports violent crime at about twice the Arizona rate.
Its 22,320 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in 99% of Arizona towns.
46 miles of trail in 0 parks and preserves. The trail density in Williams is 1.0 miles per square mile.
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Williams Unified District. Two of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Williams Elementary/Middle SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 423 | C+ |
| Williams High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 231 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AZ on state tests and graduation
Violent crime runs at 7.9 per 1,000 residents, about twice the Arizona rate; the Safety Grade counts each violent crime four times, so this weighs most on its D.
Williams’ violent crime rate is 7.9 per 1,000 residents. Williams reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 89% report less. Williams’ property crime rate is 17.5 per 1,000 residents.
| Williams | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 7.9 per 1,000 residents | 2.5 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 17.5 per 1,000 residents | 11 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 86% of U.S. communities. Since 2004, 3 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Williams.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The nearest emergency room, Flagstaff Medical Center, is 30.5 miles away in a straight line.
Williams beats the Arizona average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 25% of adults have obesity in Williams.
| Williams | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 32% | 35% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 72% | 75% | 79% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 24% | 25% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 35% | 36% |
| What stands out | Williams | AZ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with obesity | 25% | 31.3% |
| Fewer women getting mammograms | 65.3% | 72.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Of the 140 Arizona towns we compare, none has a lower July high than Williams. Williams has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with very little rain.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Adults 18 to 34 are 16% of residents (23% statewide); children under 18 are 28% of residents (22% statewide). Williams has grown 8.3% since 2020, to 3,473 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 23% of Williams residents are 65 or older.
| Williams | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 23% | 22% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 25% | 24% | 29% |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4.9 points. Across Arizona, 50.1% of residents are women.
| Williams | AZ | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 14.7% | 11.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 13% | 10.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.6% | 9.4% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 8.2% | 13.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 9% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.2% | 11.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.5% | 12% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 14.2% | 10.8% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.5% | 8.1% | 7% |
| No diploma | 10.5% | 10.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 24.3% | 23.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 24.2% | 23.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 16.2% | 9.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 17.7% | 20.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 7.1% | 13% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 3,500, single groups can be off by several points
Jobs based here grew from 1,091 in 2013 to 1,440.
About one in 3 of Williams’s working residents works in town. Jobs based in Williams grew to 1,440 in 2023, 349 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Flagstaff (15%), Grand Canyon Village (9%) and Phoenix (8%).
| Williams | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $76,000 | $68,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
63.5% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 51.4% across Arizona.
The typical Williams home is worth about $442,000, up 0.8% in a year, 6% above the Arizona typical home.
| Williams | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 76% | 76% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,174 a month | $1,206 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
None within 15 miles of Williams; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Williams residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Arizona.
6 places in Williams on the National Register of Historic Places.
8 notable people were born in Williams.
City in Coconino County, Arizona
Williams is a city in Coconino County, Arizona, United States, located west of Flagstaff. As of the 2020 census, Williams had a population of 3,202. It lies on the routes of Historic Route 66 and Interstate 40. It is also the southern terminus of the Grand Canyon Railway, which takes visitors to Grand Canyon Village. Also known as the "Gateway to the Grand Canyon", Williams was the last city on Historic Route 66 to be bypassed by Interstate 40. The Historic Downtown District covers six blocks.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Williams.
Red Lake has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Red Lake reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Williams with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Williams grades D overall, better than 10% of U.S. towns and #128 of 139 in Arizona. It grades B+ for health, D for safety and C for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. That is 6.1 years of the area's median household income ($72,966 across the Flagstaff, AZ metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
8 notable people were born here, including Diana Gabaldon and Ross Hagen.
