Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Busti grades D overall, 658th of 745 graded towns in New York. It also has a long history, with 3 places on the National Register. Its National Register listings include Busti Mill and Dr. John Lord House. Homes are expensive, about $165K for a typical one and 2.8 times the Jamestown area’s $58K median household income. The biggest park or preserve is Wellman Multiple Use Area, at 442 acres.
Where Busti beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Busti is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,680 in 1830, 7,521 in 2020. The archive holds 7 old photos and papers going back to 1854 and 4 maps from 1904 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Busti, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Aug 3, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Busti.
Busti gets more snow than nearly all U.S. towns and trades workers with Jamestown and other neighbors.
The Jamestown 4 Ene weather station, 10 miles away, records that 98 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 97% of U.S. towns.
Busti has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Busti’s July high is 80°F, below both the New York town median (81°F) and the median of U.S. towns (85°F).
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Busti has about as many jobs (3,645) as working residents, but only 433 people both live and work here. The average commute takes 21.2 minutes, against 32.6 across New York.
On this, Busti is against 9.5% in New York’s towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. Most working residents leave Busti for work: only 14% work in town. Busti’s average trip to work is 21 minutes.
| Busti | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 14% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 14% | 10% | 8% |
| Median household income | $67,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 61% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 9 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Busti.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Busti beats the New York average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 10. 16% of adults report frequent physical distress in Busti.
| Busti | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 37% | 36% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 34% | 35% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 82% | 81% | 79% |
| What stands out | Busti | NY |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 9% | 6% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.3% | 7.7% |
| More smokers | 15.1% | 11.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Wellman Multiple Use Area | 0.5 mi | 442 |
| 2. Edward F. Loomis Jr Park | — | 10 |
| 3. Lakewood Community Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Busti. Close and well known come first.
8 mi LakeChautauqua Lake
22 mi DamKinzua Dam
32 mi National forestAllegheny National Forest
35 mi LandmarkFort Le Boeuf
5 mi MuseumLucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center
31 mi State parkAllegany State ParkChautauqua Lake: Banderas, Public domain · Kinzua Dam: Niagara, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Allegheny National Forest: IvoShandor, CC BY 2.5 · Fort Le Boeuf: Charles M. Stotz ?, Public domain · Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center: G. Edward Johnson, CC BY 4.0 · Allegany State Park: Andre Carrotflower, CC BY-SA 4.0
2 within 15 miles of the center of Busti
About 2 of every 100 Busti residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
3 places in Busti on the National Register of Historic Places.
3 notable people were born in Busti.
Town in New York, United States
Busti ( BUST-eye) is a town in Chautauqua County, New York, United States. The population was 7,521 at the 2020 census. The town is named after Paul Busti, an official of the Holland Land Company, but its pronunciation uses a long i sound at the end, a frequent alteration in the names of several upstate New York towns. It has frequently been noted on lists of unusual place names. The town of Busti is located at the south end of Chautauqua Lake, southwest of Jamestown.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
8 towns share a border with Busti.
Jamestown next door grades lower for schools (D to Busti’s B−) and higher for cost of living (B to C−).
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Busti | #658 | D | C− | — | B− | C+ |
| Lakewood | #581 | C | C− | C | B− | A− |
| Kiantone | — | — | B− | — | C− | C− |
| Harmony | — | — | B+ | — | B+ | B |
| Jamestown West | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Ellicott | #634 | C− | B− | C− | B− | C |
| North Harmony | — | — | B− | — | A− | B |
| Jamestown | #736 | D− | B | D | D | D |
Kiantone, Harmony and North Harmony have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Busti, Kiantone, Harmony and North Harmony report no FBI crime data of their own. Jamestown West isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Busti with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Busti grades D overall, better than 14% of U.S. towns and #658 of 745 in New York. It grades C+ for health and B− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
3 notable people were born here, including George Stoneman and Chapin Hall.
