Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
62% more nonprofits per person than the typical New York town.
Charlotte’s best subject grades are an A for civic life and an A− for the outdoors; its weakest is a C− for incomes. Only 3 of the 751 New York towns we compare have a lower median rent than Charlotte. A typical home costs about $108K, 1.8 years of the Jamestown area’s $58K median household income. Only 10 of the 759 New York towns we compare have a lower share of working residents who work in town than Charlotte. On civic life, just 88 of New York’s 1,187 towns do better. Boutwell Hill State Forest, at 1,994 acres with 17.7 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Charlotte has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Charlotte beats most towns.
1,729 counted in 2010 and 1,527 in 2020; an estimated 1,543 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Charlotte is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 886 in 1830, 1,521 in 2020. The archive holds 2 old photos and papers going back to 1867 and 3 maps from 1900 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Charlotte, 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 Charlotte.
Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Door Baptist Academy PrivateLargest high schoolGrades 2–11 | Grades 2–11 | 8 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
Most working residents leave Charlotte for work: only 2% work in town. Charlotte’s average trip to work is 30 minutes, against 25 minutes in New York’s towns and 25 minutes across U.S. towns. Since 2013, Charlotte has lost 224 jobs, to 89 in 2023.
| Charlotte | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 30 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $61,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Charlotte has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Charlotte’s July high is 78°F, where New York’s towns sit at 81°F and U.S. towns at 85°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
18 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve.
| Charlotte | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 9.2% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Boutwell Hill State Forest | 17.7 mi | 1,994 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 57% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Charlotte since 1979.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Charlotte beats the New York average on 3 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 10. 15% of adults report frequent physical distress in Charlotte.
| Charlotte | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 14% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 37% | 36% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 82% | 81% | 79% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Charlotte | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.8% | 7.9% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 11.8% | 14.5% |
| More adults with COPD | 8.7% | 6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Charlotte. Close and well known come first.
Big draw40 mi Stadium & arenaHighmark Stadium
Big draw40 mi Stadium & arenaRalph Wilson Stadium
13 mi LakeChautauqua Lake
37 mi WaterfallEternal Flame Falls
34 mi DamKinzua Dam
30 mi State parkAllegany State ParkHighmark Stadium: James161723, CC0 · Ralph Wilson Stadium: User Evilarry on en.wikipedia, Public domain · Chautauqua Lake: Banderas, Public domain · Eternal Flame Falls: Mpmajewski, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Kinzua Dam: Niagara, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Allegany State Park: Andre Carrotflower, CC BY-SA 4.0
3 within 15 miles of the center of Charlotte
About 2 of every 100 Charlotte residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
Where Charlotte’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Town in New York, United States
Charlotte is a town in Chautauqua County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 1,521. Charlotte is centrally located in the county, north of Jamestown and south of Dunkirk.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Charlotte.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlotte | — | — | B+ | — | C+ | B− |
| Gerry | — | — | B | — | C+ | B− |
| Arkwright | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Cherry Creek | — | — | A− | — | C− | C+ |
| Stockton | — | — | B+ | — | C+ | B |
| Sinclairville | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Villenova | — | — | B− | — | C | C |
Charlotte, Gerry, Cherry Creek, Stockton and Villenova have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Charlotte, Gerry, Cherry Creek, Stockton and Villenova report no FBI crime data of their own. Arkwright and Sinclairville aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Charlotte with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
62% more nonprofits per person than the typical New York town.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.
2 notable people were born here, including Henry Harrison Straight and Charles L. Webster.
