Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Olean grades D overall, 695th of 745 graded towns in New York, mostly because of incomes and safety. The median household income is $51K, and 27% of residents live below the poverty line. Its crime rate is higher than 89% of U.S. towns, with 38 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. In its favor, it is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 99% of U.S. towns, with 10 places on the National Register. 27% of residents live below the poverty line in Olean, above both the New York town median (9.5%) and the median of U.S. towns (9.6%). On history, just 29 of New York’s 1,216 towns do better.
Where Olean beats most towns.
Census counts: 1,327 in 1870, a peak of 22,884 in 1950, 13,937 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1860 and 5 maps from 1898 on.
10 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Olean is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Olean, 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 Olean.
Olean is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has homes that are cheap against local pay, but it has poverty well above the New York rate.
There are 5.6 miles of trail across 9 parks and preserves. For Olean, the concentration of trails is 0.9 miles per square mile. Parks and preserves in the town: 9, covering 53 acres.
| Olean | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.9 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 6% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Franchot Field | 0.5 mi | 12 |
| 2. Lincoln Park | 0.4 mi | 2 |
| 3. Forness Park | — | 16 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The largest public high school is Olean Senior High School, with 668 students. Below: Two of its 7 schools, each with why it was picked. Its public schools are run by the Olean City School District.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Olean Intermediate-Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 3–8 | Grades 3–8 | 534 | D |
| Olean Senior High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 8–12 | Grades 8–12 | 668 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
Property crime runs at 34.3 per 1,000 residents, about twice the New York rate, most of it theft.
The level of violent crime in Olean is 2.8 per 1,000 residents. Among 265 New York towns, just 9 have a higher property crime rate than Olean.
| Olean | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 34.3 per 1,000 residents | 7.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.8 per 1,000 residents | 0.8 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Against the 6,221 U.S. towns with household incomes like Olean’s, it is healthier than 65%, so its C isn’t only a matter of income.
Olean: two in five adults sleep under 7 hours. 17% of adults smoke cigarettes in the town.
| Olean | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 13% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 37% | 36% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 25% | 25% |
| What stands out | Olean | NY |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 21.9% | 12.8% |
| More adults with COPD | 9.5% | 6% |
| More smokers | 17.3% | 11.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
July afternoons reach 81°, January nights drop to 15° and about 65 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 5,515 working residents takes 14.4 minutes, against 32.6 across New York.
The median commute is under 4 miles. Between 2013 and 2023, jobs in Olean dropped by 816, to 7,536. The typical journey to work for Olean comes to 14 minutes. The top destinations are Allegany (10%), Olean (3%) and Little Valley (3%).
| Olean | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 37% | 10% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 14 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $51,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 8.4% | 12% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Federal aid has come to Olean households in 3 declared disasters; the latest was in 2009. Expected damage from storms and floods is lower here than in just over three fifths of U.S. communities. FEMA puts 79% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 8% to tornadoes. 14 flood insurance claims have been paid here since 1981.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
At 1.4 years of the Olean area’s $60K median household income, the typical home costs less against local pay than in 99% of New York towns; that ratio is one input to its B− for cost of living. The median property tax bill is $3,130, against $6,582 across New York, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
A home in Olean typically sold within 20 days of listing. Its rent at the middle of the market is $794 a month. The share of households in Olean who live in a home they own: 55%.
| Olean | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 55% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $794 a month | $1,103 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Olean. Close and well known come first.
34 mi DamKinzua Dam
24 mi State parkKinzua Bridge State Park
15 mi State parkAllegany State Park17 mi Ski areaHoliday Valley79 runs · 790 ft vertical18 mi Ski areaHolimont42 runs · 671 ft vertical
24 mi MuseumGriffis Sculpture ParkKinzua Dam: Niagara, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Kinzua Bridge State Park: Nicholas from Pennsylvania, USA, CC BY 2.0 · Allegany State Park: Andre Carrotflower, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Griffis Sculpture Park: Antepenultimate, CC BY-SA 4.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Olean
About 4 of every 100 Olean residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
10 places in Olean on the National Register of Historic Places.
27 notable people were born in Olean.
City in New York, United States
Olean ( OH-lee-ann, Seneca: Johíhso') is a city in Cattaraugus County, New York, United States. Olean is the largest city in Cattaraugus County and serves as its financial, business, transportation and entertainment center. It is one of the principal cities of the Southern Tier region of Western New York. As of the 2020 census, Olean had a population of 13,937. The city is surrounded by the town of Olean and is located in the southeastern part of Cattaraugus County.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Olean.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olean | #695 | D | B− | D | C | C |
| Olean | — | — | B | — | B | C+ |
| Allegany | #326 | B | B | — | B+ | B |
| Weston Mills | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Olean has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Olean and Allegany report no FBI crime data of their own. Weston Mills isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Olean with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Olean grades D overall, better than 10% of U.S. towns and #695 of 745 in New York. It grades C for health, D for safety and C for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D.
The typical home is worth about $86,000, 84% below the New York typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
27 notable people were born here, including Jeff Fahey and Louis Zamperini.
