Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Perry gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $125K for a typical one, or 1.8 years of the county’s $69K median household income. It grades B− overall, ranked 363rd of 745 in New York. On the plus side, natural-hazard risk is low. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 96% of U.S. towns, with 5 places on the National Register. Perry’s typical journey to work is 19 minutes, below both the New York town median (25 minutes) and the median of U.S. towns (25 minutes). Its National Register listings include First Methodist Episcopal Church of Perry and Brick Presbyterian Church. Perry is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 81% of U.S. towns.
Where Perry beats most towns.
First Methodist Episcopal Church of Perry
Census counts: 2,317 in 1820, a low of 2,317 in 1820, 5,832 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1910 and 3 maps from 1905 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Perry is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Perry, 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 Perry.
Perry is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has commutes shorter than most of New York, but it trails Leicester and its other neighbors on schools.
Federal disaster aid has reached households in Perry after 3 declared disasters, most recently in 2003. Compared with just over four fifths of U.S. communities, expected storm and flood damage here is lower. The national flood insurance program has paid 2 claims here since 1989. 69% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by tornadoes at 7%.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Each of its 4 graded neighbors has a higher School Grade than its C, Leicester highest at B−.
The public schools here belong to the Perry Central School District. The largest public high school is Perry Junior-Senior High School, with 333 students. Two of its 3 schools are shown below, with the reason for each.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Perry Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 411 | C+ |
| Perry Junior-Senior High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 333 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
The average commute for its 2,036 working residents takes 18.6 minutes, against 32.6 across New York.
Most working residents leave Perry for work: only 18% work in town. Its income of the median household stands at $63,000. The top destinations are Warsaw (8%), Rochester (7%) and Castile (4%). Among workers here, 7.8% do their job from home.
| Perry | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 18% | 10% | 8% |
| Median household income | $63,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 7.8% | 12% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Against the 9,530 U.S. towns with household incomes like Perry’s, it is healthier than 63%, so its C+ isn’t only a matter of income.
28% of Perry adults get no exercise outside work. In Perry, 16% of adults smoke cigarettes, and 18% binge drink.
| Perry | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 37% | 36% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 14% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 16% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 32% | 33% |
| What stands out | Perry | NY |
|---|---|---|
| More smokers | 16.3% | 11.3% |
| More adults with COPD | 8% | 6% |
| More adults with obesity | 37% | 28.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Perry’s concentration of trails comes in at 0.1 miles per square mile. Trails run 1.8 miles in 2 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Perry Village Park, at 27 acres.
| Perry | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.8% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Perry Village Park | — | 27 |
| 2. Silver Lake Outlet Wildlife Management Area | — | 10 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Perry. Close and well known come first.
Big draw40 mi Stadium & arenaHighmark Stadium
Big draw39 mi Stadium & arenaRalph Wilson Stadium
8 mi State parkLetchworth State Park23 mi Theme parkSix Flags Darien Lake1.5M visitors a year
38 mi WaterfallEternal Flame Falls
35 mi MuseumGeorge Eastman MuseumHighmark Stadium: James161723, CC0 · Ralph Wilson Stadium: User Evilarry on en.wikipedia, Public domain · Letchworth State Park: Suandsoe, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Eternal Flame Falls: Mpmajewski, CC BY-SA 3.0 · George Eastman Museum: Dmadeo, CC BY-SA 4.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Perry
About 4 of every 100 Perry residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
4,616 counted in 2010 and 5,832 in 2020; an estimated 4,769 in 2025.
Since 2020 the trend has turned: down 2.2%, after 26.3% growth in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
5 places in Perry on the National Register of Historic Places.
12 notable people were born in Perry.
Town in New York, USA
Perry is a town in Wyoming County, New York, United States. The population was 5,813 at the 2020 census. The town is named after Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry. The town is on the eastern border of the county. Perry is also the name of a village within the town. The town is styled "home of the Silver Lake Sea Serpent" after a sea serpent sighting, possibly a hoax, in 1855. The serpent is celebrated by images throughout the town and previously by a summer festival. An artificial serpent was placed by Silver Lake in 2016. The Village of Perry joined Tree City USA in 2017. U.S. Route 20A passes across the town.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Perry.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Perry | #363 | B− | B+ | — | C | C+ |
| Covington | — | — | B+ | — | C+ | B |
| Castile | #511 | C | B+ | — | C+ | B− |
| Warsaw | #551 | C | B− | — | C+ | B− |
| Leicester | — | — | A | — | B− | B |
| Perry | #337 | B | B+ | — | C | C+ |
Covington and Leicester have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Perry, Covington, Castile, Warsaw, Leicester and Perry report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Perry with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Perry grades B− overall, better than 53% of U.S. towns and #363 of 745 in New York. It grades C+ for health and C for schools.
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+.
12 notable people were born here, including John W. Barlow and Edward Austin Sheldon.
