Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Waterloo earns a D, ranked 659th of 745 in New York, mostly because of schools. Its schools rank behind 87% of the state's. It also has a long history, with 11 places on the National Register. Its National Register listings include Hunt House and M'Clintock House. 26% of residents are 65 or older in Waterloo, where New York’s towns sit at 20% and U.S. towns at 18%. The biggest place to walk is Seneca Lake State Park, 123 acres with 1.2 miles of trail.
Where Waterloo beats most towns.
Census counts: 1,837 in 1830, 7,338 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 4 maps from 1902 on.
11 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Waterloo is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Waterloo, 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 Waterloo.
Waterloo is healthier than towns with similar incomes and trades workers with Seneca Falls and other neighbors.
Its public schools are run by the Waterloo Central School District. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Waterloo High School, with 404 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waterloo Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 356 | D |
| Waterloo High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 404 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
Waterloo has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 81°, January nights drop to 17° and about 57 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Waterloo has about as many jobs (2,966) as working residents, but only 469 people both live and work here. The average commute takes 21.8 minutes, against 32.6 across New York.
Most working residents leave Waterloo for work: only 16% work in town. Jobs based in Waterloo grew to 2,966 in 2023, 393 more than in 2013. Waterloo’s average trip to work is 22 minutes.
| Waterloo | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 16% | 10% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $63,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
2.6 miles of trail in 5 parks and preserves. The trail density in Waterloo is 0.1 miles per square mile.
| Waterloo | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Seneca Lake State Park | 1.2 mi | 123 |
| 2. Lafayette Park | 0.4 mi | 4 |
| 3. Lakefront Park | 0.3 mi | 8 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Against the 9,611 U.S. towns with household incomes like Waterloo’s, it is healthier than 70%, so its B− isn’t only a matter of income.
Waterloo beats the New York average on 3 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 8. 15% of adults report frequent physical distress in Waterloo.
| Waterloo | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 14% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 25% | 25% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 81% | 81% | 79% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Waterloo | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6.5% | 7.9% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 12% | 14.5% |
| More adults with COPD | 8.7% | 6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 51% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Waterloo since 1993.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Waterloo. Close and well known come first.
18 mi LakeSeneca Lake
19 mi LakeCayuga Lake
16 mi MountainCumorah
38 mi State parkWatkins Glen State Park
38 mi LakeOnondaga Lake
30 mi State parkTaughannock Falls State ParkSeneca Lake: RochesterNY, Public domain · Cayuga Lake: The original uploader was Cornellrockey at English Wikipedia. Later versions we, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Cumorah: Hillcumorahpageantstage.jpg: la salebete derivative work: Eustress (talk), CC BY-SA 2.0 · Watkins Glen State Park: Flickr user: Peter Rivera Stamford, Connecticut https://www.flickr.com/people/ri, CC BY 2.0 · Onondaga Lake: R. A. Nonenmacher, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Taughannock Falls State Park: Michael C. Rygel, CC BY-SA 3.0
3 within 15 miles of the center of Waterloo
About 7 of every 100 Waterloo residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New York.
11 places in Waterloo on the National Register of Historic Places.
10 notable people were born in Waterloo.
Town in New York, United States
Waterloo is a town in Seneca County, New York, United States. The population was 7,378 at the 2020 census. The town and its major community are named after Waterloo, Belgium, where Napoleon was defeated. There is also a village called Waterloo, the primary county seat of Seneca County. The Town of Waterloo is situated on the western border of the county, east of Geneva.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Waterloo.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waterloo | #659 | D | B− | — | D | B− |
| Fayette | #625 | C− | C | — | C− | B− |
| Junius | — | — | B− | — | D | C+ |
| Seneca Falls | #608 | C− | B | C | C− | B− |
| Waterloo | #666 | D | B− | — | D | C+ |
Junius has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Waterloo, Fayette, Junius and Waterloo report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Waterloo with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Waterloo grades D overall, better than 14% of U.S. towns and #659 of 745 in New York. It grades B− for health and D for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a D.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
10 notable people were born here, including Louise Blanchard Bethune and Randolph Rogers.
