Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Wawarsing earns a D, 711th among New York's 745 graded towns, mostly because of schools and incomes. Its public schools trail 94% of New York towns on state tests and graduation. The median household income is $64K, and 22% of residents live below the poverty line. One bright spot: it has 98 miles of trail and 28% conserved land. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 99% of U.S. towns, with 12 places on the National Register. 28% of the land in Wawarsing is conserved, where New York’s towns sit at 5.2% and U.S. towns at 4.3%. Minnewaska State Park Preserve, at 12,466 acres with 36.7 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Only 39 of New York’s 1,216 towns score higher on history.
Where Wawarsing beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Chetolah| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Ellenville Elementary School | PK–6 | 730 |
| Kerhonkson Elementary School | PK–3 | 215 |
| Center for Spectrum Services-Ellenville | PK–1 | 32 |
Its founding year, 1685, comes before those of 95% of the New York towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 1,811 in 1820, 12,771 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1863 and 3 maps from 1903 on.
12 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Wawarsing is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Wawarsing, 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 Wawarsing.
Wawarsing is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of New York (mostly inland flooding).
Its public schools are run by the Ellenville Central School District. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Ellenville Junior/Senior High School, with 698 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ellenville Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 730 | D |
| Ellenville Junior/Senior High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 698 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
98 miles of trail in 23 parks and preserves. At 0.7 miles per square mile, Wawarsing’s trail density is against 0.4 in New York’s towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Minnewaska State Park Preserve | 36.7 mi | 12,466 |
| 2. Vernooy Kill State Forest | 15.6 mi | 3,709 |
| 3. Trout Creek Unit | 4 mi | 1,494 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 90% of New York towns, with expected losses of about $785 per resident a year; that rating is what its C− for hazard risk is built on. 75 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 20 properties have flooded more than once.
Wawarsing’s FEMA risk score is 69 of 100. Since 1980, 75 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Wawarsing.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Wawarsing has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 82°, January nights drop to 16° and about 59 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Most working residents leave Wawarsing for work: only 18% work in town. The average trip to work in Wawarsing is 30 minutes. Jobs based in Wawarsing grew to 3,287 in 2023, 364 more than in 2013.
| Wawarsing | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 30 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 18% | 10% | 8% |
| Median household income | $64,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 10% | 12% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 9,797 U.S. towns with household incomes like Wawarsing’s, it is healthier than 70%, so its B− isn’t only a matter of income.
Wawarsing beats the New York average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 8. 19% of Wawarsing adults have been diagnosed with depression.
| Wawarsing | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 21% | 23% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 37% | 36% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 34% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 17% | 16% |
| What stands out | Wawarsing | NY |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 7.7% | 6% |
| More smokers | 14.5% | 11.3% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 15.6% | 12.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Wawarsing. Close and well known come first.
Big draw34 mi MuseumUnited States Military Academyin town Park & preserveMinnewaska State Park Preserve
24 mi National Historic SiteHome of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site102K visitors a year
25 mi National Historic SiteVanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site295K visitors a year
34 mi Stadium & arenaMichie Stadium
in town CaveSam's Point PreserveUnited States Military Academy: USMA Public Affairs Office, Public domain · Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site: Crunch, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site: Daderot, Public domain · Michie Stadium: John Pellino, Public domain · Sam's Point Preserve: Mfwills, CC BY-SA 3.0
3 within 15 miles of the center of Wawarsing
About 7 of every 100 Wawarsing residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New York.
27.5% of the town is conserved land, across 23 parks and preserves.
12 places in Wawarsing on the National Register of Historic Places.
3 notable people were born in Wawarsing.
Town in New York, United States
Wawarsing is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 12,771 at the 2020 census. The name Wawarsing was once believed to mean "a place where the streams wind" in the Lenape language, referring to the geography in the hamlet of Wawarsing; specifically, the joining of the Ver Nooy Kill and the Rondout Creek at Port Ben. The name Wawarsing was used by the Lenape to designate the current hamlet and the fields to the north and south of it for at least six miles in both directions. It is the only Lenape name known to refer to an exact location in Ulster County. The town is in the western part of the county. The southern and easternmost portions are on the Shawangunk Ri…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
10 towns share a border with Wawarsing.
Shawangunk next door grades higher for schools (B to Wawarsing’s D) and lower for cost of living (D to C).
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wawarsing | #711 | D | C | — | D | B− |
| Shawangunk | #328 | B | D | A+ | B | A− |
| Ellenville | #727 | D− | C | — | D | C |
| Rochester | #576 | C | C− | — | C | B+ |
| Fallsburg | #674 | D | C− | A− | D | C+ |
| Neversink | #516 | C | C+ | — | C+ | B+ |
| Gardiner | #490 | C+ | D | — | B+ | B− |
| Cragsmoor | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Wawarsing, Ellenville, Rochester, Neversink and Gardiner report no FBI crime data of their own. Cragsmoor isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Wawarsing with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Wawarsing grades D overall, better than 7% of U.S. towns and #711 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 C.
3 notable people were born here, including Simeon De Witt and Nat Boxer.
