Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Wellsville’s weakest is incomes — the median household income is $63K, and 16% of residents live below the poverty line. The town’s overall C puts it 562nd of 745 in New York. Nationally, it does better than 29% of U.S. towns. It also trails on hazard risk: FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 85% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. Where it does best is cost of living: a typical home costs about $95K, 1.5 years of the county’s $63K median household income. The biggest park or preserve is Lagoon Fields, at 20 acres. 34% of working residents work locally here, where New York’s towns sit at 10% and U.S. towns at 8%. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 98% of U.S. towns, with 4 places on the National Register.
Figures: home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenStreetMap · Census LEHD, 2023.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Wellsville is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Where Wellsville beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Census counts: 2,432 in 1860, 7,099 in 2020. The archive holds 2 old photos and papers and 2 maps from 1926 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
4 places in Wellsville on the National Register of Historic Places.
Ordered by what stands out in Wellsville.
Wellsville is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has commutes shorter than most of New York, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of New York (mostly inland flooding).
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 99% of New York towns; that rating is what its D for hazard risk is built on.
All told, 23 flood insurance claims have been paid in Wellsville since 1979. 91% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding. Federal aid has come to Wellsville households in 5 declared disasters; the latest was in 2021.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its two schools are below. The largest public high school is Wellsville Secondary School, with 624 students. The public schools here belong to the Wellsville Central School District.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wellsville Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 517 | C |
| Wellsville Secondary SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 6–12 | Grades 6–12 | 624 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
About 61 inches of snow fall in a winter here; January nights dip to 15° and July afternoons rise to 81°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 2,716 working residents takes 15.9 minutes, against 32.6 across New York.
The top destinations are Amity (4%), Olean (4%) and Alfred (4%). Roughly one working resident in three has a job in Wellsville itself. Employers in Wellsville shed 874 jobs between 2013 and 2023, to 3,871. 3.6% of workers work remotely from home locally.
| Wellsville | Typical New York town | Typical U.S. town | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 34% | 10% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 16 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 3.6% | 12% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 16% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
2.1 miles of trail in 5 parks and preserves. Wellsville’s density of trails works out to 0.1 miles per square mile. Walkers in the town have 51 acres of parks and preserves.
| Wellsville | Typical New York town | Typical U.S. town | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.6% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Island Park | 0.4 mi | 15 |
| 2. River Walk | 0.3 mi | 4 |
| 3. Lagoon Fields | — | 20 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Against the 9,611 U.S. towns with household incomes like Wellsville’s, it is healthier than 69%, so its B− isn’t only a matter of income.
Of 32 CDC measures, Wellsville beats the New York average on 4 and trails it on 10. Among adults locally, 39% have high blood pressure. In Wellsville, 15% of adults report frequent physical distress, and 82% had a checkup this year.
| Wellsville | Typical New York town | Typical U.S. town | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 34% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 14% | 14% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 82% | 81% | 79% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 11% | 12% |
| What stands out | Wellsville | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.8% | 7.9% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 11.4% | 14.5% |
| More adults with COPD | 8.9% | 6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Who provides power, water and the rest in Wellsville, 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.
2 within 15 miles of the center of Wellsville
About 5 of every 100 Wellsville residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
12 notable people were born in Wellsville.
Town in New York, United States
Wellsville is a town and largest community in Allegany County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town had a population of 7,099. Wellsville is centrally located in the south half of the county, 8 miles (13 km) north of the Pennsylvania border. Wellsville is also the name of the main village within this town. The village and the town have two separate, paid governments. Alfred State College maintains a branch campus in the town, with the main campus in Alfred 7 miles (11 km) east.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Wellsville.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wellsville | #562 | C | B+ | — | C+ | B− |
| Scio | — | — | B− | — | B+ | C+ |
| Andover | — | — | A | — | C− | C+ |
| Willing | — | — | A | — | C+ | B− |
| Alma | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Independence | — | — | A | — | C− | C+ |
Scio, Andover, Willing and Independence have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Wellsville, Scio, Andover, Willing and Independence report no FBI crime data of their own. Alma isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Wellsville with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Wellsville grades C overall, better than 29% of U.S. towns and #562 of 745 in New York. It grades B− for health and C+ for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D.
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 Adam McMullen and Charles Monroe Sheldon.
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