Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Williamsville is one of the best-graded places in America: an A+, ranked 38th of 745 in New York. The median household earns $99K, residents are healthier than 94% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates, and its schools outperform 88% of the state's. The exception is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $417K, 5.8 years of the Buffalo metro’s $72K median household income. 62% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Williamsville, above both the New York town median (32%) and the median of U.S. towns (29%). Williamsville is more walkable than 91% of U.S. towns.
Where Williamsville beats most towns.
4.2% of the town is conserved land, across 4 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Williamsville is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 912 in 1870, 5,423 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1812 and 5 maps from 1905 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Williamsville. Close and well known come first.
Big draw19 mi WaterfallNiagara Falls
Big draw13 mi Stadium & arenaHighmark Stadium
Big draw13 mi Stadium & arenaRalph Wilson Stadium
9 mi Stadium & arenaKeyBank Center
9 mi MuseumUSS The Sullivans
19 mi WaterfallHorseshoe FallsNiagara Falls: Robert F. Tobler, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Highmark Stadium: James161723, CC0 · Ralph Wilson Stadium: User Evilarry on en.wikipedia, Public domain · KeyBank Center: Andre Carrotflower, CC BY-SA 4.0 · USS The Sullivans: Unknown, Public domain · Horseshoe Falls: Ujjwal Kumar, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Williamsville, 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 Williamsville.
Williamsville pairs an A+ overall with homes cheaper than the New York norm, gets more snow than nearly all U.S. towns and has less food insecurity than most of New York.
2.1 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. Williamsville’s trail density is 1.6 miles per square mile.
| Williamsville | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.6 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.2% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Glen Park | 0.9 mi | 12 |
| 2. Amherst State Park | 0.3 mi | 8 |
| 3. Island Park | 0.2 mi | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its widest gap with New York is food insecurity: 7.6% of its 4,574 adults worry about having enough food, against 17.2% statewide.
84% of Williamsville adults had a checkup this year. Williamsville beats the New York average on 19 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 3.8% of Williamsville adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance.
| Williamsville | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 32% | 33% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 16% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 8.6% | 13% | 14% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 84% | 81% | 79% |
| What stands out | Williamsville | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.6% | 17.2% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 3.8% | 7.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.6% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 75% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 85 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Williamsville.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Buffalo weather station records that 95 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 97% of U.S. towns.
Williamsville has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. The July high in Williamsville is 81°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Williamsville grades A+ overall with a typical home of about $417K, below the New York typical value; only 33 of the 89 New York towns graded A− or better can say that.
64% of households own their home in Williamsville. Typical home values rose 4.4% in the year to September 2026.
| Williamsville | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 64% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,404 a month | $1,098 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The average commute for its 2,459 working residents takes 15.4 minutes, against 32.6 across New York. 25.3% of workers work from home, against 14.9% across New York.
Most working residents leave Williamsville for work: only 5% work in town. Since 2013, Williamsville has lost 471 jobs, to 3,607 in 2023. The top destinations are Amherst (33%), Buffalo (24%) and Cheektowaga (8%).
| Williamsville | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 15 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $99,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 5.9% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 4.8% | 10% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
11 within 15 miles of the center of Williamsville
About 5 of every 100 Williamsville residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
16 notable people were born in Williamsville.
Village in New York, United States
Williamsville is a village in Erie County, New York, United States. The population was 5,423 at the 2020 census. The village is named after Jonas Williams, an early settler. It is part of the Buffalo-Niagara Falls metropolitan area. Williamsville is located mostly within the town of Amherst, but Creek Road and Creek Heights in the south part of the village (near the Wehrle Drive underpass of the New York State Thruway) are in the town of Cheektowaga. The village is in the northeastern quadrant of Erie County. The Williamsville Central School District is a school system covering Williamsville, most of the eastern part of Amherst, and a small portion of the western end of Clarence.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Williamsville.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Williamsville | #38 | A+ | C− | — | A | A |
| Cheektowaga | #631 | C− | C+ | D | D | B |
| Amherst | #270 | B+ | D | C | A− | A |
Williamsville reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Williamsville with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Williamsville grades A+ overall, better than 96% of U.S. towns and #38 of 745 in New York. It grades A for health and A for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
Williamsville was incorporated in 1850. 16 notable people were born here, including Hayley Scamurra and Sameera Fazili.
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