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Welcome to Olean ...

The city of Olean is located in Cattaraugus County<1>.

While we don't have a date for the founding of Olean, you might consider that their post office opened  in 1817.

When the people of Olean refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Oleander<2>

From the  Census Estimates for 2019, Olean has a population of 13,461 people<3> (see below for details).

Olean is 1,450 feet [442 m] above sea level.<4>.

Time Zone: Olean lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time

Area Codes for Olean: 716 & 624<5>

Population Details ...

Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Olean had an population of 13,461 people. This is a decrease of 6.86% since the 2010 Census (or a decrease of 12.29% since the 2000 Census).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Olean had a population of 14,452 people (or 18.02% of the total population of Cattaraugus County). This makes Olean the county's most populous community.

The population of Olean represents 0.07% of the population of New York (which has 19,378,102 people), making it the state's 173rd most populous community.

With a 2010 count of 14,452 people, the population of Olean decreased 5.83% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 15,347 people).

More information can be found on the Census Page for Olean.

Communities Also Named Olean ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 5 communities that are also named Olean - they are located in Indiana, Missouri, Nebraska (2) and Virginia.

For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Olean.

Websites for Olean ...

Official Website:   www.cityofolean.com/

Chamber of Commerce:   www.oleanny.com/

Communities near Olean ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Olean.

  • Bradford
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Salamanca
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
  • Port Allegany
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
  • Franklinville
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Franklinville have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklinville
    • Franklinville is located in Cattaraugus County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,622 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Franklinville <6>
  • Smethport
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Smethport have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smethport
    • Smethport is located in McKean County (PA)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,518 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Smethport <6>
  • Cuba
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cuba have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba
    • Cuba is located in Allegany County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,460 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cuba <6>
  • Shinglehouse
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Bolivar
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Eldred
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Lewis Run
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lewis Run have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewis Run
    • Lewis Run is located in McKean County (PA)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 564 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lewis Run <6>

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Olean. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Olean.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Olean. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Olean.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Olean. Our list includes 24 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Olean.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Olean ...

Looking for more information about Olean? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

In addition to the Tourism page for Olean, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Olean.

Adding Olean to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Olean in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Olean was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<9>

X2X - From that list, the Olean post office opened in 1817.

We also found Olean in the book titled U.S. Post Offices (Oct. 1846).

For more details, see References and Mentions for Olean.

The official website for Olean: www.cityofolean.com/

The official website for Cattaraugus County: www.co.cattaraugus.ny.us/

The official website for State of New York: https://www.ny.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of New York's counties, including Cattaraugus, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Olean refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a city's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Olean may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different.
<3>Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Olean.
<4>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Olean - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<5>When there's a risk of an area code running out of phone numbers, an 'Overlay Area Code' is created that has the same geographic boundaries as the existing area code. In this case, the 716 code has been Overlayed with the 624 area code. New phone numbers in the Olean area will be assigned with one of these codes: 716 or 624. As a result, placing a call in the Olean area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number).
<6>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<7>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<8>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<9>A copy of their list with background information can be found at:

      https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 18 Apr 2025