Niagara County, NY

County Profile

210,721 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Niagara County, NY.

Several figures AreaProfile publishes are measured by county and nowhere finer — death rates by intent among them. On this page those describe the geography they are printed on, which is not true of the city and ZIP pages that inherit them.

62out of 100
Area Score
Top 39% of 1,453 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
Opportunity816th of 1,463 counties measured52
SchoolsTop 28% of 1,377 counties measured67
Growth1,112th of 1,453 counties measured36
Housing affordabilityTop 48% of 1,462 counties measured74
Climate1,102nd of 1,463 counties measured61
Physical resilienceTop 23% of 1,463 counties measured78
AccessTop 39% of 1,463 counties measured86
Economic stability780th of 1,463 counties measured58
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.6% and median household income $69,633, putting employment conditions in the middle range of counties measured.

In the public schools here, 62% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 12.4 students for every teacher.

Rent takes 29% of renter income here, below the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 2.2 times what its owners earn.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
210,721
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$69,633
Top 38% nationally
Density
403/sq mi
522.3 sq mi of land
Median age
43.3
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Niagara County
New York
Nearest major airport
BUF
23 mi · Buffalo Niagara Intl
Median home value
$189,800
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.6% — higher than in all but 31% of the 1,467 measured US counties.

Employment grew 0.6% over the past year, to 95,880 employed residents.

28% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 71% of measured US counties.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023$58,05648th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023$56,80947th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$2,1242024 ACS 5-Year$69,633Top 38%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$8152024 ACS 5-Year$38,904Top 30%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per-capita personal income2023$56,856Top 48%of 1,3892023
Poverty rate ±1.0%2024 ACS 5-Year13.0%Bottom 49%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.4 min2024 ACS 5-Year23.9 minTop 37%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year28.0%Top 29%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year77.1%46th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202695,880Top 24%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−1.3%Bottom 33%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026+0.6%Top 26%of 1,467July 2026
Labor forceJuly 2026100,54976th percentileof 1,467July 2026
Labor force participation ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year78.2%Top 37%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.2%2024 ACS 5-Year0.8%82nd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026+0.1%Bottom 36%of 1,467July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20264.6%Bottom 31%of 1,467July 2026
Worked from home ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year10.6%67th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/075.73.0
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.6% in July 2026. It has been rising, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202470k61k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $69,633 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Home Health and Personal Care Aides18,090$36,570
Retail Salespersons15,160$34,910
Fast Food and Counter Workers14,170$34,560
Registered Nurses13,830$99,060
General and Operations Managers11,100$103,280
Cashiers10,590$33,850

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

62% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 59% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 12.4 students for every full-time teacher across 48 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
49
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
12.4
across 48 of them
Math proficiency
62.1%
Top 36% in New York
Reading proficiency
58.7%
Top 39% in New York
The 12 largest of 49 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Niagara Falls High SchoolNIAGARA FALLS CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT2,03415.486%91%
Lockport High SchoolLOCKPORT CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT1,37711.891%95%
Niagara-Wheatfield Senior High SchoolNIAGARA-WHEATFIELD CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT1,04114.595%94%
North Tonawanda High SchoolNORTH TONAWANDA CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT96111.994%94%
Starpoint High SchoolSTARPOINT CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT92914.598%98%
Starpoint Middle SchoolSTARPOINT CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT72611.972%69%
North Tonawanda Intermediate SchoolNORTH TONAWANDA CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT72512.348%39%
Edward Town Middle SchoolNIAGARA-WHEATFIELD CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT72311.955%50%
Lewiston Porter Senior High SchoolLEWISTON-PORTER CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT65714.398%98%
Barker Central SchoolBARKER CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT65310.967%67%
Harry F Abate Elementary SchoolNIAGARA FALLS CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT65017.130%25%
Regan Intermediate SchoolSTARPOINT CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT63111.566%56%

48.7% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against New York’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 5% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 94.9, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY Metro Area is up 51% over five years, and up 4.4% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $4,155 a year in real estate taxes, about 2.19% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,343, some 49% above the $899 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,343 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $53,700 a year, about 77% of the median household income here of $69,633.

The typical renter household here spends 29% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $899 a month.

A median home at $189,800 costs 2.2 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $86,318, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
94.9

Prices here run about 5% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
29.4%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.2×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,343
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$899
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$189,800
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Niagara County’s median household income of $69,633, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY Metro Area’s figure202394.9Bottom 47%of 8872023
Home price change (1 year)the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+4.4%68th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+50.8%74th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+111.8%79th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.12024 ACS 5-Year2.2Top 33%of 3,2172024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year71.2%34th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±962024 ACS 5-Year100,44690th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,139Bottom 31%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,640Bottom 41%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,343Bottom 33%of 1,423FY2026
Median gross rent ±$202024 ACS 5-Year$899Bottom 45%of 3,2152024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$4,7412024 ACS 5-Year$189,80053rd percentileof 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$752024 ACS 5-Year$4,15594th percentileof 3,1722024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$1,8272024 ACS 5-Year$86,318Top 30%of 3,2182024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.07%2024 ACS 5-Year2.19%99th percentileof 3,1262024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year29.4%Bottom 33%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±2842024 ACS 5-Year1,20678th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year1.2%29th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year7.3%35th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±7122024 ACS 5-Year8,56289th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

36/ 100
Ranks 1,112 of 1,453 published county profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, in a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has fallen 1% since 2020, to 209,570 in 2024.

Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before: 253 units authorized in 2025, up 51% on the prior year.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 239 units permitted over the past twelve months, only 2% are in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show that people moving in from elsewhere in the US and people moving out roughly balanced across Niagara County in the most recent year. Households that moved in reported an average income of $58,056, close to the $56,809 of households that moved out.

At 1.1 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US counties.

Units permitted
239
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
1.1
Bottom 21% nationally
Year over year
+21%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
2.1%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

20202021202220232024212k210k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
0.0%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
29%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$58,056
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$56,809
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Erie County, NY 3,468 people · 57% of arrivals
  2. Orleans County, NY 149 people · 2.4% of arrivals
  3. Monroe County, NY 135 people · 2.2% of arrivals
  4. Queens County, NY 70 people · 1.1% of arrivals
  5. Genesee County, NY 55 people · 0.9% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Erie County, NY 2,829 people · 46% of departures
  2. Orleans County, NY 225 people · 3.6% of departures
  3. Monroe County, NY 166 people · 2.7% of departures
  4. Genesee County, NY 65 people · 1.1% of departures
  5. Cattaraugus County, NY 55 people · 0.9% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

202020212022202320242025253167
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2020 (+34%).

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 81°F and January a low of 17°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 33.0 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 34, in the Good band, and one day a year passes 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station NIAGARA FALLS INTL AP, 13.2 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND3.4"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year492024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals33.0"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals17°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals81°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year12024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year342024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals47°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
34
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
49
90th percentile index
Days above 100
1
unhealthy for sensitive groups

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

78 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, cold wave and tornado, with inland flooding alone responsible for 85% of it. Cold wave and tornado are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 77% of measured US counties.

Inland floodingModerate
Ice stormModerate
Strong windModerate
Heat waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: lightning, cold wave, earthquake, hurricane, winter weather, tornado, hail, wildfire, coastal flooding, drought, landslide, avalanche, tsunami, volcanic activity.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). These are FEMA’s own figures for this county rather than a value derived from surrounding geographies. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Niagara County has a modeled homicide rate of about 2.9 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 7.6 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 18.6 per 100,000 residents in Niagara County.

Homicide
2.9
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
7.6
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
18.6
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
12.9
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe Niagara County as a whole. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Buffalo Niagara Intl at 23 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year89.8%Top 28%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle23 miTop 32%of 1,463NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle2Bottom 15%of 1,463NASR current cycle
No internet access ±0.6%2024 ACS 5-Year7.8%Top 29%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Buffalo Niagara IntlBUF23 mi8,829 ft
Frederick Douglass/Greater Rochester IntlROC58 mi8,001 ft
Erie Intl/Tom Ridge FldERI107 mi8,420 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
62
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
Housing, IncomeU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

ZIP areas

Only ZIP areas whose income or home value differ from their city’s by at least ten percent get a profile of their own, so this is a selection rather than every ZIP code in the county.