North Tonawanda, New York

Area Profile

30,198 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for North Tonawanda, in Niagara County.

58out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 47% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 16 sources
OpportunityTop 49% of 4,199 cities measured56
SchoolsTop 50% of 4,162 cities measured50
Growth4,112th of 4,224 cities measured14
Housing affordabilityTop 34% of 4,218 cities measured72
Climate3,502nd of 4,225 cities measured61
Physical resilienceTop 28% of 4,226 cities measured77
AccessTop 32% of 4,226 cities measured97
Economic stability2,357th of 4,226 cities measured55
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.2% and median household income $66,961, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured.

In the public schools here, 64% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 11.7 students for every teacher.

Residential permitting has slowed: 7 units authorized over the past twelve months, 75% below the prior year. That follows a longer stretch moving the other way, through 2025.

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
30,198
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$66,961
Top 50% nationally
Density
2,992/sq mi
10.1 sq mi of land
Median age
43.1
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
New York
Nearest major airport
BUF
10 mi · Buffalo Niagara Intl
Median home value
$197,200
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.2%, lower than in 55% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment grew 0.6% over the past year, to 14,684 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsNiagara County, NY’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$58,05622nd percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftNiagara County, NY’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$56,80918th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$5,2022024 ACS 5-Year$66,961Top 50%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,5782024 ACS 5-Year$38,413Top 36%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year11.2%Bottom 48%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.9 min2024 ACS 5-Year21.8 minTop 25%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year27.1%Top 35%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year76.6%48th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202614,684Bottom 13%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−1.5%Bottom 31%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026+0.6%Top 23%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202615,33412th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year79.7%Top 45%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageBuffalo-Cheektowaga, NY Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$66,480Bottom 39%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageBuffalo-Cheektowaga, NY Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$50,790Bottom 46%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.2%2024 ACS 5-Year0.1%75th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 20260.0%Bottom 45%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20264.2%Top 45%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year14.5%75th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/075.12.7
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.2% in July 2026. It has been rising for the last 3 months, 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

202120222023202467k62k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $66,961 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.

64% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 60% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 11.7 students for every full-time teacher across 7 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
7
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
11.7
across all schools here
Math proficiency
64.3%
Bottom 43% in New York
Reading proficiency
59.8%
Bottom 35% in New York
All 7 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
North Tonawanda High SchoolNORTH TONAWANDA CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT96111.994%94%
North Tonawanda Intermediate SchoolNORTH TONAWANDA CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT72512.348%39%
Errick Road Elementary SchoolNIAGARA-WHEATFIELD CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT50112.577%67%
North Tonawanda Middle SchoolNORTH TONAWANDA CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT4959.942%37%
Ohio Elementary SchoolNORTH TONAWANDA CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT36714.765%55%
Spruce SchoolNORTH TONAWANDA CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT33610.842%47%
Drake SchoolNORTH TONAWANDA CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT2429.745%45%

41.6% 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 $4,636 a year in real estate taxes, about 2.35% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,270, some 36% above the $934 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,270 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $50,800 a year, about 76% of the median household income here of $66,961.

The typical renter household here spends 30% of its income on rent, at the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $934 a month.

A median home at $197,200 costs 2.3 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $84,263, 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
30.2%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.3×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,270
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$934
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$197,200
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against North Tonawanda’s median household income of $66,961, 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 figure202394.9Top 26%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+4.4%71st percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+50.8%81st percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+111.8%79th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.12024 ACS 5-Year2.3Top 45%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year70.1%38th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±4332024 ACS 5-Year14,71096th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,080Top 28%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,550Top 20%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,270Top 26%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$262024 ACS 5-Year$934Top 46%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$7,0872024 ACS 5-Year$197,20053rd percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1422024 ACS 5-Year$4,63688th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$3,0952024 ACS 5-Year$84,263Top 43%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.11%2024 ACS 5-Year2.35%97th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year30.2%Bottom 40%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±482024 ACS 5-Year4080th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.3%54th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year4.5%35th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2362024 ACS 5-Year69593rd percentileof 32,3302024 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

14/ 100
Ranks 4,112 of 4,224 published city profiles
Permitting has been rising for the last 2 years of 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 29,981 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 7 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were 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, which contains North Tonawanda, 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 0.2 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
7
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.2
Bottom 10% nationally
Year over year
−75%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202430k30k
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. This is the figure for Niagara County, NY. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

202020212022202320242025465.0
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−57%).

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, 5.5 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

77 / 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 72% of measured US cities.

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). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
154
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
1,071
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

North Tonawanda's police department reported 154 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 1,071.

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.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by North Tonawanda’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. 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 the county around North Tonawanda (Niagara County) rather than North Tonawanda itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and 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.

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

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Buffalo Niagara Intl at 10 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year91.1%Top 44%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle10 miTop 28%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 20%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year6.5%Top 45%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Buffalo Niagara IntlBUF10 mi8,829 ft
Frederick Douglass/Greater Rochester IntlROC61 mi8,001 ft
Erie Intl/Tom Ridge FldERI94 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
58
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Other cities in Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
BuffaloErie County276,85454Buffalo vs North Tonawanda
CheektowagaErie County76,05662Cheektowaga vs North Tonawanda
Tonawanda TownErie County56,80662Tonawanda Town vs North Tonawanda
Niagara FallsNiagara County47,98749
West SenecaErie County45,30366
LockportNiagara County20,61059
LackawannaErie County19,75358
KenmoreErie County15,04464
TonawandaErie County15,03061
DepewErie County15,00058
EggertsvilleErie County14,89468
LancasterErie County10,11363

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put North Tonawanda side by side with a similar place.

North Tonawanda vs DepewNorth Tonawanda vs Wyandotte

Moving to North Tonawanda from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
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
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
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 codes in North Tonawanda

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in North Tonawanda with census figures of its own, largest first.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
1412044,241$74,871$222,50061