Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Grand Island grades A− overall, 152nd of 745 graded towns in New York. It has 25 miles of trail. The median household earns $116K and it is healthier than 90% of U.S. towns. The trade-off is money: homes are expensive, about $327K for a typical one and 4.5 times the Buffalo metro’s $72K median household income. 15% of the land in Grand Island is conserved, where New York’s towns sit at 5.2% and U.S. towns at 4.3%. Only 29 of New York’s 1,216 towns score lower on history. The biggest place to walk is Beaver Island State Park, 739 acres with 5.4 miles of trail.
Where Grand Island beats most towns.
14.8% of the town is conserved land, across 15 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Grand Island is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 954 in 1860, a low of 626 in 1930, 21,389 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1866 and 6 maps from 1897 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Grand Island. Close and well known come first.
Big draw7 mi WaterfallNiagara Falls
Big draw19 mi Stadium & arenaHighmark Stadium
Big draw19 mi Stadium & arenaRalph Wilson Stadium
7 mi WaterfallHorseshoe Falls
11 mi Stadium & arenaKeyBank Center
11 mi MuseumUSS The SullivansNiagara Falls: Robert F. Tobler, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Highmark Stadium: James161723, CC0 · Ralph Wilson Stadium: User Evilarry on en.wikipedia, Public domain · Horseshoe Falls: Ujjwal Kumar, Public domain · KeyBank Center: Andre Carrotflower, CC BY-SA 4.0 · USS The Sullivans: Unknown, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Grand Island, 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 Grand Island.
Grand Island has less food insecurity than most of New York, has better schools than Wheatfield or any other neighbor and has commutes shorter than most of New York.
Grand Island’s concentration of trails is 0.8 miles per square mile, against 0.4 in New York’s towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns. Parks and preserves here: 15, covering 1,720 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Beaver Island State Park | 5.4 mi | 739 |
| 2. Buckhorn Island State Park | 4.2 mi | 573 |
| 3. Scenic Woods | 3.1 mi | 241 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its A− is the best School Grade on its borders; Wheatfield (B+) is next.
The public schools here belong to the Grand Island Central School District. The largest public high school is Grand Island Senior High School, with 868 students. Two of the 6 schools are below, and why each made the list.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Veronica E Connor Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 614 | C |
| Grand Island Senior High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 868 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with New York is food insecurity: 8.5% of its 16,924 adults worry about having enough food, against 17.2% statewide. That grade tops all 4 graded neighbors; Wheatfield (B) comes closest.
20% of adults get no exercise outside work in Grand Island. CDC measures, 32 in all: Grand Island beats New York on 16 and trails on 3. In Grand Island, 83% of adults had a checkup this year, and 19% binge drink.
| Grand Island | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 32% | 33% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 83% | 81% | 79% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 17% | 16% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 14% | 14% |
| What stands out | Grand Island | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.5% | 17.2% |
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 6.8% | 12.8% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.7% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Federal aid has come to Grand Island households in 5 declared disasters; the latest was in 2022. Compared with just over four fifths of U.S. communities, expected storm and flood damage here is lower. Flood insurance has paid out on 19 claims here since 1978. FEMA puts 65% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 24% to cold waves.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The average commute for its 9,803 working residents takes 18.9 minutes, against 32.6 across New York. Jobs based here grew from 4,507 in 2013 to 6,115.
Just 16% of the town’s working residents have a job in town. Grand Island’s average commute stands at 19 minutes. 18% of Grand Island workers work from home. Jobs based in Grand Island grew to 6,115 in 2023, 1,608 more than in 2013.
| Grand Island | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $116,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 18% | 12% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 4.1% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Grand Island’s midsummer high is 81°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The share of residents in Grand Island who are 65 or older: 22%. Four-year graduates: 47% of adults 25 and older here, 40% across New York. The median age for Grand Island comes to 45.7 years.
| Grand Island | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 47% | 32% | 29% |
| Median age | 45.7 years | 42.9 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 22% | 20% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 20% | 20% | 22% |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±1.9 points. Across New York, 51.2% of residents are women. Median age: women 47.7, men 43.9.
| Grand Island | NY | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.7% | 11% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.2% | 9.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 8.4% | 14.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.8% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.2% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 15.4% | 13.3% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 13.9% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.3% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.1% | 12% | 10.4% |
| High school | 21.8% | 24.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 15.9% | 14.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 11.7% | 8.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 23.1% | 22.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 23.5% | 17.9% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
No violent crimes were reported in 2025. Grand Island's reported crime rate is well below New York's. Police in Grand Island reported no property crime.
| Grand Island | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0 per 1,000 residents | 7.6 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0 per 1,000 residents | 0.8 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
On the market in Grand Island: a median 32 days to sell. For households here, the share who are owner-occupiers is 82%. In Grand Island, 50% of sales closed above the list price.
| Grand Island | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 82% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,199 a month | $1,098 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
11 within 15 miles of the center of Grand Island
About 5 of every 100 Grand Island residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
Where Grand Island’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
5 notable people were born in Grand Island.
Island town in Erie County, New York, United States
Grand Island (Seneca: Ga:wé:nö’geh) is an island town in Erie County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town's population was 21,389 representing an increase of 5.00% from the 2010 census figure. The town's name is derived from the French name La Grande Île; Grand Island is the largest island in the Niagara River and the third largest in New York state. The phrase La Grande Île appears on the town seal. Grand Island has been home to the Attawandaron Nation and an acquisition of both French and English colonial pursuits. In 1945, Grand Island was part of a plan to make a new World Peace Capital on the international border between Southern Ontario, Canada, and Western New Yo…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Grand Island.
It grades higher overall than all 5 graded towns on its borders; Tonawanda (B) comes closest. Tonawanda next door grades lower for schools (B− to Grand Island’s A−) and higher for cost of living (B− to C−).
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Island | #152 | A− | C− | — | A− | A |
| Tonawanda Town | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Tonawanda | #321 | B | C+ | — | C+ | A− |
| Niagara Falls | #710 | D | B+ | D | D | D |
| North Tonawanda | #427 | B− | C+ | B | B− | B |
| Grandyle Village | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Tonawanda | #420 | B− | B− | B− | B− | B |
| Wheatfield | #394 | B− | C− | — | B+ | B |
Grand Island, Tonawanda and Wheatfield report no FBI crime data of their own. Tonawanda Town and Grandyle Village aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Grand Island with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Grand Island grades A− overall, better than 82% of U.S. towns and #152 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. The typical home is worth about $327,000, 38% below the New York typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
5 notable people were born here, including Lois Gibbs and Brett Kern.
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