Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Lockport is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades B− overall, 389th of 745 graded towns in New York, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is cost of living: homes are within reach, about $271K for a typical one, or 3.8 years of the Buffalo metro’s $72K median household income. Its lowest everyday mark is in health: CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 62% of the country. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 97% of U.S. towns, with 26 places on the National Register. Its National Register listings include Bacon-Merchant-Moss House and Lockport Industrial District. Only 114 of New York’s 1,216 towns score higher on hazard risk. Lockport is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 86% of U.S. towns.
Where Lockport beats most towns.
Census counts: 10,871 in 1860, 20,876 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1833 and 6 maps from 1897 on.
26 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Lockport is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Lockport. Close and well known come first.
Big draw20 mi WaterfallNiagara Falls
Big draw28 mi Stadium & arenaHighmark Stadium
Big draw28 mi Stadium & arenaRalph Wilson Stadium
20 mi WaterfallHorseshoe Falls
22 mi Stadium & arenaKeyBank Center
22 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 Lockport, 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 Lockport.
Lockport is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has commutes shorter than most of New York.
6.4 miles of trail in 14 parks and preserves. At 0.8 miles per square mile, Lockport’s trail density is above both New York’s towns (0.4) and U.S. towns (0.4). The biggest place to walk is Rollin T Grant Gulf Wilderness Park, 125 acres with 3.4 miles of trail.
| Lockport | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.8 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 5.1% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Rollin T Grant Gulf Wilderness Park | 3.4 mi | 125 |
| 2. Outwater Memorial Park | — | 27 |
| 3. Upson Park | — | 23 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Lockport City School District. Two of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Lockport High School, with 1,377 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aaron Mossell Junior High SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 7–8 | Grades 7–8 | 587 | C− |
| Lockport High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,377 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 92% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 11 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Lockport.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
59% of Lockport households own their home, below both the New York town median (75%) and the median of U.S. towns (73%). Typical home values rose 5.1% in the year to September 2026. Lockport’s median rent is $945 a month.
| Lockport | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 59% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $945 a month | $1,103 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Lockport has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. The July high in Lockport is 81°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 9,233 working residents takes 23.6 minutes, against 32.6 across New York.
Most working residents leave Lockport for work: only 17% work in town. 15% of Lockport residents live below the poverty line. Since 2013, Lockport has lost 1,393 jobs, to 7,262 in 2023.
| Lockport | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 15% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 17% | 10% | 8% |
| Median household income | $62,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 9% | 12% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 9,499 U.S. towns with household incomes like Lockport’s, it is healthier than 56%, so its C+ isn’t only a matter of income.
41% of adults have obesity in Lockport. Lockport beats the New York average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 10. 18% of adults report frequent mental distress in Lockport.
| Lockport | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 33% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 16% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 14% | 14% |
| What stands out | Lockport | NY |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with obesity | 41% | 28.8% |
| More smokers | 15.5% | 11.3% |
| More adults with COPD | 8% | 6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
3 within 15 miles of the center of Lockport
About 6 of every 100 Lockport residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New York.
26 places in Lockport on the National Register of Historic Places.
31 notable people were born in Lockport.
City in New York, United States
Lockport (Seneca: Jodö:sho:t) is both a city and the town that surrounds it in Niagara County, New York, United States. Lockport is a northern suburb of Buffalo. The city is the Niagara county seat; as of the 2020 census, Lockport had a population of 20,876. Its name derives from a set of locks (Lock Numbers 34 and 35) in the Erie Canal within the city that were built to allow canal barges to traverse the sixty-foot (18 m) natural drop of the Niagara Escarpment. It is part of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Lockport.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lockport | #389 | B− | B | — | C+ | C+ |
| South Lockport | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Lockport reports no FBI crime data of its own. South Lockport isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Lockport with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Lockport grades B− overall, better than 50% of U.S. towns and #389 of 745 in New York. It grades C+ for health and C+ for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
31 notable people were born here, including Joyce Carol Oates and Othniel Charles Marsh.
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