Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Machias’ best subject grade is a B for cost of living; its weakest is a C− for walkability. Only 87 of New York’s 1,213 towns score lower on health. Bear Creek State Forest, at 554 acres with 1.9 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Machias's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 82% of U.S. towns. Machias has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Machias beats most towns.
Where Machias’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Machias is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 737 in 1830, a low of 117 in 1870, 2,309 in 2020. The archive holds 4 old photos and papers going back to 2009 and 3 maps from 1924 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Machias, 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 Machias.
17% of adults report frequent physical distress in Machias, above both New York’s towns (14%) and U.S. towns (14%). 23% of adults say their health is fair or poor in Machias. Machias beats the New York average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 16.
| Machias | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 34% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 13% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 25% | 25% |
| What stands out | Machias | NY |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 80.1% | 77.2% |
| More adults with COPD | 11.2% | 6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
1.7% of working residents work locally in Machias, where New York’s towns sit at 10% and U.S. towns at 8%. Jobs based in Machias fell to 133 in 2023, 74 fewer than in 2013. 20% of Machias residents live below the poverty line.
| Machias | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 20% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.7% | 10% | 8% |
| Median household income | $59,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 76% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Machias has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. The July high in Machias is 78°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
6.0 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. Machias’ trail density is 0.2 miles per square mile.
| Machias | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.4% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Bear Creek State Forest | 1.9 mi | 554 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Machias. Close and well known come first.
Big draw30 mi Stadium & arenaHighmark Stadium
Big draw30 mi Stadium & arenaRalph Wilson Stadium
24 mi WaterfallEternal Flame Falls
38 mi Stadium & arenaKeyBank Center
38 mi MuseumUSS The Sullivans37 mi Theme parkSix Flags Darien Lake1.5M visitors a yearHighmark Stadium: James161723, CC0 · Ralph Wilson Stadium: User Evilarry on en.wikipedia, Public domain · Eternal Flame Falls: Mpmajewski, CC BY-SA 3.0 · KeyBank Center: Andre Carrotflower, CC BY-SA 4.0 · USS The Sullivans: Unknown, Public domain
None within 15 miles of Machias; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Machias residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
Town in New York, United States
Machias is a town in Cattaraugus County, New York, United States. The population was 2,309 at the 2020 census. Machias is an interior town in the northeast quadrant of the county. It is northeast of the city of Salamanca.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Machias.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Machias | — | — | B | — | B | C− |
| Farmersville | — | — | C | — | B+ | C |
| Yorkshire | #627 | C− | B− | — | B | C |
| Lime Lake | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Franklinville | #461 | C+ | B+ | — | B+ | C+ |
| Ashford | — | — | B− | — | B− | B |
| Ellicottville | — | — | C | — | C+ | B |
Machias, Farmersville, Ashford and Ellicottville have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Machias, Farmersville, Yorkshire, Franklinville, Ashford and Ellicottville report no FBI crime data of their own. Lime Lake isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Machias with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
The typical home is worth about $89,000. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
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