Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Public schools that outperform most of New York.
Newstead is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades B+ overall, 216th of 745 graded towns in New York, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is schools: its public schools beat 76% of New York towns on state tests and graduation. It also does better than most on health: it is healthier than 71% of U.S. towns. A typical home there costs about $236K, 3.3 years of the Buffalo metro’s $72K median household income. Newstead’s age of the median resident is 52 years, above both the New York town median (42.9 years) and the median of U.S. towns (40.5 years). Newstead has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them US Post Office-Akron and US Post Office-Albion.
Where Newstead beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Newstead is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,926 in 1830, 8,689 in 2020. The archive holds 7 old photos and papers going back to 1866 and 6 maps from 1897 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Newstead. Close and well known come first.
Big draw28 mi WaterfallNiagara Falls
Big draw22 mi Stadium & arenaHighmark Stadium
Big draw22 mi Stadium & arenaRalph Wilson Stadium9 mi Theme parkSix Flags Darien Lake1.5M visitors a year
28 mi WaterfallHorseshoe Falls
21 mi Stadium & arenaKeyBank CenterNiagara 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
Who provides power, water and the rest in Newstead, 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 Newstead.
Newstead gets more snow than nearly all U.S. towns, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has commutes shorter than most of New York.
The biggest park or preserve is Akron Falls Park, at 145 acres. Trails total 24 miles in 5 parks and preserves. The trail network density in Newstead is 0.5 miles per square mile.
| Newstead | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 2.4% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Onondaga Escarpment Unique Area | 1.3 mi | 50 |
| 2. Akron Falls Park | 0.7 mi | 145 |
| 3. Tonawanda Wildlife Management Area | — | 131 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The Akron Central School District runs its public schools. The largest public high school is Akron High School, with 389 students. Of its 3 schools, two are listed below, each with the reason.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Akron Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 561 | C+ |
| Akron High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 389 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
Against the 10,606 U.S. towns with household incomes like Newstead’s, it is healthier than 87%, so that grade isn’t only a matter of income. Its widest gap with New York is food insecurity: 10.8% of its 7,696 adults worry about having enough food, against 17.2% statewide.
Among adults in Newstead, 29% feel lonely and 18% binge drink. The town does better than the New York average on 10 of 32 CDC measures and worse on 6. The share of adults in Newstead who had a checkup this year: 83%.
| Newstead | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 83% | 81% | 79% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 32% | 33% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 16% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 5% | 5.9% | 8.1% |
| What stands out | Newstead | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 10.8% | 17.2% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5% | 7.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.4% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The Buffalo weather station, 12 miles away, records that 95 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 97% of U.S. towns.
Newstead’s midsummer high comes in at 81°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 3,949 working residents takes 24.4 minutes, against 32.6 across New York.
The top destinations are Amherst (14%), Buffalo (11%) and Clarence (10%). Only 18% of working residents stay in Newstead for work; the rest commute out. Since 2013, Newstead has added 430 jobs, to 3,048 in 2023. Newstead: 6.6% of residents live below the poverty line.
| Newstead | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 18% | 10% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 6.6% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 14% | 12% | 11% |
| Median household income | $71,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
5 flood insurance claims have been paid in Newstead since 1998. Compared with 62% of U.S. communities, expected storm and flood damage locally is lower. Just over three quarters of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by cold waves at 15%.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
In Newstead, the median rent is $772 a month. 80% of households live in a home they own locally.
| Newstead | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $772 a month | $1,103 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 80% | 75% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
2 within 15 miles of the center of Newstead
About 3 of every 100 Newstead residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
3 places in Newstead on the National Register of Historic Places.
Town in New York, United States
Newstead is the northeasternmost town in Erie County, New York, United States. The population was 8,689 at the 2020 census. The name is reportedly derived from Newstead Abbey in England. Newstead is northeast of Buffalo, and its principal community is the village of Akron.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Newstead.
All 4 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its B+; Alden (A−) is closest.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newstead | #216 | B+ | B− | — | A− | B+ |
| Royalton | #185 | A− | B+ | — | B | B |
| Clarence | #116 | A | C− | — | A | A |
| Alden | #186 | A− | C+ | — | B+ | A− |
| Pembroke | #172 | A− | B | — | A− | B+ |
| Alabama | — | — | A− | — | B− | B |
Alabama has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Newstead, Royalton, Clarence, Alden, Pembroke and Alabama report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Newstead with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Newstead grades B+ overall, better than 73% of U.S. towns and #216 of 745 in New York. It grades B+ for health and A− for schools.
The typical home is worth about $236,000, 55% 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 B−.
