Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Niagara Falls grades D overall, ranked 710th of 745 in New York, mostly because of safety and schools. It reports more crime per resident than 90% of U.S. towns, including 226 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. Its public schools trail 90% of New York towns on state tests and graduation. In its favor, it is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 95% of U.S. towns, with 39 places on the National Register. 24% of residents live below the poverty line in Niagara Falls, above both the New York town median (9.5%) and the median of U.S. towns (9.6%). On health, just 10 of New York’s 1,213 towns do worse. Its National Register listings include Niagara Reservation and Adams Power Plant Transformer House.
Where Niagara Falls beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Niagara Reservation
Niagara Reservation is one of 2 National Historic Landmarks here, the National Register’s top tier. Its 39 National Register listings are more than in 96% of New York towns with a listing.
Census counts: 3,006 in 1870, a peak of 102,394 in 1960, 48,671 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1849 and 6 maps from 1894 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Niagara Falls is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for walkability (better than 95% of comparable towns) to D for schools (better than 10%), so the D overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Niagara Falls. Close and well known come first.
Big drawin town WaterfallNiagara Falls
Big draw25 mi Stadium & arenaHighmark Stadium
3 mi WaterfallHorseshoe Falls
in town WaterfallBridal Veil Falls
in town WaterfallAmerican Falls
Big draw25 mi Stadium & arenaRalph Wilson StadiumNiagara Falls: Robert F. Tobler, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Highmark Stadium: James161723, CC0 · Horseshoe Falls: Ujjwal Kumar, Public domain · Bridal Veil Falls: No machine-readable author provided. Liffer~commonswiki assumed (based on copyri, CC BY-SA 3.0 · American Falls: Ad Meskens, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ralph Wilson Stadium: User Evilarry on en.wikipedia, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Niagara Falls, 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 Niagara Falls.
Niagara Falls is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has homes that are cheap against local pay, but it trails Grand Island and its other neighbors on schools.
At 2.4 years of the Buffalo metro’s $72K median household income, the typical home (about $173K) costs less against local pay than in 77% of New York towns; that ratio is one input to its B+ for cost of living. The median property tax bill is $2,786, against $6,582 across New York, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The typical Niagara Falls home is worth about $173,000, up 4.1% in a year, 67% below the New York typical home. 59% of Niagara Falls households own their home.
| Niagara Falls | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 59% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $823 a month | $1,103 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Each of its 4 graded neighbors has a higher School Grade than its D, Grand Island highest at A−.
Its public schools are run by the Niagara Falls City School District. Two of its 13 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harry F Abate Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades 2–6 | Grades 2–6 | 650 | D |
| Niagara Falls High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,034 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
16 miles of trail in 17 parks and preserves. Niagara Falls’ trail density is 1.0 miles per square mile. Niagara Falls State Park, at 179 acres with 3.8 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Niagara Falls | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.0 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 9.8% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Whirlpool State Park | 4.2 mi | 159 |
| 2. Niagara Falls State Park | 3.8 mi | 179 |
| 3. Hyde Park | 1.5 mi | 84 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Reported crimes fell from 1,643 to 1,402 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The violent crime rate in Niagara Falls is 4.8 per 1,000 residents. Niagara Falls reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 90% report less. The property crime rate in Niagara Falls is 24.9 per 1,000 residents.
| Niagara Falls | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.8 per 1,000 residents | 0.8 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 24.9 per 1,000 residents | 7.5 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Against the 5,443 U.S. towns with household incomes like Niagara Falls’s, it is less healthy than 65%, so its D isn’t only a matter of income. All 4 graded neighbors score healthier than its D, from Niagara (C+) to Grand Island (A).
45% of adults have obesity in Niagara Falls. Niagara Falls beats the New York average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 21. 40% of adults have high blood pressure in Niagara Falls.
| Niagara Falls | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 45% | 33% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 25% | 25% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 37% | 36% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 14% |
| What stands out | Niagara Falls | NY |
|---|---|---|
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 13.3% | 8.2% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 20.3% | 12.8% |
| More smokers | 17.8% | 11.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Niagara Falls has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 81°, January nights drop to 19° and about 72 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 20,094 working residents takes 19.1 minutes, against 32.6 across New York.
About one in 3 of Niagara Falls’s working residents works in town. Jobs based in Niagara Falls fell to 16,403 in 2023, 1,414 fewer than in 2013. The top destinations are Buffalo (12%), Amherst (9%) and Niagara (5%).
| Niagara Falls | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 30% | 10% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $49,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 7.4% | 12% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 64% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 36 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Niagara Falls.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
7 within 15 miles of the center of Niagara Falls
About 5 of every 100 Niagara Falls residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
39 places in Niagara Falls on the National Register of Historic Places.
60 notable people were born in Niagara Falls.
City in New York, United States
Niagara Falls is a city in Niagara County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 48,671. It is adjacent to the Niagara River, across from the city of Niagara Falls, Ontario, and named after the famed Niagara Falls which they share. The city is within the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area and the Western New York region. While the city was formerly inhabited by Native Americans, Europeans who migrated to the Niagara Falls in the mid-17th century began to open businesses and develop infrastructure. Later in the 18th and 19th centuries, scientists and businessmen began harnessing the power of the Niagara River for electricity and the city bega…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Niagara Falls.
All 4 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its D; Niagara (C) is closest. Lewiston next door grades higher for schools (B+ to Niagara Falls’s D) and lower for cost of living (C to B+).
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Niagara Falls | #710 | D | B+ | D | D | D |
| Niagara | #577 | C | B− | C− | B+ | C+ |
| Wheatfield | #394 | B− | C− | — | B+ | B |
| Grand Island | #152 | A− | C− | — | A− | A |
| Lewiston | #147 | A− | C | A− | B+ | B+ |
Wheatfield and Grand Island report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Niagara Falls with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Niagara Falls grades D overall, better than 7% of U.S. towns and #710 of 745 in New York. It grades D for health, D for safety and D for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D.
Not for the area. That is 2.4 years of the area's median household income ($72,237 across the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.
60 notable people were born here, including Franchot Tone and Charles Cyphers.
