Photo: Nandaro · CC BY-SA 3.0Unemployment in Niagara Falls (9.6%) is higher than in 93% of U.S. towns
Jobs & income C−: better than 17% of U.S. towns on income, poverty, unemployment and job access · #674 of 758 in New York.
Walkability A+: more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns · #107 of 758 in New York.
Household incomes here are lower than in 89% of U.S. towns. Working residents average 19 minutes each way (New York 33, U.S. 26). About one in four work in Niagara Falls; the top destination outside it is Buffalo (12%, 16 miles).
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 4.7 transit trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 12.2 in Buffalo (EPA, 2020 schedules).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in Niagara Falls, in brief
What’s behind Niagara Falls’ Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Niagara Falls is better than 17% of U.S. towns, #674 of 758 in New York. Job access by car holds Niagara Falls’ grade up (ahead of 77% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (9.6%, U.S. 5.2%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Niagara Falls could be anywhere from D to C−.
About 19 minutes each way, quicker than most of New York
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Niagara Falls workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 18,982 commuters (the 7% who work from home are left out). Across New York: 57% drive alone, 25% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
Who leaves, who stays, who comes in
On a workday 14,120 residents head out to work, 5,974 work right here, and 10,429 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.82 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
12% of working residents work in Buffalo
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Niagara Falls clocks in
12% of workers
9% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
What the 16,403 jobs in Niagara Falls are
16,403 jobs are based in Niagara Falls. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Niagara Falls’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Niagara Falls, 2013 → 2023: 17,817 → 16,403. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Half of Niagara Falls commutes less than 9 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Niagara Falls is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Niagara Falls is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns, #107 of 758 in New York. Both inputs place Niagara Falls near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 20,505 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 64% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 4.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 83% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 18.8% of Niagara Falls households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 4% of Niagara Falls’ commuters take a bus or train.
How Niagara Falls compares with U.S. towns of 33,000 to 64,000
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Niagara Falls, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| 3 | Upper Arlington OH | 35,893 | $155K | 3.3% | 2.0% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | Eastchester NY | 34,015 | $156K | 4.8% | 2.6% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | Clifton Park NY | 37,775 | $133K | 2.3% | 2.0% | 13% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 35 | Valley Stream NY | 40,379 | $133K | 5.5% | 2.8% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 888 | Anderson IN | 56,153 | $47K | 21.0% | 7.3% | 28% | C− |
| 889 | Salisbury MD | 33,845 | $59K | 24.3% | 8.8% | 31% | C− |
| 890 | Niagara Falls NY | 47,255 | $49K | 23.7% | 9.6% | 30% | C− |
| 891 | Chester PA | 33,996 | $41K | 29.0% | 17.6% | 9% | C− |
| 892 | Wilkes-Barre PA | 44,523 | $49K | 23.1% | 8.5% | 18% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 941 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
17% of Niagara Falls works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Niagara (5%). Darker towns draw more of Niagara Falls’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Niagara Falls workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Niagara Falls | – | C− | A+ | 19 min | $49,101 |
| Niagara | 5% | C− | B+ | 19 min | $56,645 |
| Wheatfield | 5% | A− | C+ | 23 min | $93,682 |
| Grand Island | 3% | A | C+ | 19 min | $115,991 |
| Lewiston | 4% | B | B+ | 21 min | $78,400 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Niagara Falls: questions
What is the median household income in Niagara Falls?
$49,101 (±$1,791) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Niagara Falls?
23.7%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Niagara Falls?
19 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Niagara Falls work?
30% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Buffalo (12%, 16 mi), Amherst (9%, 14 mi), Niagara (5%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Niagara Falls walkable?
Niagara Falls is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 13.1 out of 20, and 9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Niagara Falls without a car?
4% of commuters take transit and 19% of households have no car. 64% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Niagara Falls, from the people who make the trip.
More of Niagara Falls
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.