Tonawanda Town in pictures
Census counts: 2,812 in 1870, a peak of 21,898 in 1970, 15,129 in 2020. The archive holds 4 old photos and papers going back to 1900 and 3 maps from 1894 on.
Explore the history →Each edition grades its towns against each other only.

A city of 56,806.
17% of residents are under 18 in Tonawanda Town, against 20% in New York’s towns and 22% across U.S. towns. The biggest park or preserve is Brighton Park, at 202 acres. We don’t grade Tonawanda Town yet; the figures below are still real.
Census counts: 2,812 in 1870, a peak of 21,898 in 1970, 15,129 in 2020. The archive holds 4 old photos and papers going back to 1900 and 3 maps from 1894 on.
Explore the history →Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Tonawanda Town. Close and well known come first.
Big draw12 mi WaterfallNiagara Falls
Big draw15 mi Stadium & arenaHighmark Stadium
Big draw15 mi Stadium & arenaRalph Wilson Stadium
12 mi WaterfallHorseshoe Falls
8 mi Stadium & arenaKeyBank Center
7 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
Tonawanda Town is unincorporated, so Erie County and regional agencies provide most services.
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 Tonawanda Town.
Tonawanda Town has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Tonawanda Town’s July high is 81°F, where New York’s towns sit at 81°F and U.S. towns at 85°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Most working residents leave Tonawanda Town for work: only 14% work in town. The average trip to work in Tonawanda Town is 21 minutes. The top destinations are Buffalo (26%), Amherst (21%) and Tonawanda (15%).
| Tonawanda Town | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 14% | 10% | 8% |
| Work from home | 14% | 12% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Tonawanda Town beats the New York average on 13 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 3. 29% of adults feel lonely in Tonawanda Town.
| Tonawanda Town | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 32% | 33% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 83% | 81% | 79% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 16% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Tonawanda Town | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 10.4% | 17.2% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5% | 7.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.7% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
| Tonawanda Town | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 6.2% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Isle View Park | 1.1 mi | 19 |
| 2. Brighton Park | 0.6 mi | 202 |
| 3. Aqua Lane Park | 0.3 mi | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the New York average. 40% of Tonawanda Town adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more.
| Tonawanda Town | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 40% | 32% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 21% | 20% | 18% |
| Median age | 42.3 years | 43 years | 40.5 years |
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±1.2 points). Across New York, 51.2% of residents are women. Median age: women 43.4, men 41.0.
| Tonawanda Town | NY | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.6% | 11% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7.8% | 9.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.8% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 16.3% | 14.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.2% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 15.1% | 13.3% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 13.1% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.1% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.4% | 12% | 10.4% |
| High school | 22.5% | 24.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 20.5% | 14.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 13.2% | 8.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 23.4% | 22.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 16.1% | 17.9% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 55% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 38 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Tonawanda Town.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
11 within 15 miles of the center of Tonawanda Town
About 4 of every 100 Tonawanda Town residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
10 notable people were born in Tonawanda Town.




City in New York, United States
Tonawanda is a city in Erie County, New York, United States. The population was 15,129 at the 2020 census. It is at the northern edge of Erie County, south across the Erie Canal (Tonawanda Creek) from North Tonawanda, east of Grand Island, and north of Buffalo. It is part of the Buffalo-Niagara Falls metropolitan area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
8 towns share a border with Tonawanda Town.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tonawanda Town | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Tonawanda | #321 | B | C+ | — | C+ | A− |
| Kenmore | #292 | B | C+ | B− | C+ | A |
| Tonawanda | #420 | B− | B− | B− | B− | B |
| Grand Island | #152 | A− | C− | — | A− | A |
| North Tonawanda | #427 | B− | C+ | B | B− | B |
| Amherst | #270 | B+ | D | C | A− | A |
| Buffalo | #722 | D− | B | D− | D | C− |
Tonawanda and Grand Island report no FBI crime data of their own. Tonawanda Town isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Tonawanda Town with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
We don’t grade Tonawanda Town yet; the figures below are still real.