Village · Erie County, New York

Lancaster, New York

Lancaster is a village in Erie County, New York, part of the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY metro area. It has 10,113 residents. Lancaster, New York has a quality-of-life score of 63 out of 100 (high), ranking #5,737 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within New York it ranks #572 of 859 cities and towns. It ranks best on distance to an airport (low), students per teacher (low) and uninsured residents (under 65) (low). It ranks worst on child care cost burden (high), time spent in the emergency room (high) and effective property tax rate (high).

63High

Quality-of-life score: #5,737 of 15,651 cities and towns
New York: #572 of 859 in NY
Population: 10,113 (2020-2024)
Land area: 3 mi²
Density: 3,720.5 /mi²
FIPS code: 3641135

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 74 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety46#8,489/15,637
Economy64#5,705/15,631
Housing21#11,869/14,977
Health68#5,031/15,609
Healthcare78#3,461/15,650
Environment41#9,024/15,453
Education51#7,729/15,649
Infrastructure67#5,192/15,650
Community70#4,713/15,651
Leisure & amenities79#3,338/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Lancaster, New York ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Erie County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Distance to an airport · low8 mi
96/100New York 15 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauErie County value
Students per teacher · low11.2×
92/100New York 12.0×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsErie County value
Uninsured residents (under 65) · low1.9%
92/100New York 5.9%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010High uncertainty
Hot days · low3 days
91/100New York 3 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationErie County value
Unemployment rate · low1.3%
89/100New York 4.3%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025High uncertainty
Traffic deaths · low6.0 /100k
89/100New York 5.6 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataErie County value

Weaknesses

Child care cost burden · high42.9%
3/100New York 37.7%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteErie County value
Time spent in the emergency room · high246 min
4/100New York 202 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesErie County value
Effective property tax rate · high2.16%
5/100New York 1.30%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Property crime rate · high2,179 /100k
11/100New York 1,575 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationErie County value
Days with unhealthy air · high3.0%
13/100New York 1.2%2025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyErie County value
New business applications · low9.3 /1k
18/100New York 15.1 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauErie County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

New homes permittedWorsening
1.9 /1k (2021) → 0.1 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−95%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
33.7% (2015-2019) → 52.0% (2020-2024)
+18 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Child poverty rateImproving
16.4% (2015-2019) → 7.9% (2020-2024)
−8.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
22.9% (2015-2019) → 31.3% (2020-2024)
+8.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.3× (2015-2019) → 3.1× (2020-2024)
+36%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
80.9% (2015-2019) → 88.0% (2020-2024)
+7.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Lancaster, New York improved on 3 of 11 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 6 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved3

Property tax−1 points3.11% → 2.16%
Broadband+7.1 points80.9% → 88.0%
Household income+21%$54,875 → $66,148

Declined2

Rent / income+8.4 points22.9% → 31.3%
Price / income+0.8×2.3× → 3.1×

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Lancaster, New York between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	20.4 min2015-2019	18.9 min2020-2024	−1.5 min	Within the margin of error	65%
Bachelor's degree or higher	26.1%2015-2019	26.6%2020-2024	+0.5 points	Within the margin of error	31%
Broadband subscriptions	80.9%2015-2019	88.0%2020-2024	+7.1 points	Improved	44%
Effective property tax rate	3.11%2015-2019	2.16%2020-2024	−1 points	Improved	99%
High school diploma or higher	95.5%2015-2019	92.9%2020-2024	−2.6 points	Within the margin of error	12%
Home price to income ratio	2.3×2015-2019	3.1×2020-2024	+0.8×	Declined	31%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4072015-2019	0.4002020-2024	−0.007	Within the margin of error	57%
Median household income	$54,8752015-2019	$66,1482020-2024	+21%	Improved	34%
Poverty rate	8.8%2015-2019	6.7%2020-2024	−2.2 points	Within the margin of error	64%
Rent as share of income	22.9%2015-2019	31.3%2020-2024	+8.4 points	Declined	12%
Rent-burdened households	33.7%2015-2019	52.0%2020-2024	+18 points	Within the margin of error	10%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Lancaster, New York five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Lancaster, New York in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Lancaster, New York itself moved −14.8 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

10,113 residents (±27)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

4,850 households (±330)

Lancaster, New York
New York share

Under $25k14%†658
$25k–50k19%936
$50k–75k24%†1,159

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

4,850 households (±330)

Lancaster, New York
New York share

Own74%3,574
Rent26%1,276

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

5,887 workers (±373)

Lancaster, New York
New York share

Drive alone81%4,762
Carpool9.4%†553
Public transit0.0%0

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Erie County, the county holding most of Lancaster's residents.

Erie County has 22,497 employer establishments, 237 for every 10,000 residents (0.96× the US rate of 248; 0.87× New York's), with 418,202 paid employees at an average annual pay of $58,979. The Census Bureau also counts 63,955 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 22,497; 63,955 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 237; US 248 · New York 274
Paid employees: 418,202
Average annual pay: $58,979; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Erie County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Restaurants and other eating places	1,777	18.8	1.02×About typical	33,317	$23,434	317
Ambulatory health care services	1,676	17.7	0.85×About typical	28,301	$68,400	3,255
Specialty trade contractors	1,376	14.5	0.94×About typical	12,669	$73,775	2,634
Lessors of real estate	827	8.7	0.71×Fewer than typical	4,986	$50,452	7,328
Limited-service restaurants	799	8.4	1.05×About typical	14,331	$21,664	131
Services to buildings and dwellings	788	8.3	1.23×About typical	5,058	$37,808	2,187
Full-service restaurants	742	7.8	1.02×About typical	16,195	$25,213	123
Construction of buildings	694	7.3	0.97×About typical	3,544	$69,976	1,072
Offices of physicians	575	6.1	0.94×About typical	10,190	$96,357	728
Personal care services	567	6	1.25×More than typical	2,646	$29,070	2,913
Legal services	510	5.4	1.00×About typical	4,812	$80,416	1,072
Automotive repair and maintenance	495	5.2	1.04×About typical	2,906	$49,080	398

Rank places for an industry Open Erie County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 947,418 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $2.4M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Lancaster, New York: $239 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $2.4M; +8.7% vs FY2025
Per resident: $239; US $1,994
Sole-source: 40%; US 30%
Single offer: 22%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Defense Logistics Agency$1.8M73%
Department of the Navy$641.9K27%
Department of the Army$8,8270.4%
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement$6,8690.3%
Department of Veterans Affairs$2,3770.1%
National Aeronautics and Space Administration$1,7600.1%
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Acquisition and Property Management Division$1,4970.1%

Top recipients

AVOX SYSTEMS INC$1.4M60%
ERIE ENGINEERED PRODUCTS, INC.$940.3K39%
CURTISS-WRIGHT ELECTRO-MECHANICAL CORP$9,5470.4%
NORTHROP GRUMMAN SYSTEMS CORPORATION$8,3390.3%
TOWN OF LANCASTER$6,8690.3%

Spending by fiscal year

5.1MFY2017
3.2MFY2018
4.7MFY2019
3.9MFY2020
3.6MFY2021
1.7MFY2022
2.3MFY2023
1.8M

Top industries (NAICS)

Aerospace product and parts manufacturing · 3364$1.1M46%
Boiler, tank, and shipping container manufacturing · 3324$834.7K35%
Medical equipment and supplies manufacturing · 3391$135.8K5.6%
Other miscellaneous manufacturing · 3399$113.3K4.7%
Motor vehicle parts manufacturing · 3363$93.6K3.9%
Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments manufacturing · 3345$49K

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Lancaster, New York, so they do not add up across cities.

Lancaster, New York's figures are part of those of Erie County, NY ($249M in FY2026), never added to them: 1.0% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Lancaster is mostly in Erie County.

See federal money in Erie County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Lancaster, New York is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Erie County76100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY81

Other cities and towns in Erie County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/3641135

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends