City · Erie County, New York

Tonawanda, New York

Tonawanda is a city in Erie County, New York, part of the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY metro area. It has 15,030 residents. Tonawanda, New York has a quality-of-life score of 57 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #6,694 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within New York it ranks #631 of 859 cities and towns. It ranks best on distance to an airport (low), students per teacher (low) and hot days (low). It ranks worst on child care cost burden (high), time spent in the emergency room (high) and effective property tax rate (high).

57Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #6,694 of 15,651 cities and towns
New York: #631 of 859 in NY
Population: 15,030 (2020-2024)
Land area: 4 mi²
Density: 3,951.9 /mi²
FIPS code: 3674166

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
Economy26#11,496/15,631
Housing31#10,315/14,977
Health58#6,578/15,609
Healthcare76#3,716/15,650
Environment41#9,024/15,453
Education55#7,116/15,649
Infrastructure68#5,015/15,650
Community69#4,876/15,651
Leisure & amenities79#3,338/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Tonawanda, 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
Hot days · low3 days
91/100New York 3 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationErie County value
Traffic deaths · low6.0 /100k
89/100New York 5.6 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataErie County value
Grocery stores · high2.5 /10k
88/100New York 3.4 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsErie County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · low7 mi
88/100New York 13 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauErie 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 · high1.98%
8/100New 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 permittedImproving
0.1 /1k (2021) → 6.3 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+9,364%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
80.2% (2015-2019) → 91.5% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.0× (2015-2019) → 3.0× (2020-2024)
+45%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
47.3% (2015-2019) → 53.9% (2020-2024)
+6.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
22.6% (2015-2019) → 28.5% (2020-2024)
+5.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Average commute timeWorsening
18.9 min (2015-2019) → 22.7 min (2020-2024)
+20%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min

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, Tonawanda, New York improved on 3 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 10 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−0.7 points2.66% → 1.98%
Bachelor's++5.9 points22.6% → 28.5%
Broadband+11 points80.2% → 91.5%

Declined1

Price / income+0.9×2.0× → 3.0×

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Tonawanda, New York between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	18.9 min2015-2019	22.7 min2020-2024	+3.8 min	Within the margin of error	15%
Bachelor's degree or higher	22.6%2015-2019	28.5%2020-2024	+5.9 points	Improved	73%
Broadband subscriptions	80.2%2015-2019	91.5%2020-2024	+11 points	Improved	66%
Child poverty rate	17.4%2015-2019	20.2%2020-2024	+2.8 points	Within the margin of error	27%
Effective property tax rate	2.66%2015-2019	1.98%2020-2024	−0.7 points	Improved	96%
High school diploma or higher	92.9%2015-2019	92.0%2020-2024	−0.9 points	Within the margin of error	23%
Home price to income ratio	2.0×2015-2019	3.0×2020-2024	+0.9×	Declined	25%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4082015-2019	0.4362020-2024	+0.028	Within the margin of error	28%
Median household income	$53,1152015-2019	$58,3262020-2024	+9.8%	Within the margin of error	17%
Poverty rate	11.7%2015-2019	13.8%2020-2024	+2.1 points	Within the margin of error	25%
Rent as share of income	29.0%2015-2019	31.2%2020-2024	+2.2 points	Within the margin of error	38%
Rent-burdened households	47.3%2015-2019	53.9%2020-2024	+6.6 points	Within the margin of error	33%
Unemployment rate	3.7%2015-2019	6.2%2020-2024	+2.5 points	Within the margin of error	13%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	3.3%2015-2019	2.8%2020-2024	−0.5 points	Within the margin of error	53%

“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 Tonawanda, New York five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Tonawanda, 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, Tonawanda, New York itself moved −9.8 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

15,030 residents (±36)

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

7,085 households (±364)

Tonawanda, New York
New York share

Under $25k18%1,302
$25k–50k26%1,849
$50k–75k16%1,148

Homes

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

Owners and renters

7,085 households (±364)

Tonawanda, New York
New York share

Own73%5,185
Rent27%1,900

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

7,085 workers (±587)

Tonawanda, New York
New York share

Drive alone69%4,890
Carpool11%†813
Public transit0.7%†49

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 Tonawanda'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 $1.8M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Tonawanda, New York: $117 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $1.8M; −34% vs FY2025
Per resident: $117; US $1,994
Sole-source: 7.8%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.6%; 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

Department of State$1.3M76%
National Institutes of Health$158K9.0%
Department of Veterans Affairs$134.1K7.6%
U.S. Customs and Border Protection$90.4K5.1%
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement$32.1K1.8%
Department of the Army$6140.0%

Top recipients

TEAM RONCO INCORPORATED$1.4M78%
PINE PHARMACEUTICALS LLC$160.9K9.1%
ATLANTIC DIVING SUPPLY, INC.$90.4K5.1%
FREY ELECTRIC CONSTRUCTION CO. INC.$77.6K4.4%
STARK TECH OPERATING COMPANY, LLC$32.1K1.8%

Spending by fiscal year

1.9MFY2017
2.8MFY2018
1.2MFY2019
4.2MFY2020
3.1MFY2021
3.6MFY2022
7.2MFY2023
2.6M

Top industries (NAICS)

Computer systems design and related services · 5415$1.3M76%
Pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing · 3254$160.9K9.1%
Miscellaneous durable goods merchant wholesalers · 4239$90.4K5.1%
Nonresidential building construction · 2362$77.6K4.4%
Building equipment contractors · 2382$32.1K1.8%
Medical equipment and supplies manufacturing · 3391

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 Tonawanda, New York, so they do not add up across cities.

Tonawanda, New York's figures are part of those of Erie County, NY ($249M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.7% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Tonawanda 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.

Tonawanda, 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/3674166

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends