Niagara County, NY
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 43.27, -78.81.
Assembled 2026-10-19. Read the brief.
- 58th pct · 1,272nd of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 50th pct · 31st of 62 New York counties · median $254,056
- counties in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 72nd pct · 836th of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 31st pct · 43rd of 62 New York counties · median +5.6%
- counties in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 19th pct · 1,088th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 10th pct · 44th of 49 New York counties · median $1,521
- counties in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 87th pct · 413th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 70th pct · 19th of 62 New York counties · median 32,139
- counties in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 71st pct · 928th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 31st pct · 43rd of 62 New York counties · median $1,250
- counties in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 50th pct · 1,529th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 54th pct · 29th of 62 New York counties · median 4.1
- counties in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
Typical home value divided by the average annual wage of one covered job.
A percentile here is a min-max scaling of average rank: the smallest published value in the cohort is 0 and the largest is 100, and tied values share the average of the ranks they span. It is not the share of entities below the value, so 0 means smallest, not none below. Entities that did not publish the metric are outside the cohort entirely and are counted in neither the rank nor its denominator.
Home values #
Typical home $254,624 (Sep 2026), +4.8% over one year, +34.6% over five
- 58th pct · 1,272nd of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 50th pct · 31st of 62 New York counties · median $254,056
- counties in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Niagara County, NY | $254,624 · +4.8% 1-yr |
Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), typical value of homes in the 35th to 65th percentile, smoothed and seasonally adjusted; a model estimate of value, not a sale price. Data through Zillow Research.
Rents #
Typical rent $1,177/mo (Sep 2026), +4.8% over one year; price-to-rent 18.0
- 19th pct · 1,088th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 10th pct · 44th of 49 New York counties · median $1,521
- counties in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Niagara County, NY | $1,177/mo · +4.8% 1-yr |
Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI), smoothed, all homes and multifamily; price-to-rent = typical home / (typical rent × 12).
What the typical home costs to carry #
Principal and interest of $1,410 a month on $254,624 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $5,018 a month: 28.1% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $254,624 × 80% = $203,699, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $1,410/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,158 × 52 / 12 = $5,018) = 28% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $254,624 / ($1,158 × 52) = 4.2
- price-to-rent = $254,624 / ($1,177 × 12) = 18.0
The wage is one covered job’s average, not a household’s income, so this is the share of a single paycheque and not a mortgage underwriting ratio.
Estimate. Principal and interest on the typical home with 20% down over 30 years at this week's Freddie Mac average rate; compared with the average weekly wage of all jobs covered by unemployment insurance in the area (BLS QCEW), which is pay per job, not household income.
Jobs & wages #
66,738 jobs at 4,889 employers (2026 Q1); -1.3% jobs and +3.1% average weekly wage over the year
- 87th pct · 413th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 70th pct · 19th of 62 New York counties · median 32,139
- counties in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Niagara County, NY | 66,738 jobs · $1,158/wk · -1.3% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 11,315 | $994 | 1.13 | +5.1% |
| Retail trade | 8,613 | $717 | 1.32 | -4.7% |
| Manufacturing | 7,325 | $1,832 | 1.36 | -8.9% |
| Accommodation and food services | 6,933 | $491 | 1.16 | -0.8% |
| Construction | 2,666 | $1,242 | 0.76 | -1.2% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 2,587 | $1,038 | 0.92 | +0.0% |
| Administrative and waste services | 2,454 | $1,298 | 0.65 | -0.6% |
| Other services | 2,140 | $740 | 1.07 | +0.8% |
| Professional and technical services | 1,854 | $2,152 | 0.40 | -10.2% |
| Wholesale trade | 1,614 | $1,616 | 0.63 | +1.8% |
| Educational services | 1,345 | $756 | 0.94 | -5.7% |
| Finance and insurance | 1,252 | $1,793 | 0.46 | -4.3% |
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, all ownerships, total covered employment in the quarter's third month; over-the-year changes as published. Suppressed cells stay blank.
Drought #
No drought class at this point (USDM covers the United States only)
Sites found: 5, searched within 0 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 0 km away are not.
US Drought Monitor current week; the highest class of any polygon containing the point.
Reservoirs #
Surface water layer not loaded
Sites found: 0, searched within 150 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 150 km away are not.
Σ(capacity × percent full) / Σ capacity over TWDB reservoirs within 150 km. Texas only; elsewhere USGS reservoir elevation/storage is listed without a capacity to normalise by.
Stream gauges #
Surface water layer not loaded
Sites found: 0, searched within 75 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 75 km away are not.
USGS latest readings screened against EPA freshwater criteria (DO ≥ 5 mg/L, pH 6.5–9, conductance, turbidity, temperature); NWS flood categories where a NWPS gauge is co-located.
Groundwater #
No USGS monitoring wells within 75 km (or above 1,500 km)
Sites found: 0, searched within 75 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 75 km away are not.
USGS latest daily water levels. A single latest reading says where the table is, not which way it is moving; select a well for its 365-day trace.
Water stress #
low (0.00)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.00 / 0.35
Banks & federal dollars #
$3.7 bn in deposits at 30 offices of 8 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 2,492, highly concentrated. $1.6 bn federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $1.4 bn, contracts $102.9 m), $23,962 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| KeyBank National Association | $1.5 bn · 40.1% share · 12 offices | |
| Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company | $753.8 m · 20.4% share · 4 offices | |
| Northwest Bank | $675.2 m · 18.2% share · 5 offices | |
| Niagara, NY | $1.6 bn FY2026 · $23,962/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $1.4 bn · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| KeyBank National Association | $1,485,479,000 | 40.1% | 12 |
| Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company | $753,821,000 | 20.4% | 4 |
| Northwest Bank | $675,155,000 | 18.2% | 5 |
| Bank of America, National Association | $308,196,000 | 8.3% | 1 |
| Citizens Bank, National Association | $236,477,000 | 6.4% | 3 |
| CNB Bank | $169,997,000 | 4.6% | 3 |
| NBT Bank, National Association | $69,150,000 | 1.9% | 1 |
| Woodforest National Bank | $4,018,000 | 0.1% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 2,492 across 8 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 8 banks with deposits in the county = 40.1² + 20.4² + 18.2² + … (5 more) = 2,492
FDIC Summary of Deposits: deposits at every insured office as of June 30, annual; HHI is the sum of squared county deposit shares (DOJ 1995 bank merger screen: 1000 / 1800). USAspending: obligations by place of performance for the latest complete federal fiscal year (Oct 1 to Sep 30), what agencies committed, not what they paid out; recipients are legal entities. Per-job divides obligations by BLS QCEW covered employment.
Federal obligations #
USAspending place-of-performance obligations for FY2026, by awarding agency.
| Awarding agency | Obligations |
|---|---|
| Social Security Administration | $1,272,464,078 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $130,202,056 |
| Department of Defense | $91,844,333 |
| Department of Transportation | $35,944,019 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $20,682,744 |
| Department of Education | $16,071,260 |
| Department of Agriculture | $14,669,814 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $13,060,996 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $4,507,327 |
| Environmental Protection Agency | $4,254,288 |
| Department of Homeland Security | $1,791,953 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $175,060 |
That is $23,962 per covered job, against 66,738 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $1.6 bn / 66,738 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $23,962
USAspending obligations are recorded where the work is performed, so a prime award performed here is counted here even when the recipient is headquartered elsewhere. Recipients are legal entities, never people.
National context, not this county #
These are United States, single-gauge, single-state and port series. None of them is keyed to this county.
| Series | Latest | As of | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi River at Memphis, stage · ft | not published | not published | |
| Mississippi River at St. Louis, stage · ft | not published | not published | |
| Ohio River at Louisville, stage · ft | 17.95 | 2026-10-18 | -2.6% |
| Missouri River at St. Joseph, stage · ft | not published | not published | |
| Colorado River below Hoover Dam, flow (Hoover releases) · ft³/s | 5,170.00 | 2026-02-05 | -25.3% |
| Texas reservoirs, statewide percent full · % | 72.20 | 2026-10-19 | +0.0% |
| Laredo truck crossings, monthly · trucks | 258,700.00 | 2026-08-01 | -0.4% |
| Los Angeles + Long Beach container volume, annual · TEU | 10,513,167.00 | 2023-01-01 | -13.5% |
| Containerships waiting for a berth, all US ports · ships | 7.00 | 2026-10-13 | +133.3% |
| Shanghai to Los Angeles container rate · $ per 40 ft box | 7,848.00 | 2026-09-01 | +14.9% |
| US diesel retail price · $ per gallon | unavailable | not published | |
| WTI crude oil, spot · $ per barrel | 101.91 | 2026-10-14 | +1.0% |
| 30-year fixed mortgage rate · % | 7.40 | 2026-10-15 | +0.0% |
| Housing starts, annual rate · thousands of units | 1,275.00 | 2026-08-01 | -2.6% |
| Building permits, annual rate · thousands of units | 1,403.00 | 2026-08-01 | -2.1% |
| Case-Shiller US home price index · index, Jan 2000 = 100 | 337.31 | 2026-07-01 | +0.1% |
| Unemployment rate · % | 4.20 | 2026-09-01 | +2.4% |
| US goods and services trade balance, monthly · $ millions | -105,572.00 | 2026-08-01 | -13.7% |
| Retail sales excluding food services, monthly · $ millions | 652,115.00 | 2026-09-01 | +0.7% |
The indicator registry has no county-keyed series and no geographic selection: every entry is national, a named gauge, a single state or a port. They are here as the backdrop the county's own numbers move against, and they are never this county's readings.
What changed #
Niagara County, NY: 9 findings, 3 at a watch level and 6 noted
watchNiagara County, NY's covered employment is -1.3% against a year earlier, a watch level here: covered employment below the same quarter a year earlier (BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level). The previous published period is not in this table, so this is a standing level rather than a change.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- test: jobs.yoy.emp = -1.3 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchNiagara County, NY's typical home value of +4.8% scores 73 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 31 across New York counties, a gap of 42 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 42 = |73 across US counties - 31 across New York counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
watchNiagara County, NY's average weekly wage of $1,158 scores 71 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 31 across New York counties, a gap of 40 points.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 40 = |71 across US counties - 31 across New York counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteNiagara County, NY's average weekly wage was 3.1% higher than the same quarter a year earlier in 2026 Q1, on BLS QCEW's published over-the-year change.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- +3.1 % = BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change for 2026 Q1, as published
- the newest QCEW file carries no year-earlier level, so no move from one level to another is printed
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published
noteNiagara County, NY's covered employment was 1.3% lower than the same quarter a year earlier in 2026 Q1, on BLS QCEW's published over-the-year change.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- -1.3 % = BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change for 2026 Q1, as published
- the newest QCEW file carries no year-earlier level, so no move from one level to another is printed
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published
Read all 9 findings in the full brief
Every finding is produced by a fixed rule table and a fixed sentence for each rule. Nothing here is generated prose.