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Towns / New York

Lockport, New York

Lockport is a small town of about 20,000 people in Niagara County, New York. It's the county seat. It has lost about 3% of its people since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.2 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Buffalo, is about 21 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
20,248
down 2.8% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$139,900
Niagara County prices up 23% since 2022
Household income
$62,410
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Buffalo area
95.8
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
16 miles
Medina, NY
To Buffalo
21 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 4.2% below the U.S. average in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.2 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Lockport itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town11 public schools: 6 elementary, 3 middle and 2 high schools.
  • A hospital close byMedina Memorial Hospital in Medina, about 16 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityBuffalo is about 21 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Lockport meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$139,900U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 23%Niagara County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$945 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$62,410U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
59%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$4,022 a yearNew York: $6,582
Homes built before 1940
49%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
1%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
95.8U.S. average = 100 (the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 23% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area, not Lockport alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
20,2482020: 20,827
Median age
36.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
16%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
21%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
25%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
5%U.S.: 6%
College students
6%share of all residents

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (25%); retail (15%); manufacturing (14%)
Unemployment rate
5%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
24 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
9%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
15%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Medina Memorial Hospital, Medina, NY, about 16 miles away. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

Nearest general hospital: Kenmore Mercy Hospital, Kenmore, NY, about 16 miles away. Medicare gives it 3 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

11 public schools in Lockport, run by Lockport City School District and Starpoint Central School District.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on New York's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
76%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
89%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
18°F
July average high
82°F
Days 90°F or hotter
7 a year
Nights at or below freezing
136 a year
Rain and melted snow
40.1 inches a year
Snow
80 inches a year
Elevation
591 feet

Weather stations: Lockport 4E (5 miles away) and N Tonawanda (11 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Medina Memorial Hospital, Buffalo.

Niagara County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

28 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Forsyth-Warren Farm, the High and Locust Streets Historic District, the Lockport Industrial District and the Lowertown Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site20 miles

Read about Lockport's history on Wikipedia.

Know Lockport?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Rapids, NY (unincorporated)1,655 people, 6 miles
  • Gasport, NY (unincorporated)1,212 people, 6 miles
  • Sanborn, NY (unincorporated)1,573 people, 9 miles
  • Olcott, NY (unincorporated)527 people, 11 miles
  • Clarence Center, NY (unincorporated)2,432 people, 12 miles
  • Ransomville, NY (unincorporated)1,564 people, 12 miles
  • Barker, NY566 people, 13 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.