County food-access profile · New York
Niagara County, NY
Niagara County's food-access picture is close to the national norm, with pockets that qualify as low-access. This profile breaks down who qualifies as a food desert and the income, SNAP, and vehicle-access context behind it.
- 19.8%
- low-access pop.
- 6
- food-desert tracts
- 14.7%
- on SNAP
- 211K
- residents (ACS 2024)
The food-access picture
19.8% of Niagara County residents live in a low-access area, and 6 of its 60 census tracts are USDA-designated food deserts.
- 19
- low-access tracts
- 11K
- food-desert residents
- 9.9%
- households, no vehicle
- 13.5%
- below poverty line
Low access = living more than 1 mile (urban) or 10 miles (rural) from the nearest supermarket. Food deserts add a low-income condition (USDA LILA, 1-and-10-mile measure).
Niagara County's low-access share sits near the national share, at 19.8% per the USDA Atlas. 19 of the county's 60 census tracts are flagged low-access, covering roughly 42,949 residents who live far from a supermarket. 6 of those also meet the low-income condition that defines a food desert, home to roughly 11,395 low-income residents.
How the USDA defines low-access and food-desert tracts
The USDA measures food access by distance to the nearest supermarket. A census tract is "low-access" when a meaningful share of residents live more than one mile from a supermarket in urban areas, or more than ten miles in rural areas. A tract becomes a "food desert" only when it is both low-access and low-income, because distance is far harder to overcome for households without a car or a cushion in the budget. Counts on this page are aggregated from the tract level, where the federal data is actually published, so a single county figure can hide neighbourhoods that are much better or much worse served than the average. Distance also does not capture everything that shapes whether a family eats well: the presence of a full-service grocer rather than a convenience store, public transit, food pantries, and the price and quality of what is on the shelf all matter beyond the radius the Atlas can draw.
How Niagara County compares nationally
Niagara County lands in the middle of the national distribution: a 19.8% low-access share that beats 46% of the 3,133 U.S. counties with USDA data (rank #1,699).
Niagara County: USDA Food-Access Tier Breakdown
All 60 census tracts in Niagara County, grouped by USDA classification (see "How the USDA defines low-access and food-desert tracts" above for what each tier means).
Niagara County vs. other New York counties
Share of the population living in low-access areas, compared with other counties in New York
- Niagara
Niagara County, NY
19.8 % low-access
- Albany
Albany County, NY
31.4 % low-access
- Allegany 3.9
Allegany County, NY
3.9 % low-access
- Bronx 0.6
Bronx County, NY
0.6 % low-access
- Broome
Broome County, NY
16.4 % low-access
- Cattaraugus 7.9
Cattaraugus County, NY
7.9 % low-access
Food Access (USDA FARA 2019)
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Census Tracts | 60 |
| Atlas Population (2010 basis) | 216,469 |
| Low-Access Tracts | 19 |
| Food-Desert Tracts (low-income & low-access) | 6 |
| Low-Access Population | 42,949 |
| Low-Access Share | 19.8%below the national average |
| Low-Income & Low-Access Population | 11,395 |
Demographics & Assistance (Census ACS 2024)
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Population | 210,721 |
| Median Household Income | $69,633 |
| Poverty Rate | 13.5%near the national average |
| SNAP Households | 13,529 |
| SNAP Participation Rate | 14.7%above the national average |
| Households Without a Vehicle | 9.9%above the national average |
| Group-Quarters Population | 2.2% |
About 14.7% of Niagara County households receive SNAP, versus a U.S. county median in the 11–13% range (Census ACS).
What this means
- 19.8% of residents are low-access, near the national share for U.S. counties.
- 14.7% of households receive SNAP, the federal program that offsets food costs for 13,529 households here.
- 9.9% of households have no vehicle, the hidden multiplier that turns distance into a real barrier.
- 6 tracts meet the USDA food-desert threshold (low-income and low-access).
USDA low-access figures reflect the 2019 Atlas (2010 tract populations); socioeconomic context is the latest Census ACS 5-year (2024).
What the food-access data shows for Niagara County
near the national share
6 of Niagara County's 60 census tracts are USDA-designated food deserts, low-income areas where many residents also live far from a supermarket, about 10.0% of all its tracts.
A further 13 tracts are low-access but not low-income, bringing the total low-access tract count to 19.
An estimated 42,949 residents, roughly 19.8% of the county's 2010 population, live in one of these low-access areas.
Of those, 11,395 are also low-income, the group most exposed to genuine food hardship, since limited transportation compounds a limited budget.
The remaining 41 tracts (68.3%) meet the USDA's adequate-access threshold.
SNAP retailers in Niagara County
Niagara County has 166 stores currently authorized to accept SNAP (EBT) benefits, across 10 store categories. Convenience Store lead with 74 locations (45% of the total), followed by combination grocery/other.
Convenience Store · 74
- 7 eleven 16725g, lockport
- 7 eleven 35144a, north tonawanda
- 7 eleven 35151j, north tonawanda
- 7 eleven 35159a, lockport
- 7 eleven 35170a, lockport
- 7 eleven 35172a, niagara falls
- 7 eleven 35175a, north tonawanda
- 7 eleven 35179a, niagara falls
- 7 eleven 35180a, niagara falls
- 7 eleven 35199j, niagara falls
- 7 eleven store 35134a, niagara falls
- 7 eleven store 35140a, niagara falls
- 7 eleven store 35168a, niagara falls
- 7-eleven 35171j, niagara falls
- 7-eleven 35174j, niagara falls
- 7-eleven 40113h, niagara falls
- 7-eleven 40475, lockport
- andy's quick stop, niagara falls
- ashland deli inc, niagara falls
- b & b cigar store, niagara falls
- bg singh citgo mart, niagara falls
- coastal gas station, niagara falls
- convenient one stop, lockport
- corner store, north tonawanda
- crosby's 40010, lockport
- crosby's 40014, barker
- crosby's 40015, lockport
- crosby's 40018, ransomville
- crosby's 40029, gasport
- crosby's 40031, middleport
- crosby's 40096, lockport
- crosby's 40101, lewiston
- deveaux mini mart, niagara falls
- express stop mart inc, niagara falls
- express mart 2 inc, niagara falls
- gkg convenience inc, niagara falls
- groceries & beyond llc, lockport
- h and m fast stop, north tonawanda
- hip hop market inc, niagara falls
- isa one stop inc, niagara falls
- jiffy mart, lockport
- joe joe deli, niagara falls
- joe's kwik mart 479, niagara falls
- kenyon's variety, lockport
- kenyon's variety, lockport
- kenyon's variety - newfane, newfane
- kwik fill 103, lockport
- khabra inc gulf gas, lockport
- kular enterprises inc., north tonawanda
- lakeside food mart inc, lewiston
- marks food market, niagara falls
- midtown grocery plus llc, niagara falls
- nccc convenience inc, sanborn
- oliver grill & mini mart, north tonawanda
- on the ridge market, middleport
- pine quick shop inc, niagara falls
- queen sheba mart inc, niagara falls
- quick check 4, niagara falls
- quicklee's 32, niagara falls
- ray mart inc, niagara falls
- red apple food mart 318, north tonawanda
- speedway 1615, niagara falls
- sandhu express mart 1, niagara falls
- scalise's deli & grocery inc, north tonawanda
- smart buy mart llc, niagara falls
- speedway 9889, lockport
- speedway 9890, north tonawanda
- speedway 9893, sanborn
- sunoco 7450 7580, niagara falls
- sunset mini mart inc, lockport
- super mario mkt inc., niagara falls
- uptown corner mart inc, niagara falls
- walizai gas station and convenience store, niagara falls
- wrights corners mart inc, lockport
Combination Grocery/Other · 52
- 95 nutrition 7, niagara falls
- budwey's market in the square, north tonawanda
- cvs 577, sanborn
- cvs pharmacy 552, lewiston
- dollar general 18480, north tonawanda
- dollar tree 0542, lockport
- dollar tree 1792, niagara falls
- dicamillo baking co inc (01) 01, niagara falls
- dicamillo baking co inc (02) 02, niagara falls
- dicamillo baking co inc (04) 04, lewiston
- dollar general 12623, north tonawanda
- dollar general 14797, wilson
- dollar general 15739, middleport
- dollar general 18375, lockport
- dollar general 19579, barker
- dollar general 19988, niagara falls
- dollar general 20328, olcott
- dollar general 22399, niagara falls
- dollar general 24374, lockport
- dollar general 25296, sanborn
- dollar general 25297, niagara falls
- dollar general 6050, gasport
- dollar general 6717, niagara falls
- dollar general 6955, lockport
- dollar general 8183, lockport
- dollar general 8306, n tonawanda
- dollar general 8333, lockport
- dollar general 8360, newfane
- dollar general 8370, lewiston
- dollar general 8417, niagara falls
- dollar general store 16268, ransomville
- dollar general store 17234, niagara falls
- dollar general store 18074, lockport
- dollar tree 0566, niagara falls
- dollar tree 3257, north tonawanda
- dollar tree 3575, niagara falls
- dollar tree 7728, north tonawanda
- express foods and more, lockport
- family dollar store 10847, newfane
- family dollar store 1965, lockport
- family dollar store 3464, lewiston
- family dollar store 4221, niagara falls
- family dollar store 5322, niagara falls
- family dollar store 6620, niagara falls
- family dollar store 7751, sanborn
- goodman sisters farm market inc, niagara falls
- herbal magick inc, lockport
- the niagara sausage co, niagara falls
- walgreens 03438, niagara falls
- walgreens 12117, north tonawanda
- walgreens 13751, niagara falls
- walgreens 4968, lockport
Supermarket · 17
- aldi 65082, lockport
- aldi 65083, niagara falls
- aldi 65090, north tonawanda
- niagara produce lockport, lockport
- north tonawanda foods, llc 45168, north tonawanda
- save-a-lot niagara falls, niagara falls
- tops markets 11, lockport
- tops markets 115, lewiston
- tops markets 130, niagara falls
- tops markets 22, niagara falls
- tops markets 240, n tonawanda
- tops markets 32, sanborn
- tops markets 38, lockport
- tops markets 39, newfane
- tops markets 9, niagara falls
- tops pt, llc d/b/a tops pt 275, lockport
- wegmans 92, niagara falls
Super Store · 6
- sam's club 6406, niagara falls
- steaks of buffalo/pellicano's marketplace, north tonawanda
- target 1012, niagara falls
- walmart 2107, lockport
- walmart supercenter 1909, niagara falls
- walmart supercenter 4597, north tonawanda
Farmers' Market · 5
- lewiston artisan farmers market, lewiston
- lockport community farmers market 0596002, lockport
- lockport community winter farmers market, lockport
- niagara falls city market, niagara falls
- north tonawanda city market, north tonawanda
Meat/Poultry Specialty · 5
- al noor farm, ransomville
- federal meats, niagara falls
- hartland abattoir corp., gasport
- strobel farms, newfane
- the butcher shop, lockport
Small Grocery Store · 4
- 777 food bazaar inc., niagara falls
- bridgeway market inc, niagara falls
- gjj enterprise of nt llc - the vegan grocery store, north tonawanda
- schwab farm market, gasport
Delivery Route · 1
- kirk food sale, lewiston
Large Grocery Store · 1
- c&a foods of wny inc - latina importing, niagara falls
Medium Grocery Store · 1
- wagner farm & market, sanborn
Source: USDA SNAP Retailer Locator, currently authorized retailers.
Other Counties in New York
Compare Niagara County vs Albany County → · All New York counties →
Food access nationally, New York in context
Niagara County sits inside New York (ringed). Each state is colored by its population-weighted low-access share; click any state to compare.
USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019), population-weighted · Census ACS 2024 context
Understand the Data
Frequently Asked Questions
What share of Niagara County has low food access? ▼
What is the SNAP participation rate in Niagara County? ▼
What is the poverty rate in Niagara County? ▼
Is Niagara County a food desert? ▼
What share of Niagara County households lack a vehicle? ▼
Data Sources & Methodology
USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019): low-access and food-desert tract classifications, low-access population, and low-income low-access counts. ers.usda.gov/food-access-research-atlas
U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2024 5-Year Estimates: population, median income, poverty, SNAP participation, vehicle access, and group quarters. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
Low access is defined as living more than 1 mile (urban) or 10 miles (rural) from the nearest supermarket; a food desert adds a low-income condition. Read the full methodology →
Data current as of (most recent source-data vintage; figures reflect the 2019 USDA Atlas and 2024 Census ACS).
Note: This page presents public USDA and Census data for informational purposes and is not professional advice. Figures reflect the cited dataset vintages and may differ from the most recent local conditions. How this data is sourced & verified.