county

Erie County, NY

Demographic and economic profile of Erie County, NY, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Erie County, NY is a mid-sized metro of 950,602 residents that grew 3.3% over five years, with a labor force participation rate of 62.7% and an unemployment rate of 4.8%. About 36.9% of residents hold a bachelor's degree or higher, median worker earnings stand at $45,117, and housing remains relatively affordable with a median home value of $217,400 and median gross rent of $1,037 per month. GDP per capita of $65,829 runs notably above median household income of $72,839, and a mean commute of 21.3 minutes reflects the county's relatively compact geography.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

950,602

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Household Income

$72,839

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

40.4 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+3.3% since 2018

Erie County added population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone699,174 (73.5%)
  • Black or African American Alone118,588 (12.5%)
  • Asian Alone46,784 (4.9%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races30,361 (3.2%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race27,550 (2.9%)
  • Some Other Race Alone24,103 (2.5%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish30,450
  2. 2.Other Indo-European22,380
  3. 3.Arabic9,695
  4. 4.Other Asian and Pacific Island7,863
  5. 5.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic7,382

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

20.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

60.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

18.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

7.5%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

43,450

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$65,829

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$41,560

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

4.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

14.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance133,486
  2. 2.Retail Trade (Group)49,829
  3. 3.Manufacturing (Group)48,244
  4. 4.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services48,157
  5. 5.Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing39,626

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations207,572
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations98,596
  3. 3.Service Occupations77,594
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations53,040
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations26,892

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Finance, Insurance, & Real Estate (LQ 1.28×)39,743
  2. 2.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.23×)134,163
  3. 3.Manufacturing (LQ 1.02×)47,370
  4. 4.Retail Trade (LQ 1.00×)50,717
  5. 5.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 0.97×)39,520

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$217,400

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$1,037/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

65.8%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,99945,931 (17.0%)
  • $300,000 to $399,99940,293 (14.9%)
  • $250,000 to $299,99930,319 (11.2%)
  • $400,000 to $499,99923,509 (8.7%)
  • $150,000 to $174,99923,291 (8.6%)
  • $175,000 to $199,99919,852 (7.4%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

36.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

92.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

62.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$45,117

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

21.3 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

11.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone328,191 (72.4%)
  • Worked At Home58,707 (12.9%)
  • Carpooled35,266 (7.8%)
  • Public Transit12,729 (2.8%)
  • Walked10,653 (2.3%)
  • Other4,534 (1.0%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.