Niagara County, New York Eviction Risk: High

Niagara County, New York scores 8.1/10 (High) on the EvictionRiskMap county index, averaged across 16 cities with a total population of roughly 128,183. That figure places the county in the middle third of New York state, with 27 counties carrying higher risk and 32 sitting in safer territory. For landlords, a 7.7 county average signals an operating environment where tenant-protection statutes, cost burdens, and local poverty levels combine to keep collection and vacancy risk meaningfully elevated.

The intra-county spread runs from 7.2 to 8.4, a nearly two-point range that makes a real difference in underwriting. Average rent across the county is $870 per month, and the average rent-burden rate of 30.7% means a substantial share of renters are already stretched thin, the kind of condition that correlates with payment defaults even when landlords are doing everything right.

The cities inside Niagara County

Three cities share the county's peak risk score of 7.9/10: Niagara Falls (population 47,987), Lockport (population 20,610), and Lewiston. Together they account for roughly half the county's residents, and each carries conditions, high poverty concentration, elevated renter shares, and constrained local economies, that push individual-unit risk to the top of the county range. North Tonawanda (population 30,198) and South Lockport follow at 7.9/10, still well above a moderate threshold.

The contrast at the low end is notable. Newfane scores 7.2/10, the only city in the county that dips to the bottom of the local range, with a population of 3,938. Middleport and Youngstown both score 7.9/10. The takeaway for investors is that risk is genuinely hyper-local here: the difference between a Newfane rental and a Niagara Falls eviction risk rental is nearly two full points on a 10-point scale, which translates to meaningfully different default probabilities and cost-to-evict exposure.

State-level laws that apply here

All Niagara County landlords operate under New York state law, primarily N.Y. RPL section 226 et seq. and RPAPL section 711. Notice requirements vary by reason and tenancy length. A nonpayment case requires a 14-day notice (RPAPL section 711(2)). A material lease violation requires only 10 days (RPAPL section 711(1)). Holdover timelines scale with tenancy duration: 30 days for tenancies under one year, 60 days for one to two years, and 90 days for tenancies of two years or more, all under RPL section 226-c. Just cause for eviction is required under state law. Rent caps vary by locality, and New York eviction risk does not preempt local rent-control ordinances, so landlords in certain municipalities may face additional constraints beyond the baseline statute. Understanding the full New York eviction process before acquiring a unit in this county is essential, not optional.

On the cost side, court filing fees run $45 to $210, sheriff lockout fees add $50 to $200, and attorney fees for contested cases typically range from $1,000 to $4,000. An uncontested case can resolve in 30 to 90 days; a contested matter may run 90 to 210 days. New York eviction costs, particularly when a case is fought, can approach the low end of a year's gross rent at local rate levels. Retaliation protections (RPL section 223-b) and habitability obligations (RPL section 235-b) also govern every tenancy, and source-of-income is a protected class under the NY State Division of Human Rights, adding screening constraints that investors should build into their compliance checklists. Reviewing New York tenant protections before executing a lease is a practical first step for anyone new to this market.

With a countywide poverty rate of 16.6% and a renter share of 35.9%, Niagara County's financial stress is spread across a significant portion of its housing stock; the city-level grid above breaks that exposure down to the specific markets where investors are most likely to encounter it.