Niagara Falls is a city in Niagara County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 48,671. It is adjacent to the Niagara River, across from the city of Niagara Falls, Ontario, and named after the famed Niagara Falls which they share. The city is within the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area and the Western New York region.

While the city was formerly inhabited by Native Americans, Europeans who migrated to the Niagara Falls in the mid-17th century began to open businesses and develop infrastructure. Later in the 18th and 19th centuries, scientists and businessmen began harnessing the power of the Niagara River for electricity and the city began to attract manufacturers and other businesses drawn by the promise of inexpensive hydroelectric power. After the 1960s, the city and region experienced an economic decline. As industries left the region, affluent and middle-class families relocated from Niagara Falls to other metropolitan areas around the country.

Due to the loss of jobs in the region, especially in the manufacturing sector, the city has gone from over 102,000 residents in 1960 to approximately 48,000 residents in 2020, a population drop of more than 50%.

History Before Europeans entered the area, it was dominated by the Neutral Nation of Native Americans. European migration into the area began in the 17th century. The first recorded European to visit the area was Frenchman Robert de la Salle, who built Fort Conti at the mouth of the Niagara River early in 1679, with permission from the Iroquois, as a base for boatbuilding; his ship Le Griffon was built on the upper Niagara River at or near Cayuga Creek in the same year. He was accompanied by Belgian priest Louis Hennepin, who was the first known European to see the falls. The influx of newcomers may have been a catalyst for already hostile native tribes to turn to open warfare in competition for the fur trade.

The City of Niagara Falls was incorporated on March 17, 1892, from the villages of Manchester and Suspension Bridge, which were parts of the Town of Niagara. Thomas Vincent Welch, a member of the charter committee and a New York state assemblyman and a second-generation Irish American, persuaded Governor Roswell P. Flower to sign the bill on Saint Patrick's Day. George W. Wright was elected the first mayor of Niagara Falls.

By the end of the 19th century, the city was heavily industrialized, due in part to the power potential offered by the Niagara River. Tourism was considered a secondary niche, while manufacturing of petrochemicals, abrasives, metallurgical products and other materials was the main producer of jobs and attracted a large number of workers, many of whom were immigrants.

In 1927, the city annexed the village of La Salle, named for Robert de la Salle, from the Town of Niagara.

Industry and tourism grew steadily throughout the first half of the 20th century due to a high demand for industrial products and the increased mobility of people to travel. Paper, rubber, plastics, petrochemicals, carbon insulators and abrasives were among the city's major industries. This prosperity would end by the late 1960s as aging industrial plants moved to less expensive locations. In addition, the falls were incompatible with modern shipping technology.

In 1956, the Schoellkopf Power Plant on the lower river just downstream of the American Falls was critically damaged by the collapse of the Niagara Gorge wall above it. This prompted the planning and construction of one of the largest hydroelectric plants to be built in North America to that time, generating a large influx of workers and families to the area. New York City urban planner Robert Moses built the new power plant in nearby Lewiston, New York. Much of the power generated there fueled growing demands for power in downstate New York and New York City.

In 1978, the neighborhood of Love Canal gained national media attention when toxic waste contamination from a chemical landfill beneath it forced United States President Jimmy Carter to declare a state of emergency, the first such presidential declaration made for a non-natural disaster. Hundreds of residents were evacuated from the area, many of whom were ill because of exposure to chemical waste.

After the Love Canal disaster, the city—which had already been declining in population for nearly two decades—experienced accelerated economic and political difficulties. The costs of manufacturing elsewhere had become less expensive, which led to the closure of several factories. The city's population eventually dropped by more than half of its peak, as workers fled the city in search of jobs elsewhere. Then, much like the nearby city of Buffalo, the city's economy plummeted when a failed urban renewal project destroyed Falls Street and the tourist district.

In 2001, the leadership of Laborers Local 91 was found guilty of extortion, racketeering and other crimes following an exposé by Mike Hudson of the Niagara Falls Reporter. Union boss Michael "Butch" Quarcini died before trial, while the rest of the union leadership was sentenced to prison.

In early 2010, former Niagara Falls Mayor Vincenzo Anello was indicted on federal charges of corruption, alleging the mayor accepted $40,000 in loans from a businessman who was later awarded a no-bid lease on city property. The charges were dropped as part of a plea deal after Anello pleaded guilty to unrelated charges of pension fraud, regarding a pension from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, of which he is a member. He was sentenced to 10 to 16 months in prison.

The city's decline received national exposure from Bloomberg Businessweek in 2010.

In November 2010, the New York State Attorney General entered into an agreement with the city and its police department to create new policies to govern police practices in response to claims of excessive force and police misconduct. The city committed to create policies and procedures to prevent and respond to allegations of excessive force, and to ensure police are properly trained and complaints are properly investigated. Prior claims filed by residents will be evaluated by an independent panel.

In 2020, a public square named "Cataract Commons" opened on Old Falls Street. It is a public space for outdoor events and activities.

The city has multiple properties on the National Register of Historic Places. It also has three national historic districts, including Chilton Avenue-Orchard Parkway Historic District, Deveaux School Historic District and the Park Place Historic District.

Geography Niagara Falls is at the international boundary between the United States and Canada. The city is within the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area and is approximately from Buffalo, New York.

The city has an area of , of which (83.43%) is land and (16.57%) is water. The city is built along the Niagara Falls and the Niagara Gorge, which is next to the Niagara River.

Climate Niagara Falls has a humid continental climate (Dfa/Dfb under the Köppen climate classification, Dca/Dcb under Trewartha). Different weather stations show that some parts of the city have a hemiboreal climate with average summer temperatures slightly under 22 °C, and others with a hot-summer continental climate with slightly hotter summers. The city has cold, snowy winters and very warm, humid summers. Precipitation is moderate and consistent in all seasons, falling equally or more as snow during the winter.

The city has snowier than average winters compared to most cities in the US, however less than many other cities in Upstate New York including nearby Buffalo and Rochester. Thaw cycles with temperatures above are a common occurrence. The hottest and coldest temperatures recorded in the decade to 2015 were in 2005 and in 2003, respectively. 38% of warm season precipitation falls in the form of a thunderstorm.

Neighborhoods

Buffalo Avenue – runs along the south end along the Niagara River once home to a vast number of old families with architecturally significant mansions; further east (past John Daly Boulevard) the street is surrounded by a number of industrial sites to 56th Street before returning to a residential area and ending at the Love Canal area at 102nd Street. Central Districtsee map for boundaries the area corresponding to a region with boundaries around the text City of Niagara Falls Deveaux – Located in the northwestern corner (west of the North End) along the Niagara River is residential area built in the 1920s to 1940s. Named for Judge Samuel DeVeaux who left his estate to be established as the Deveaux College for Orphans and Destitute Children in 1853 (closed 1971), now the site of DeVeaux Woods State Park and DeVeaux School Historical District. Downtown – Area around the Falls and home to hotels including Seneca Niagara Resort Casino, Niagara Falls State Park, Niagara Falls Culinary Institute (formerly Rainbow Centre Factory Outlet) East Side – the area bounded by the gorge on the west, Niagara Street on the south, Ontario Avenue on the North and Main Street (NY Rt 104) on the east. Hyde Park – Located near the namesake Hyde Park next to Little Italy as well as home to Hyde Park Municipal Golf Course. LaSalle – Bounded by 80th Street, Niagara Falls Boulevard, Cayuga Drive and LaSalle Expressway was built up in the 1940s to 1960s. Cayuga Island is linked to neighborhood. The actual neighborhood where the Love Canal was to be built. Little Italy – home to a once predominately Italian community that runs along Pine Avenue from Main Street to Hyde Park Boulevard Love Canal – Established in the 1950s on land acquired from Hooker Chemical Company. Most of the neighborhood was evacuated in the 1980s after toxic waste was discovered underground. Resettlement began in 1990. Niagara Street – residential area east of Downtown along Niagara Street (distinct from Niagara Ave.) once home to a predominately German and Polish community. North End – runs along Highland Avenue in the north end of the city before it merges with Hyde Park Boulevard.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Niagara Falls had a population of 48,671 residents, less than half its 1960 peak of 102,000. The median age was 39.7 years. 21.9% of residents were under the age of 18 and 16.9% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 91.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 89.5 males age 18 and over.

100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas.

There were 21,927 households in Niagara Falls, of which 25.3% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 26.8% were married-couple households, 25.6% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 38.2% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 39.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 25,471 housing units, of which 13.9% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.4% and the rental vacancy rate was 10.6%.

+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census Race Number Percent White 29,719 61.1% Black or African American 11,954 24.6% American Indian and Alaska Native 852 1.8% Asian 1,013 2.1% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 10 0.0% Some other race 1,049 2.2% Two or more races 4,074 8.4% Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 2,624 5.4%

2010 census