County outline
Where Erie County is located
Area breakdown
Land accounts for 85% of Erie County’s measured area and water for 15%. Its combined area converts to 3,177.6 square kilometers or approximately 785,207 acres.
Green: land · blue: water
| Measurement | Square miles | Square kilometers | Acres |
|---|---|---|---|
| Land | 1,042.763 | 2,700.744 | 667,368.3 |
| Water | 184.123 | 476.876 | 117,838.7 |
| Total | 1,226.886 | 3,177.62 | 785,207 |
How Erie County compares
By original Census land area, Erie County ranks #14 of 62 in New York and #631 of 3,222 nationally. National rankings include the 50 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
Its land area is 1.595 times the New York county-equivalent median of 653.7 square miles. It accounts for 2.2% of the combined county land area in the state.
See the complete New York ranking · What counts as a county equivalent?
Population and density of Erie County
The Census Bureau estimates that 946,741 people lived in Erie County on July 1, 2025. That ranks #59 of 3,222 county equivalents nationally and #8 of 62 in New York. Since the April 1, 2020 estimates base of 954,226, the population has declined by 7,485 (−0.8%), compared with −1% for New York as a whole.
With 1,042.8 square miles of land, that is 908 people per square mile (351 per km²), placing Erie County #201 nationally for density and #11 in New York. The median county equivalent has 47 people per square mile; the New York median is 112. Put another way, there are about 0.705 acres of land per resident.
| July 1 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estimate | 952,491 | 952,725 | 949,276 | 947,418 | 947,783 | 946,741 |
| Change | — | +234 | −3,449 | −1,858 | +365 | −1,042 |
U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 population estimates. Estimates are revised each year and are not decennial census counts. Density divides the whole population by the whole county’s land area, so it describes an average, not how settlement is distributed within the county. Population sources and methods.
Cities and towns in Erie County
Erie County is divided into 30 cities and towns. In New York, county subdivisions are local governments, and together they cover all of the county’s land and residents.
The most populous is Buffalo city, with 274,613 residents (29% of the county). The largest by land is Concord town, at 69.9 mi², or 6.7% of the county’s land. Among those with at least 1,000 residents in 2020, Alden town grew fastest since then (+5.6%).
| County subdivision | Population 2025 | Since 2020 | Land mi² | Share of county land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo cityCounty seat | 274,613 | −1.3% | 40.4 | 3.9% |
| Amherst town | 130,442 | +0.7% | 53.2 | 5.1% |
| Cheektowaga town | 88,160 | −1.9% | 29.5 | 2.8% |
| Tonawanda town | 70,853 | −2.5% | 18.7 | 1.8% |
| Hamburg town | 60,768 | +1.2% | 41.3 | 4% |
| West Seneca town | 45,469 | −0.2% | 21.4 | 2.1% |
| Lancaster town | 45,075 | −0% | 37.7 | 3.6% |
| Clarence town | 33,198 | +0.7% | 53.5 | 5.1% |
| Orchard Park town | 29,804 | +0.4% | 38.4 | 3.7% |
| Grand Island town | 21,587 | +1% | 28.3 | 2.7% |
| Lackawanna city | 19,452 | −2.4% | 6.548 | 0.6% |
| Evans town | 15,040 | −1.8% | 41.5 | 4% |
| Tonawanda city | 14,848 | −1.9% | 3.803 | 0.4% |
| Aurora town | 13,830 | −0.8% | 36.4 | 3.5% |
| Elma town | 11,667 | −0.5% | 34.5 | 3.3% |
Show the other 15 subdivisions
| Name | Population 2025 | Since 2020 | Land mi² |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alden town | 10,262 | +5.6% | 34.3 |
| Newstead town | 8,695 | +0% | 50.8 |
| Concord town | 8,290 | −0.7% | 69.9 |
| Boston town | 7,879 | −0.8% | 35.8 |
| Eden town | 7,513 | −0.8% | 39.8 |
| Marilla town | 5,119 | −1.3% | 27.5 |
| Collins town | 4,501 | −23.6% | 48 |
| North Collins town | 3,477 | −0.4% | 42.9 |
| Holland town | 3,254 | −0.8% | 35.8 |
| Colden town | 3,172 | +2% | 35.6 |
| Wales town | 3,019 | +0.3% | 35.6 |
| Sardinia town | 2,688 | −0.8% | 50.2 |
| Cattaraugus Reservation | 2,121 | −0.5% | 25.3 |
| Brant town | 1,925 | +0.1% | 24.3 |
| Tonawanda Reservation | 20 | 0% | 1.839 |
Population: U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 subcounty estimates, counting only the part of each subdivision inside Erie County. Land: 2026 Census Gazetteer. How communities are listed.
Metropolitan area
Erie County is a central county of the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its 2 county equivalents have 1,155,653 residents on 1,565.1 square miles of land; Erie County accounts for 66.6% of the land and 81.9% of the residents. By combined land it ranks #214 of 393 metropolitan areas, and #52 by population. It belongs to the Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Olean, NY Combined Statistical Area.
| County equivalent | Population 2025 | Land mi² |
|---|---|---|
| Erie County | 946,741 | 1,042.8 |
| Niagara County | 208,912 | 522.3 |
ZIP codes
72 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Erie County; 68 of them have most of their land inside the county, and the others mainly cover neighboring areas.
140011400414006140131402514026140271403014031140321403314034140351403714043140471405114052140551405714059140611406814069140701407214075140801408114085140861409114102141111411214127141341413914141141451415014169141701420114202142031420414206142071420814209142101421114212142131421414215142161421714218142191422014221142221422314224142251422614227142281426014261
ZIP Code Tabulation Areas are the Census Bureau’s approximations of USPS ZIP Code service areas, from the 2020 Census relationship files. Lighter codes have less than half of their land in this county. Post-office-box and single-address ZIP Codes have no tabulation area.
Counties bordering Erie County
Erie County shares a land border with 5 county equivalents. It has more land than 3 of them. The largest neighbor is Cattaraugus County (1,308.2 mi²) and the smallest is Genesee County (493 mi²). Together with its neighbors, Erie County forms a block of 5,019.4 mi² of land, of which it holds 20.8%.
| Bordering county equivalent | Land mi² | Size vs. Erie | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cattaraugus County | 1,308.2 | 1.3× larger | Compare |
| Chautauqua County | 1,060.4 | about the same | Compare |
| Wyoming County | 592.7 | 1.8× smaller | Compare |
| Niagara County | 522.3 | 2× smaller | Compare |
| Genesee County | 493 | 2.1× smaller | Compare |
How big is Erie County compared with U.S. states?
Erie County has more land than 1 of the 50 states. It is about 1 times the land area of Rhode Island (1,033.9 mi²), while Delaware, the next larger state, has 1.9 times as much land (1,948.6 mi²). New York’s county land could hold about 45 areas the size of Erie County.
Another way to picture it: the same land area would fill a square about 32.3 miles (52 km) on each side. Real county shapes are rarely square, so this is a scale reference rather than a width or driving distance.
State figures are the sums of each state’s county-equivalent land measurements in the same Census release, so states and counties are compared on the same basis. Published state totals can differ slightly because of rounding. Compare all states · Counties bigger than entire states.
What stands out about Erie County?
Erie County has more land than 2,591 of the other 3,221 county equivalents in the dataset.
A median is the middle county-equivalent measurement, not the average of the largest and smallest. All three bars use the same linear scale. Very small areas may appear as a thin sliver; the labels retain their values.
Does including water change its rank?
Using land plus water places Erie County at #577 nationally by total area, 54 places closer to the top than its land rank. The water assigned to this geography moves it ahead of some county equivalents with more land.
Its water share is 15%, compared with a national county-equivalent median of 1.2% — 13.8 percentage points higher. This describes the statistical geography’s land/water mix, not flood exposure or developable land.
Closest positions in the national land ranking
These entries sit immediately beside Erie County in the national ranking. They can be in different states and are not necessarily geographic neighbors.
| Land rank | County equivalent | Land mi² | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| #630 | Mercer County, North Dakota | 1,042.8 | Compare |
| #631 | Erie County, New York | 1,042.8 | This county |
| #632 | Montgomery County, Texas | 1,042.2 | Compare |
Calculated from the same Census release as the area table. Total-area order uses original ALAND + AWATER; water shares and chart labels use published square miles. Calculation details.
Representative coordinates
The Census internal point is 42.752759, -78.778192. It represents a location inside the geography; it is not necessarily the centroid or the address of a courthouse.
Source and precision
U.S. Census Bureau, 2026 Gazetteer Files, Counties. Original ALAND: 2,700,743,371 m²; AWATER: 476,876,406 m². Rankings use ALAND; exact ties use ascending GEOID. Tables preserve Census-published square miles to three decimals, with conversions based on those values.
Common questions
How big is Erie County?
Erie County, New York has 1,042.8 square miles (2,700.7 km²) of land and 184.1 square miles of water, for a total area of 1,226.9 square miles. It ranks #631 of 3,222 U.S. county equivalents by land area.
Is Erie County the largest county in New York?
No. Erie County ranks #14 of 62 in New York by land area. The largest is St. Lawrence County, with 2,679.5 square miles of land.
What counties border Erie County?
Erie County shares a land border with Cattaraugus County, Niagara County, Wyoming County, Genesee County, and Chautauqua County.
What is the population of Erie County?
The Census Bureau estimates Erie County had 946,741 residents on July 1, 2025, ranking #59 of 3,222 county equivalents. That is 908 people per square mile of land.
What is the county seat of Erie County?
The county seat of Erie County is Buffalo.
What cities and towns are in Erie County?
Erie County has 30 county subdivisions (cities, towns and townships). The most populous five are Buffalo city, Amherst town, Cheektowaga town, Tonawanda town, and Hamburg town.
Is Erie County part of a metropolitan area?
Yes. It is a central county of the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has 2 county equivalents and 1,155,653 residents.
How many ZIP codes are in Erie County?
72 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Erie County, and 68 of them have most of their land inside the county. Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas approximate USPS ZIP Code areas.
How does Erie County compare with U.S. states?
It has more land than 1 of the 50 states, including Rhode Island (1,033.9 square miles of land).
How many acres of land are in Erie County?
The land measurement converts to approximately 667,368 acres. Including water, total area is approximately 785,207 acres. One square mile equals 640 acres.
Why might another source show a different area?
Check whether it reports land or total area, its Census vintage, and its rounding. Our guide explains how to reconcile county area figures.
Can this establish a property boundary?
No. Statistical measurements and generalized maps do not establish property lines. Consult the relevant local surveying or land-records authority.