Polish Population in Erie County, NY by City : 2025 Ranking & Insights

The Polish population in Erie County, NY is officially recorded at 145,042, with all of the county''s incorporated cities reporting residents of Polish ancestry. Among them, Cheektowaga town (22,723), Buffalo (22,353), and Amherst town (15,170) account for the largest shares. Interestingly, when adding up individual city estimates, the total surpasses the county-level figure - a difference that often arises from how city and county statistics are modeled separately. Below, we explore how Polish communities are distributed across New York''s more urbanized and fragmented counties.

Top 5 cities with the largest Polish population in Erie County

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  • 1
    Cheektowaga town
    Polish population in Cheektowaga town is 22,723
    25.47% of Cheektowaga town population is Polish
  • 2
    Buffalo
    Polish population in Buffalo is 22,353
    8.09% of Buffalo population is Polish
  • 3
    Amherst town
    Polish population in Amherst town is 15,170
    11.65% of Amherst town population is Polish
  • 4
    Hamburg town
    Polish population in Hamburg town is 13,330
    22.20% of Hamburg town population is Polish
  • 5
    Lancaster town
    Polish population in Lancaster town is 12,504
    27.77% of Lancaster town population is Polish

Overview of Polish population in Erie County

  • Population Count and Percentage: American Community Survey data document Erie County with 145,042 Polish residents (15.3% of 950,044 total county population), placing the jurisdiction at the 99th percentile nationally among counties and 98th percentile within New York for Polish population density, with demographic concentrations among the highest nationwide.
  • Comparison to State and National Averages: Census Bureau's ACS show Erie County's Polish population of 15.3% surpassing both New York's state average of 4.1% and the national average of 2.6%, positioning the county as a high-concentration jurisdiction exceeding demographic benchmarks across all geographic scales.
  • Share of Total State Population: Official American Community Survey indicate Erie County's 145,042 Polish residents constitute 18% of New York's total Polish population of 806,476, placing the county among jurisdictions with the highest demographic concentrations, with 18% of all New York Polish Americans residing within county boundaries.
  • Population Density per Square Mile: U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey document Erie County with 139.1 Polish Americans per square mile, just over eight times New York's average density of 17.1 per square mile, placing the county among the most densely concentrated jurisdictions within the state.
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43 Cities in Erie County Ranked by Polish Population

View Methodology
ACS data [1] confirm Polish populations in every incorporated city in the county, with the largest counts in Cheektowaga town, Buffalo, Amherst town, and Hamburg town. The table below provides detailed figures, including total population, density measures, and demographic distributions, based on the current ACS data for all 43 incorporated cities included in this analysis*.
cities in Erie County, NY ranked by Polish population count
Rank by Polish Population
City
Polish Population
% of Total City Population
% of Total Erie County Polish Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Cheektowaga town 22,723 25.47% 15.67%
2 Buffalo 22,353 8.09% 15.41%
3 Amherst town 15,170 11.65% 10.46%
4 Hamburg town 13,330 22.20% 9.19%
5 Lancaster town 12,504 27.77% 8.62%
6 West Seneca town 10,433 23.02% 7.19%
7 Tonawanda town 9,354 12.98% 6.45%
8 5,250 15.92% 3.62%
9 4,700 15.81% 3.24%
10 4,586 30.44% 3.16%
11 3,493 16.29% 2.41%
12 3,404 17.21% 2.35%
13 3,188 27.29% 2.20%
14 2,477 16.26% 1.71%
15 2,256 23.08% 1.56%
16 2,118 20.91% 1.46%
17 2,069 13.70% 1.43%
18 1,955 13.00% 1.35%
19 1,807 20.81% 1.25%
20 1,696 12.23% 1.17%
21 1,669 20.17% 1.15%
22 1,621 16.61% 1.12%
23 1,552 19.52% 1.07%
24 1,362 18.04% 0.94%
25 1,235 32.87% 0.85%
26 1,058 19.48% 0.73%
27 894 17.30% 0.62%
28 680 26.20% 0.47%
29 623 10.39% 0.43%
30 605 20.15% 0.42%
31 600 14.30% 0.41%
32 558 17.82% 0.38%
33 548 16.72% 0.38%
34 494 10.03% 0.34%
35 482 13.76% 0.33%
36 437 20.15% 0.30%
37 412 14.19% 0.28%
38 398 15.14% 0.27%
39 374 14.76% 0.26%
40 347 11.32% 0.24%
41 318 11.72% 0.22%
42 258 8.81% 0.18%
43 161 13.44% 0.11%
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Methodology

This ranking list is based on data from the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The ACS is one of the most reliable sources for understanding population trends across different locations, and it provides estimates for various racial and ethnic groups at city, county, state and all geography levels down to the Census block group.
This list ranks city in Erie County, NY by their Polish population, using the most recent ACS data available.

How the Census defines Polish population

The U.S. Census Bureau allows people to self-identify their ancestry, meaning individuals can write upto ancestries when responding to the survey. In this ranking, we include everyone who identifies as having Polish ancestry, whether alone or in combination with another ancestry.
Here are a few important things to know about how ancestry is reported:
  • Some people identify as Polish alone, while others identify as Polish along with another race (such as Polish and German).
  • We’ve used the “Polish alone or in any combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the Polish population in each area.

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as Polish alone or in combination in city. To provide additional context, we’ve also included two key percentages:
  1. % of Total City Population – This shows what percentage of the total state population identifies as Polish .
  2. % of Total Erie County Polish Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. Polish population lives in that state.
To keep things simple, all population numbers have been rounded to the nearest whole number, and percentages are rounded to one decimal place. Because of rounding, some percentages may not add up to exactly 100%.

Things to Keep in Mind

Like all survey-based data, ACS estimates come with some limitations. Here are a few things to be aware of:
  • In places with very small Polish populations, the numbers may not be reported at all due to privacy protections or sampling variability in the survey.
  • Since the ACS is based on a sample, the numbers are estimates, not exact counts. That means they may slightly differ from other sources like the decennial U.S. Census.
  • City that don’t have any reported Polish population are not included in the ranking but are listed separately below for reference.
This ranking is meant to provide a clear, data-driven look at where Polish populations are most concentrated while keeping the numbers easy to understand.

Sources

  1. 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.
  2. 2023.