Kenmore is a village in Erie County, New York, United States. The population was 15,205 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Buffalo-Niagara Falls metropolitan area. Kenmore is in the south part of the town of Tonawanda, and together with the town it is often referred to as "Ken-Ton". It is bordered to the south by the city of Buffalo. The village is in the northwest part of Erie County. The village has received accolades: In 2009, the American Planning Association named Kenmore "One of the Top 10 Great Neighborhoods" in the United States. The village is also one of the country's 100 most densely-populated incorporated places.

History

The village of Kenmore was incorporated in 1899 from part of the town of Tonawanda. It is known as "Buffalo's First Suburb". Louis Eberhardt, known as the "father of Kenmore", opposed naming the village "Eberhardt" after himself. He was responsible for buying farmland and subdividing the property into a suburban development. The building which is portrayed on the village logo is the Eberhardt Mansion, located at the corner of Delaware Avenue and Kenmore Avenue. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The Kenmore Village Hall was listed in 2013 as the Tonawanda Municipal Building.

Geography

Kenmore is located at 42.965°N, -78.87167°W (42.964907, -78.871679). According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 1.4 sqmi, all land.

Adjacent cities and towns

Major highways

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 16,426 people, 7,071 households, and 4,235 families residing in the village. The population density was 11,437.2 PD/sqmi, one of the densest populations in the United States. There were 7,459 housing units at an average density of 5,193.6 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the village was 96.85% White, 0.99% African American, 0.35% Native American, 0.58% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.35% from other races, and 0.83% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.30% of the population. There were 7,071 households, out of which 28.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.3% were married couples living together, 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.1% were non-families. 34.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 3.04. In the village, the population was spread out, with 23.3% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 30.5% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 16.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.9 males. The median income for a household in the village was $42,252, and the median income for a family was $53,155. Males had a median income of $38,371 versus $26,875 for females. The per capita income for the village was $21,695. About 3.5% of families and 5.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.8% of those under age 18 and 4.6% of those age 65 or over.

Government

The village government consists of a mayor and four trustees, each elected to a four-year term. The current mayor is Patrick Mang.

Education

Kenmore located in Kenmore-Tonawanda Union Free School District.

Notable people