Collins, New York
Collins is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. The town is on the south border of the county and is considered to be one of the "Southtowns" of Erie County. The population at the 2010 census was 6,601. History. The area was first settled by Whites in 1811. Many of the first settlers were Quakers, who intended to assist the local Native Americans. The town of Collins was formed March 6, 1821, from the town of Concord, and was named after the Collins family, a dairy farming family who lived in and were publicly  active in the area. The town lost land to create the new towns of Brant in 1839 and North Collins in 1852. Because of the concentration of dairy farms, there were once ten cheese and milk factories in the town. Geography. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.36%, is water. The south town line of Collins, marked by Cattaraugus Creek, is the county line of Cattaraugus County. U.S. Route 62 runs north–south through the town, and New York State Route 39 runs east–west and  intersects with north–south New York State Route 75. Demographics. As of the census of 2000, there were 8,307 people, 1,754 households, and 1,187 families residing in the town. The population density was 172.6 people per square mile (66.7/km). There were 1,884 housing units at an average density of 39.2 per square mile (15.1/km). The racial makeup of the town was 66.85% White, 22.62% African American, 3.47% Native American, 0.22% Asian, 6.16% from other races, and 0.69% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 11.94% of the population. There were 1,754 households, out  of which 30.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.5% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.3% were non-families. 26.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.04. In the town, the population was spread out, with 13.3% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 48.6% from 25 to 44, 19.7% from 45 to 64, and  8.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 273.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 318.8 males. The median income for a household in the town was $34,444, and the median income for a family was $45,647. Males had a median income of $30,215 versus $26,071 for females. The per capita income for the town was $14,082. About 6.2% of families and 8.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.6% of those under age  18 and 8.1% of those age 65 or over.