Gaya is a Local Government Area in Kano State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Gaya in the north of the area.

Gaya is believed to be the origin of a man named Kano who first settled in the present Kano State on his search for ironstone. Gaya served as an important terminus of a migratory corridor through which there was an influx of immigrating peoples especially from Eastern Sudan, the Maghrib and the Middle East.

The traditional ruler of Gaya is known as the Sarkin Gaya. The present Sarkin Gaya, Alhaji Ibrahim Abdulkadir Gaya (born in 1930) has been on the throne since his appointment in 1990. Alhaji Ibrahim Gaya was previously the district head of Kunchi and then Minjibir. The present local government chairman is Alhaji Ahmad Abdullahi tahir.