Best Places14120, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 14120, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
14120 ranks 5,105th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 14120
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
14120's strengths and weaknesses
Where 14120 ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 92% of zip codes
- School gradeB+, better than 85% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 85% of zip codes
Where 14120 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,088 a month, better than only 26% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 14120
A household needs to earn about $73,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 14120 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $80,901, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 14120's effective rate of 2.04%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 14120
14120 runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 14120.
Who works in 14120, and how
Work in 14120 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 14120
14120 has more parkland per resident than 79% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 14120 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 14120, month by month
14120 sees roughly 80 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 36, with lows near 21. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 36° | 28° | 21° |
| April | 58° | 46° | 35° |
| July | 85° | 74° | 63° |
| October | 65° | 54° | 45° |
Flying in and out of 14120
The nearest airport, Niagara Falls International, is about 6 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Pittsburgh International, about 191 miles away.
The best schools in and around 14120
Schools across 14120 average a B+, better than 85% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Errick Road Elementary SchoolA+ · 88% proficient
- Heritage Heights Elementary SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Ohio Elementary SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- North Tonawanda Intermediate SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Starpoint Middle SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- North Tonawanda Middle SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Top high schools
- Starpoint High SchoolA+ · 100% proficient
- Niagara-wheatfield Senior High SchoolA+ · 95% proficient
- North Tonawanda High SchoolA+ · 94% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 14120 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
14120 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 14120 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 14120 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 14% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 14120
Is 14120 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 14120 ranks 5,105th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low disaster risk, low crime, and fast internet, and lowest on property taxes and car insurance costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 14120 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $238,542. The overall cost of living runs about 9% below the national average. Set against a $80,901 median income, cost of living beats 62% of zip codes.
Is 14120 safe?
Yes, 14120 is safer than 96% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $171 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 14120?
July highs average about 85 degrees, and January highs near 36 with lows near 21. That works out to about 80 pleasant days a year, more than 44% of zip codes.
Is 14120 good for families?
Schools beat 85% of zip codes, crime safety beats 96%, and childcare runs $1,088 a month.
Compare 14120 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 14120. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 14120 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
14120 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 14120: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 14120: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 14120: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 14120: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
14120 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.