Best Places14221, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 14221, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
14221 ranks 1,018th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on health care access by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 14221
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.
14221's strengths and weaknesses
Where 14221 ranks high
- Healthcare accessBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- School gradeA, better than 97% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 95% of zip codes
Where 14221 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,317 a month, better than only 14% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 18% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 14221
A household needs to earn about $101,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 14221 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $107,488, 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 14221's effective rate of 1.76%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 14221
14221 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 14221.
Who works in 14221, and how
Work in 14221 centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 17%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 14221
14221 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 75% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 75% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 14221 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 14221, month by month
14221 sees roughly 75 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 36, with lows near 20. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 36° | 28° | 20° |
| April | 58° | 46° | 36° |
| July | 84° | 74° | 63° |
| October | 65° | 54° | 45° |
Flying in and out of 14221
The nearest airport, Buffalo Niagara International, is about 3 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Pittsburgh International, about 189 miles away.
The best schools in and around 14221
Schools across 14221 average an A, better than 97% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Sheridan Hill Elementary SchoolA+ · 91% proficient
- Harris Hill Elementary SchoolA+ · 85% proficient
- Ledgeview Elementary SchoolA+ · 84% proficient
Top middle schools
- Transit Middle SchoolA+ · 73% proficient
- Maryvale Middle SchoolA+ · 68% proficient
- Clarence Middle SchoolA · 59% proficient
Top high schools
- Williamsville East High SchoolA+ · 100% proficient
- Clarence Senior High SchoolA+ · 100% proficient
- Amherst Central High SchoolA+ · 100% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 14221 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
14221 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 14221 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 14221 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 88% of zip codes and 17% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 14221
Is 14221 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 14221 ranks 1,018th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on health care access, low disaster risk, and good schools, 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 14221 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $340,031. The overall cost of living runs about 5% below the national average. Set against a $107,488 median income, cost of living beats 88% of zip codes.
Is 14221 safe?
Yes, 14221 is safer than 95% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $171 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 14221?
July highs average about 84 degrees, and January highs near 36 with lows near 20. That works out to about 75 pleasant days a year, more than 35% of zip codes.
Is 14221 good for families?
Schools beat 97% of zip codes, crime safety beats 95%, and childcare runs $1,317 a month.
Compare 14221 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 14221. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 14221 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.
14221 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 14221: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 14221: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 14221: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 14221: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
14221 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.