Best Places14228, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 14228, 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.
14228 ranks 6,396th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on heat safety by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 14228
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.
14228's strengths and weaknesses
Where 14228 ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 90% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 89% of zip codes
Where 14228 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- QuietBetter 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
What it costs to buy a home in 14228
A household needs to earn about $81,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 14228 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $75,332; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 14228's effective rate of 1.60%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 14228
14228 runs younger 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 14228.
Who works in 14228, and how
Work in 14228 centers on education and health care & social. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 14228
14228 has more parkland per resident than 85% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 14228 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 14228, month by month
14228 sees roughly 76 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 14228
The nearest airport, Buffalo Niagara International, is about 7 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Pittsburgh International, about 190 miles away.
The best schools in and around 14228
Schools across 14228 average a B+, better than 86% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Dodge Elementary SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
- Maplemere Elementary SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Heim Elementary SchoolA− · 60% proficient
Top middle schools
- Casey Middle SchoolA− · 56% proficient
- Heim Middle SchoolB · 47% proficient
- North Tonawanda Middle SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Top high schools
- Williamsville North High SchoolA+ · 97% proficient
- North Tonawanda High SchoolA+ · 94% proficient
- Sweet Home Senior High SchoolA+ · 94% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 14228 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
14228 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 14228 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 14228 suits
Common questions about living in 14228
Is 14228 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 14228 ranks 6,396th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on heat safety, low crime, and an educated workforce, 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 14228 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $279,329. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $75,332 median income, cost of living beats 53% of zip codes.
Is 14228 safe?
Yes, 14228 is safer than 93% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $188 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 14228?
July highs average about 84 degrees, and January highs near 36 with lows near 20. That works out to about 76 pleasant days a year, more than 36% of zip codes.
Is 14228 good for families?
Schools beat 86% of zip codes, crime safety beats 93%, and childcare runs $1,317 a month.
Compare 14228 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 14228. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 14228 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.
14228 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 14228: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 14228: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 14228: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 14228: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
14228 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.