Best Places14304, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 14304, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
14304 ranks 9,215th 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 14304
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.
14304's strengths and weaknesses
Where 14304 ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Short commute19.0 minutes each way, better than 88% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 85% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 84% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 84% of zip codes
Where 14304 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 13% 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 14304
A household needs to earn about $55,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 14304 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $69,819, 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 14304's effective rate of 1.65%, 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 14304
14304 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 14304.
Who works in 14304, and how
Work in 14304 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 14304
14304 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 81% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 66% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 14304 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 14304, month by month
14304 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 14304
The nearest airport, Niagara Falls International, is about 1 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Cleveland-Hopkins International, about 188 miles away.
The best schools in and around 14304
Schools across 14304 average a B+, better than 80% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Errick Road Elementary SchoolA+ · 88% proficient
- West Street Elementary SchoolA+ · 80% proficient
- Huth Road SchoolA · 66% proficient
Top middle schools
- North Tonawanda Intermediate SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Veronica E Connor Middle SchoolB · 46% proficient
- Edward Town Middle SchoolB− · 41% proficient
Top high schools
- Grand Island Senior High SchoolA+ · 96% 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 14304 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
14304 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 14304 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 14304 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 10% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 14304
Is 14304 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 14304 ranks 9,215th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low disaster risk, short commutes, and cell coverage, 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 14304 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $187,837. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $69,819 median income, cost of living beats 48% of zip codes.
Is 14304 safe?
Yes, 14304 is safer than 84% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $232 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 14304?
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 14304 good for families?
Schools beat 80% of zip codes, crime safety beats 84%, and childcare runs $1,088 a month.
Compare 14304 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 14304. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 14304 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.
14304 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 14304: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 14304: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 14304: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 14304: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
14304 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.