Best Places14897, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 14897, 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.
14897 ranks 17,277th 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 14897
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.
14897's strengths and weaknesses
Where 14897 ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 92% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 92% of zip codes
- School gradeA−, better than 87% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 84% of zip codes
Where 14897 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter 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 14897
A household needs to earn about $32,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 14897 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $65,312, 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 14897's effective rate of 2.62%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 14897
14897's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 14897.
Who works in 14897, and how
Work in 14897 centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 14897
14897 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 99% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 14897 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 14897, month by month
14897 sees roughly 82 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 81 degrees. January highs sit near 34, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34° | 25° | 18° |
| April | 58° | 45° | 34° |
| July | 81° | 70° | 58° |
| October | 63° | 52° | 42° |
Flying in and out of 14897
The nearest airport, Bradford Regional, is about 46 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Pittsburgh International, about 166 miles away.
The best schools in and around 14897
Schools across 14897 average an A−, better than 87% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Wellsville Elementary SchoolA− · 57% proficient
Top high schools
- Wellsville Secondary SchoolA− · 59% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 14897 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
14897 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 14897 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 14897
Is 14897 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 14897 ranks 17,277th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on heat safety, quiet, and low crime, 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 14897 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $97,088. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $65,312 median income, cost of living beats 44% of zip codes.
Is 14897 safe?
Yes, 14897 is safer than 92% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $178 per resident a year.
Compare 14897 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 14897. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 14897 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.
14897 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 14897: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 14897: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 14897: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 14897: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
14897 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.