Best PlacesCentral Business District-Buffalo, Buffalo, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Central Business District-Buffalo, Buffalo, 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.
Central Business District-Buffalo, Buffalo ranks 3,941st of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and crime is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Central Business District-Buffalo, Buffalo
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.
Central Business District-Buffalo, Buffalo's strengths and weaknesses
Where Central Business District-Buffalo, Buffalo ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 92% of neighborhoods
- Heat safetyBetter than 92% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than 89% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 89% of neighborhoods
Where Central Business District-Buffalo, Buffalo ranks low
- Crime safetyBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 12% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Central Business District-Buffalo, Buffalo
A household needs to earn about $188,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Central Business District-Buffalo, Buffalo home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $61,606, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 Central Business District-Buffalo, Buffalo's effective rate of 1.29%, 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 Central Business District-Buffalo, Buffalo
Central Business District-Buffalo, Buffalo 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 Central Business District-Buffalo, Buffalo.
Who works in Central Business District-Buffalo, Buffalo, and how
Work in Central Business District-Buffalo, Buffalo centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 67%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 18%
Life in Central Business District-Buffalo, Buffalo
Central Business District-Buffalo, Buffalo has more restaurants and bars per resident than 97% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of Central Business District-Buffalo, Buffalo and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Central Business District-Buffalo, Buffalo, month by month
Central Business District-Buffalo, Buffalo 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 Central Business District-Buffalo, Buffalo
The nearest airport, Buffalo Niagara International, is about 8 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Pittsburgh International, about 180 miles away.
The best schools in and around Central Business District-Buffalo, Buffalo
Schools across Central Business District-Buffalo, Buffalo average a C−, better than 44% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Frank A Sedita School #30D− · 13% proficient
- Waterfront Elementary SchoolF · 5% proficient
Top high schools
- Middle Early College High SchoolA+ · 80% proficient
- Emerson School Of HospitalityA− · 65% proficient
- Buffalo School Of Culinary Arts And Hospitality ManagementB+ · 55% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Central Business District-Buffalo, Buffalo school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Central Business District-Buffalo, Buffalo 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 Central Business District-Buffalo, Buffalo against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Central Business District-Buffalo, Buffalo
Is Central Business District-Buffalo, Buffalo a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Central Business District-Buffalo, Buffalo ranks 3,941st of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on low disaster risk, walkability, and heat safety, and lowest on crime and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Central Business District-Buffalo, Buffalo expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $675,685. The overall cost of living runs about 5% below the national average. Set against a $61,606 median income, cost of living beats 39% of neighborhoods.
Is Central Business District-Buffalo, Buffalo safe?
Central Business District-Buffalo, Buffalo is safer than 1% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,281 per resident a year.
Compare Central Business District-Buffalo, Buffalo with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Central Business District-Buffalo, Buffalo. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Central Business District-Buffalo, Buffalo 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.
Central Business District-Buffalo, Buffalo detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Central Business District-Buffalo, Buffalo: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Central Business District-Buffalo, Buffalo: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Central Business District-Buffalo, Buffalo: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Central Business District-Buffalo, Buffalo: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Central Business District-Buffalo, Buffalo 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.