Best PlacesKensington, Buffalo, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Kensington, 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.
Kensington, Buffalo ranks 4,218th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and internet speeds rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Kensington, 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.
Kensington, Buffalo's strengths and weaknesses
Where Kensington, Buffalo ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- Heat safetyBetter than 85% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than 75% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than 70% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 69% of neighborhoods
Where Kensington, Buffalo ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
- State infrastructureBetter than only 14% of neighborhoods
- Household income$52,151 median, better than only 18% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than only 19% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Kensington, Buffalo
A household needs to earn about $39,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Kensington, Buffalo home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $52,151, 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 Kensington, Buffalo's effective rate of 1.10%, 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 3 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Kensington, Buffalo
Kensington, 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 Kensington, Buffalo.
Who works in Kensington, Buffalo, and how
Work in Kensington, Buffalo centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 68%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 16%
Life in Kensington, Buffalo
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Kensington, Buffalo.
What the weather is like in Kensington, Buffalo, month by month
Kensington, 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 Kensington, Buffalo
The nearest airport, Buffalo Niagara International, is about 4 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Pittsburgh International, about 185 miles away.
The best schools in and around Kensington, Buffalo
Schools across Kensington, Buffalo average a C, better than 47% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Cleveland Hill Elementary SchoolB+ · 54% proficient
- Highgate HeightsD− · 13% proficient
- Frank A Sedita School #30D− · 13% proficient
Top middle schools
- Cleveland Hill Middle SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Top high schools
- Cleveland Hill High SchoolA+ · 85% proficient
- Middle Early College High SchoolA+ · 80% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Kensington, Buffalo school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Kensington, 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 Kensington, Buffalo against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Kensington, Buffalo
Is Kensington, Buffalo a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Kensington, Buffalo ranks 4,218th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on low disaster risk, heat safety, and clean air, and lowest on internet speeds 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 Kensington, Buffalo expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $142,364. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $52,151 median income, cost of living beats 29% of neighborhoods.
Is Kensington, Buffalo safe?
Kensington, Buffalo is safer than 47% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $479 per resident a year.
Compare Kensington, Buffalo with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Kensington, Buffalo. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Kensington, 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.
Kensington, Buffalo detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Kensington, Buffalo: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Kensington, Buffalo: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Kensington, Buffalo: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Kensington, Buffalo: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Kensington, 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.