Best PlacesNorth Tonawanda, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around North Tonawanda, 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.
North Tonawanda ranks 699th of 2,098 U.S. cities 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 North Tonawanda
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.
North Tonawanda's strengths and weaknesses
Where North Tonawanda ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 99% of cities
- Crime safetyBetter than 98% of cities
- Healthcare accessBetter than 84% of cities
- School gradeB+, better than 84% of cities
- Internet speedBetter than 84% of cities
Where North Tonawanda ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 7% of cities
- State infrastructureBetter than only 14% of cities
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 20% of cities
- Local economyBetter than only 21% of cities
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 25% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in North Tonawanda
A household needs to earn about $74,000 a year to comfortably buy the median North Tonawanda home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $81,793, 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 North Tonawanda's effective rate of 2.04%, 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 North Tonawanda
North Tonawanda 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 North Tonawanda.
Who works in North Tonawanda, and how
Work in North Tonawanda centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in North Tonawanda
North Tonawanda has more parkland per resident than 91% of cities. That concentrates in some parts of North Tonawanda and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in North Tonawanda, month by month
North Tonawanda 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 North Tonawanda
The nearest airport, Niagara Falls International, is about 6 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Pittsburgh International, about 191 miles away.
The best schools in and around North Tonawanda
Schools across North Tonawanda average a B+, better than 84% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Errick Road Elementary SchoolA+ · 88% proficient
- Dodge Elementary SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
- Huth Road SchoolA · 66% proficient
Top middle schools
- Casey Middle SchoolA− · 56% proficient
- North Tonawanda Intermediate SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Starpoint Middle SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
Top high schools
- Starpoint High SchoolA+ · 100% proficient
- Williamsville North High SchoolA+ · 97% proficient
- Grand Island Senior High SchoolA+ · 96% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every North Tonawanda school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
North Tonawanda 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 North Tonawanda against the other 2,097 cities.
Who North Tonawanda suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 14% already work from home.
Common questions about living in North Tonawanda
Is North Tonawanda a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, North Tonawanda ranks 699th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on low disaster risk, low crime, and health care access, and lowest on property taxes and state infrastructure. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is North Tonawanda expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $241,149. The overall cost of living runs about 9% below the national average. Set against a $81,793 median income, cost of living beats 47% of cities.
Is North Tonawanda safe?
Yes, North Tonawanda is safer than 98% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $171 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in North Tonawanda?
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 cities.
Is North Tonawanda good for families?
Schools beat 84% of cities, crime safety beats 98%, and childcare runs $1,092 a month.
Compare North Tonawanda with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to North Tonawanda. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in North Tonawanda 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.
North Tonawanda detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for North Tonawanda: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in North Tonawanda: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of North Tonawanda: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in North Tonawanda: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
North Tonawanda 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.