Best PlacesUpper Falls, Rochester, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Upper Falls, Rochester, 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.
Upper Falls, Rochester ranks 5,624th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods 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 Upper Falls, Rochester
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.
Upper Falls, Rochester's strengths and weaknesses
Where Upper Falls, Rochester ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than 92% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
- Short commute19.6 minutes each way, better than 82% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 79% of neighborhoods
Where Upper Falls, Rochester ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
- Household income$18,788 median, better than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Upper Falls, Rochester
A household needs to earn about $24,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Upper Falls, Rochester home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $18,788, 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 Upper Falls, Rochester's effective rate of 2.47%, 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 2 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Upper Falls, Rochester
Upper Falls, Rochester runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Upper Falls, Rochester.
Who works in Upper Falls, Rochester, and how
Work in Upper Falls, Rochester centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 67%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 20%
Life in Upper Falls, Rochester
Upper Falls, Rochester has more restaurants and bars per resident than 70% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of Upper Falls, Rochester and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Upper Falls, Rochester, month by month
Upper Falls, Rochester sees roughly 70 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 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 | 59° | 47° | 36° |
| July | 85° | 73° | 62° |
| October | 66° | 54° | 44° |
Flying in and out of Upper Falls, Rochester
The nearest airport, Frederick Douglass/Greater Rochester International, is about 5 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Pittsburgh International, about 229 miles away.
The best schools in and around Upper Falls, Rochester
Schools across Upper Falls, Rochester average a C−, better than 22% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Dr Walter Cooper AcademyD+ · 21% proficient
- School 22-lincoln SchoolD− · 14% proficient
- School 9-dr Martin Luther King JrF · 6% proficient
Top middle schools
- East Lower SchoolF · 6% proficient
Top high schools
- Edison Career And Technology High SchoolB · 48% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Upper Falls, Rochester school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Upper Falls, Rochester 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 Upper Falls, Rochester against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Upper Falls, Rochester
Is Upper Falls, Rochester a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Upper Falls, Rochester ranks 5,624th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on low disaster risk, cell coverage, and clean air, and lowest on property taxes and education levels. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Upper Falls, Rochester expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $76,270. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $18,788 median income, cost of living beats 6% of neighborhoods.
Is Upper Falls, Rochester safe?
Upper Falls, Rochester is safer than 8% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $912 per resident a year.
Compare Upper Falls, Rochester with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Upper Falls, Rochester. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Upper Falls, Rochester 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.
Upper Falls, Rochester detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Upper Falls, Rochester: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Upper Falls, Rochester: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Upper Falls, Rochester: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Upper Falls, Rochester: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Upper Falls, Rochester 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.