Best PlacesWest Side Squires, Erie, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around West Side Squires, Erie, 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.
West Side Squires, Erie ranks 3,970th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in West Side Squires, Erie
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.
West Side Squires, Erie's strengths and weaknesses
Where West Side Squires, Erie ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- Short commute17.2 minutes each way, better than 92% of neighborhoods
- Heat safetyBetter than 87% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than 86% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 85% of neighborhoods
Where West Side Squires, Erie ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than only 3% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than only 12% of neighborhoods
- Household income$48,015 median, better than only 14% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in West Side Squires, Erie
A household needs to earn about $28,000 a year to comfortably buy the median West Side Squires, Erie home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $48,015, 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 West Side Squires, Erie's effective rate of 2.02%, 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 West Side Squires, Erie
West Side Squires, Erie 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 West Side Squires, Erie.
Who works in West Side Squires, Erie, and how
Work in West Side Squires, Erie centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 13%
Life in West Side Squires, Erie
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across West Side Squires, Erie.
What the weather is like in West Side Squires, Erie, month by month
West Side Squires, Erie sees roughly 77 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 38, with lows near 23. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38° | 30° | 23° |
| April | 59° | 48° | 38° |
| July | 84° | 74° | 65° |
| October | 67° | 56° | 48° |
Flying in and out of West Side Squires, Erie
The nearest airport, Erie International/Tom Ridge Field, is about 4 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Cleveland-Hopkins International, about 103 miles away.
The best schools in and around West Side Squires, Erie
Schools across West Side Squires, Erie average a C+, better than 71% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Grover Cleveland El SchC+ · 36% proficient
- Harding SchD+ · 23% proficient
- Perry El SchD · 19% proficient
Top middle schools
- Meadville MsC+ · 36% proficient
- Strong Vincent MsD · 23% proficient
Top high schools
- Northwest Pa Collegiate AcademyA+ · 85% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every West Side Squires, Erie school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
West Side Squires, Erie 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 West Side Squires, Erie against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in West Side Squires, Erie
Is West Side Squires, Erie a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, West Side Squires, Erie ranks 3,970th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on low disaster risk, short commutes, and heat safety, and lowest on a weak job market and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is West Side Squires, Erie expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $90,258. The overall cost of living runs about 23% below the national average. Set against a $48,015 median income, cost of living beats 26% of neighborhoods.
Is West Side Squires, Erie safe?
West Side Squires, Erie is safer than 19% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $587 per resident a year.
Compare West Side Squires, Erie with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to West Side Squires, Erie. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in West Side Squires, Erie 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.
West Side Squires, Erie detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for West Side Squires, Erie: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in West Side Squires, Erie: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of West Side Squires, Erie: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in West Side Squires, Erie: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
West Side Squires, Erie 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.