PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY

41.0
Life Score / 100
C-
Grade (curved)
#313
of 387 metros
19%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census

The verdict

Buffalo ranks #313 of 387 US metros, ahead of 19% - carried by its wages (86/100) and held back most by schools (2/100).

86
strongest: Wages
45
then: Rent
2
weakest: Schools
7
weighted dimensions

Where Buffalo sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

41 19th percentile higher than 19% of 387 US metros

25–30: 1 US metros (0%). Below this entry. 30–35: 16 US metros (4%). Below this entry. 35–40: 46 US metros (12%). Below this entry. 40–45: 53 US metros (14%). This entry sits in this band. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). Above this entry. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). Above this entry. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). Above this entry. 60–65: 40 US metros (10%). Above this entry. 65–70: 12 US metros (3%). Above this entry. 70–75: 3 US metros (1%). Above this entry. This metro 25 75 every US metro, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainCompare composite of BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, EPA data · May 2026

How the score is built

Reading the Buffalo Life Score

Buffalo's composite score of 41.0 out of 100, a grade of C-, places the metro at rank #313 of 387, ahead of 19% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Wages (86/100) and Rent (45/100), which pull the composite upward, while Schools (2/100) and Environment (13/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 95.8 (rent-RPP 81.0). BLS median salary $74,613, 524,180 jobs (Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Retail Salespersons, Fast Food and Counter Workers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,343/mo (studio $1,105).

FBI UCR (NY): 380 violent, 1661 property/100K. NCES: 11.8:1 ratio, 7.1% charter. DOL infant childcare $13,869/yr. EPA: 122 Superfund sites (NY). Ranks #310-#316 below.

Dimension detail

How Buffalo scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 38/100 (20%)
Wages 86/100 (20%)
Rent 45/100 (15%)
Safety 39/100 (15%)
Schools 2/100 (10%)
Childcare 21/100 (10%)
Environment 13/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

95.8
Cost Index (RPP)
$74,613
Avg Median Salary
$1,343
2BR Fair Market Rent
380
Violent Crime/100K (NY)
11.8:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$13,869
Infant Childcare/yr (NY)
122
Superfund Sites (NY)
524,180
Total Employment

Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level where metro-specific data is unavailable.

Compare Buffalo With...

Buffalo vs Utica Compare → Buffalo vs Watertown Compare → Buffalo vs Binghamton Compare → Buffalo vs Wildwood Compare → Buffalo vs Waterloo Compare → Buffalo vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Buffalo outranks 19% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#310 Stockton-Lodi, CA 41.3 C-
#311 Carson City, NV 41.4 C-
#312 Bend, OR 41.4 C-
#313 Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY 41.0 C-
#314 Eugene-Springfield, OR 40.9 C-
#315 Lancaster, PA 40.8 C-
#316 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR 40.8 C-

NY Metro Scores

Utica-Rome, NY B 52.5 Watertown-Fort Drum, NY B 52.5 Binghamton, NY C+ 46.9 Syracuse, NY C+ 46.9 Rochester, NY C 42.3 Elmira, NY C- 39.9

Using Buffalo's Life Score

Buffalo is a regional baseline, not a neighborhood reading, use it to shortlist, then dig into the dimensions that matter to you.

  • Its strongest dimension is wages (86/100) and its weakest is schools (2/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Buffalo head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Buffalo lands on the national rankings for cost, safety, pay and more. Browse rankings

Scores summarize federal data at the metro level; crime, schools and cost vary widely within a single metro.

Explore more

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Buffalo's biggest strengths? ▼
Buffalo's strongest dimensions are Wages (86/100), Rent (45/100), Safety (39/100). Wages is top-tier nationally.
What are Buffalo's weakest areas? ▼
Buffalo's lowest-scoring dimensions are Schools (2/100), Environment (13/100), Childcare (21/100). Schools weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Buffalo compared to the national average? ▼
Buffalo's Regional Price Parity is 95.8 (4.2% less than national); rent RPP 81.0.
What is the average salary in Buffalo? ▼
Buffalo median salary: $74,613, 524,180 jobs. Top: Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Retail Salespersons, Fast Food and Counter Workers.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Buffalo's 41.0/100 blends 7 federal-data dimensions - see our methodology page for the weighting.

Research Guides

Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.

Related

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

All federal data sources used on this page
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - multi-dimension demographic + housing + income aggregates for cross-area comparison. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • BEA Regional Economic Accounts - GDP, personal income, employment by state and metro. bea.gov/data/regional
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) - wage estimates for comparable-area indexing. bls.gov/oes
  • FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) - crime statistics for safety-score component. fbi.gov/ucr
  • NCES Common Core of Data - public-school quality indicators by area. nces.ed.gov/ccd
  • EPA AirNow + Air Quality System (AQS) - air-quality measurements by area. epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data
  • HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR) - county and metro housing-cost indicators. huduser.gov/datasets/fmr

Every figure on PlainCompare is loaded directly from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OEWS, NCES, DOL, EPA, and the Census Bureau, no number is typed in by an editor. This metro's Life Score is computed directly from the 7 federal sources cited above. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026.