While big cities like Buffalo offer culture, cuisine, and charisma, they also deliver terrible traffic, towering expenses, and a taxing quality of life.
With that in mind, we wanted to uncover the best suburbs around Buffalo. These burbs have all of the benefits of being near Buffalo without actually having to be in the city.
Of course, not all suburbs of Buffalo are created equally, which is precisely why we set out to find the best ones. Using Saturday Night Science, we delve into the factors that matter most, from commutes and housing costs to community vibes, to help you uncover the perfect suburban spots in the Greater Buffalo area.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 best suburbs to live around Buffalo for 2024:
What’s the best suburb of Buffalo? Williamsville ranks as the best suburb of Buffalo for 2024 based on the most recent Census and FBI data. If you happen to be a resident of Williamsville, you’re probably not too surprised to find it on the top our list.
We’ll tell you what makes each of these 10 Buffalo ‘burbs better than the rest–but first, a bit about our methodology.
Feel free to check out some more reading about New York:
The 10 Best Buffalo Suburbs To Live For 2024
/10
Population: 5,411
Median Income: $93,730
Unemployment Rate: 1.7%
Poverty Rate: 6.4%
More on Williamsville: Data | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Williamsville is always mentioned as one of the best suburbs in the Buffalo area. We’ll tell you the good about “Awesome Williamsville.”
Everyone here is rich; families average $93,730 a year, which is the 3rd highest in the Buffalo region. And only 1.66% are out of work. Homes average more than $364,883 each.
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Population: 9,749
Median Income: $93,942
Unemployment Rate: 2.5%
Poverty Rate: 5.3%
More on Hamburg: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Hamburg is the second best ‘burb we looked at near Buffalo for 2024.
It ranks 2nd for incomes in the area and only 0.95% of residents lack insurance, good for 3rd best.
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Population: 5,996
Median Income: $95,216
Unemployment Rate: 3.9%
Poverty Rate: 2.1%
More on East Aurora: Data | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Here in East Aurora, it’s really safe, and residents are just about as rich as you’ll see in the Buffalo metro area.
The bad side? Schools are more crowded, and the cost of living puts a large part of the city out of reach for most families.
But price is based on demand and a lot of people want to live in East Aurora.
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Population: 10,160
Median Income: $61,646
Unemployment Rate: 1.2%
Poverty Rate: 5.5%
More on Lancaster: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Lancaster ranks as the 4th best suburb of Buffalo for 2024.
You won’t find many better places to raise your kids in the region than in Lancaster and the schools are some of the best around.
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Population: 15,155
Median Income: $74,571
Unemployment Rate: 5.3%
Poverty Rate: 8.1%
More on Kenmore: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Coming in as the fifth best is Kenmore.
Kenmore gets kudos for having the 12th most expensive homes in the Buffalo area, where houses sell for an average of $210,511. However, the cost of living here is among the highest in the area.
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Orchard Park is proud of its 6th place finish on this list. And here’s why.
Most residents have great jobs and the unemployment rate sits at 4.3%.
According to online reports, Orchard Park is quickly becoming one of the more affluent suburbs in the Buffalo area, meaning you need to get in soon.
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Population: 30,479
Median Income: $66,836
Unemployment Rate: 5.6%
Poverty Rate: 10.8%
More on North Tonawanda: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
The 7th best suburb on our list goes to North Tonawanda.
North Tonawanda schools are some of the best in the region, and crime is really low. The cost of living makes it a lot more desirable for many families, especially first-time home buyers.
And, it’s only 10.8 miles to downtown, which is a good thing.
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Population: 15,141
Median Income: $68,856
Unemployment Rate: 4.9%
Poverty Rate: 8.3%
More on Depew: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Depew is growing quickly, and for a good reason. Crime is far below average, and most residents are gainfully employed. Even the cost of living is reasonable.
A solid 2.7% of people lack insurance, good for 11th in the area.
9. Lewiston, NY
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Population: 2,541
Median Income: $65,563
Unemployment Rate: 4.1%
Poverty Rate: 6.6%
More on Lewiston: Real Estate
Is ‘Everything Better In Lewiston?’
Almost.
It placed 9th on our list thanks to the fact that it’s really expensive to live here, but the schools are great, so you get what you pay for in that regard.
10. Alden, NY
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Population: 2,606
Median Income: $71,985
Unemployment Rate: 6.5%
Poverty Rate: 5.9%
More on Alden: Real Estate
And rounding out the top ten for 2024 is Alden.
This city is far above average in every category, and the best part? It’s far more affordable than the other cities listed above. So, you get a big bang for your buck here.
Methodology: How We Determined The Best Suburbs Around Buffalo for 2024
Figuring out the best suburbs around Buffalo was simple. We used Saturday Night Science to find things people like about living in the suburbs and then locate the suburbs with those things.
We analyzed the newest American Community Survey data for 2018-2022 to research each suburb. We decided upon the following criteria:
- Low unemployment rate
- High median household incomes
- Population density (lots of things to do)
- High home values
- A lot of college-educated people
- Low poverty
- High rate of insured families
We defined a suburb as being within 30 miles of Buffalo.
Additionally, we limited the analysis to places that have over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 21 suburbs to evaluate around Buffalo.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 21 in each category, where 1 was the “best.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality-of-life index.
Finally, we crowned the city with the best quality of life index, the “Best Suburb near Buffalo.” We’re lookin’ at you, Williamsville.
This result may differ from our state-wide data as we did not include commute times and crime for this analysis to allow for a more extensive selection of suburbs.
We updated the data for 2024. This report is our tenth time ranking the best Buffalo suburbs. Skip to the end to see the list of all the suburbs ranked from best to worst.
Summary: Welcome to the Best Buffalo ‘Burbs of 2024
We said it once, and we’ll say it again–life in the big city isn’t for everyone. At least not all the time.
The best suburbs of Buffalo are .
So if you’re craving the amenities of a larger city like Buffalo but don’t want to deal with the drawbacks, one of these suburbs might be for you.
For more New York reading, check out:
- Best Places To Retire In New York
- Richest Cities In New York
- Safest Places In New York According To Science
Table: Best Buffalo Suburbs
| Rank | City | Population | Median Income | Average Home Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Williamsville, NY | 5,411 | $93,730 | $364,883 |
| 2 | Hamburg, NY | 9,749 | $93,942 | $260,812 |
| 3 | East Aurora, NY | 5,996 | $95,216 | $385,855 |
| 4 | Lancaster, NY | 10,160 | $61,646 | $200,380 |
| 5 | Kenmore, NY | 15,155 | $74,571 | $210,511 |
| 6 | Orchard Park, NY | 3,084 | $91,705 | $388,038 |
| 7 | North Tonawanda, NY | 30,479 | $66,836 | $244,331 |
| 8 | Depew, NY | 15,141 | $68,856 | $231,208 |
| 9 | Lewiston, NY | 2,541 | $65,563 | $301,142 |
| 10 | Alden, NY | 2,606 | $71,985 | $218,757 |
| 11 | Sloan, NY | 3,762 | $65,717 | $126,165 |
| 12 | Angola, NY | 2,688 | $71,809 | $187,911 |
| 13 | Attica, NY | 2,135 | $61,311 | $153,495 |
| 14 | Silver Creek, NY | 2,623 | $67,396 | $173,819 |
| 15 | Akron, NY | 2,911 | $48,289 | $271,187 |
| 16 | Blasdell, NY | 2,551 | $58,611 | $172,461 |
| 17 | Lockport, NY | 20,808 | $56,053 | $228,847 |
| 18 | Springville, NY | 4,223 | $55,305 | $227,575 |
| 19 | Niagara Falls, NY | 48,502 | $45,932 | $148,929 |
| 20 | Lackawanna, NY | 19,762 | $46,869 | $138,652 |
| 21 | Youngstown, NY | 60,048 | $34,295 | $52,826 |