The 10 Cheapest Buffalo, NY Neighborhoods To Live In For 2022


We used science and data to determine which neighborhoods in Buffalo are the cheapest of the cheap.

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Everything else equal, I think we can all agree that living in a cheaper place is better than living in a more expensive place.

I'd much rather pay $500/mo in rent than $1,000. And I'd rather pay $2 for coffee than $5.

And while every neighbhorhood in Buffalo might be more expensive than living in rural New York, there are certain neighborhoods that are definitely cheaper.

So what exactly are those Buffalo neighborhoods where your dollar goes a little further -- you can get that one bedroom instead of the studio?

Instead of relying on public opinion and speculation, we wanted to get the facts straight and find out which neighborhoods in Buffalo are the cheapest.

What's the cheapest neighborhood to live in Buffalo for 2022? According to the most recent census data, First Ward looks to be the cheaptest Buffalo neighborhood to live in.

At this point we should make it clear that you do get what you pay for -- some of these neighborhoods might not be the best places to live in Buffalo. You could be sacrificing location or crime rates in return for more space and cheaper groceries.

Read on to see how we determined the places around Buffalo that deserve a little bragging rights or maybe you're interested in the worst neighborhoods in Buffalo.

Once you're done, you can look at the bottom of the story for a complete chart of every neighborhood we looked at from cheapest to most expensive.

For more New York reading, check out:

The 10 Cheapest Neighborhoods To Live In Buffalo For 2022

1. First Ward

Overall SnackAbility

2
/10

Population: 1,641
Cost Of Living Index: 74 (cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.1 (5th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.021 (27th cheapest)
More on First Ward: Homes For Sale | Data

2. South Park

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 6,430
Cost Of Living Index: 80 (18th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.4 (13th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.011 (5th cheapest)
More on South Park: Homes For Sale | Data

3. Grider

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 5,425
Cost Of Living Index: 75 (2nd cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 0.7 (cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.025 (36th cheapest)
More on Grider: Homes For Sale | Data

4. Tifft

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 1,327
Cost Of Living Index: 78 (10th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.3 (10th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.02 (23rd cheapest)
More on Tifft: Homes For Sale | Data

5. Babcock

Overall SnackAbility

2
/10

Population: 3,160
Cost Of Living Index: 76 (4th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 0.9 (2nd cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.026 (40th cheapest)
More on Babcock: Homes For Sale | Data

6. Kensington

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 10,344
Cost Of Living Index: 81 (22nd cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.3 (7th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.018 (19th cheapest)
More on Kensington: Homes For Sale | Data

7. Kaisertown

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 5,166
Cost Of Living Index: 82 (26th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.6 (19th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.011 (3rd cheapest)
More on Kaisertown: Homes For Sale | Data

8. Lovejoy

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 7,787
Cost Of Living Index: 77 (6th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.4 (14th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.021 (28th cheapest)
More on Lovejoy: Homes For Sale | Data

9. Kenfield

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 7,067
Cost Of Living Index: 78 (10th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.5 (16th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.02 (24th cheapest)
More on Kenfield: Homes For Sale | Data

10. University

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 5,400
Cost Of Living Index: 81 (22nd cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.6 (2cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.014 (9th cheapest)
More on University: Homes For Sale | Data

Methodology: How We Determined The Cheapest Buffalo Hoods In 2022

In order to rank the cheapest places to live in Buffalo, we had to determine what criteria defines "cheap".

Using census and extrapolated BLS data, we arrived at the following set of criteria:

  • Overall Cost Of Living
  • Rent To Income Ratio
  • Median Home Value To Income Ratio

We then ranked each neighborhood with scores from 1 to 50 in each category, where 1 was the cheapest.

Next, we averaged the rankings for each neighborhood to create a cheap neighborhood index.

And finally, we crowned the neighborhood with the lowest cheapest neighborhood index the "Cheapest City Neighborhood In Buffalo." We're lookin' at you, First Ward.

Read on below to learn more about what it's like to live in the cheapest places Buffalo. Or skip to the end to see the list of all the neighborhoods in the city from cheapest to most expensive.

Summary: Lowest Cost Places To Live In Buffalo

If you're measuring the neighborhoods in Buffalo where prices are low and it's cheap to live, this is an accurate list.

As we mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Buffalo aren't all cheap. Allen takes the title of the most expensive neighborhood to live in Buffalo.

We ranked the neighborhoods from cheapest to most expensive in the chart below.

For more New York reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Cheapest Neighborhoods To Live In Buffalo For 2022

Rank Neighborhood Cost Of Living Index
1 First Ward 74
2 South Park 80
3 Grider 75
4 Tifft 78
5 Babcock 76
6 Kensington 81
7 Kaisertown 82
8 Lovejoy 77
9 Kenfield 78
10 University 81
11 South Abbott 84
12 Broadway-Fillmore 78
13 Squaw Island 76
14 Emerson 75
15 Black Rock 80
16 Cazenovia Park 82
17 Emslie 78
18 Genesee Moselle 77
19 Valley 78
20 South Ellicott 80
21 Mlk Park 79
22 Abbott Mckinley 86
23 Kingsley 79
24 Willert Park 79
25 Forest 84
26 North Delaware 89
27 Triangle 81
28 Grant Ferry 82
29 Military 82
30 Riverside Park 78
31 Starin Central 96
32 North Park 93
33 Hamlin Park 85
34 Parkside 98
35 Schiller Park 81
36 Medical Park 84
37 Lasalle 84
38 Lakeview 85
39 Delaware-West Ferry 96
40 Masten Park 82
41 Albright 104
42 Waterfront 116
43 Delaware Park 96
44 Seneca 85
45 Bryant 92
46 Leroy 83
47 Park Meadow 107
48 Front Park 87
49 Columbus 85
50 Allen 101

Editor's Note: We updated this article for 2022. This is our third time ranking the cheapest neighborhoods to live in Buffalo.

About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.

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