What is the cost of living in Buffalo-Cheektowaga?

Buffalo-Cheektowaga has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 95.8, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 81.0, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,343/month.

What is the median salary in Buffalo-Cheektowaga?

The median salary in Buffalo-Cheektowaga is $74,613 annually (mean: $78,929). Top occupations include Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Retail Salespersons, Fast Food and Counter Workers.

How safe is Buffalo-Cheektowaga?

The violent crime rate in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga area is 380 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 1661 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Buffalo-Cheektowaga?

The state of NY has 4,812 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 11.8:1. Charter schools make up 7.1% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Buffalo-Cheektowaga?

Infant center-based childcare in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga area averages $13,869 per year. Preschool averages $11,679/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Buffalo-Cheektowaga a good place to relocate?

Buffalo-Cheektowaga has a Life Score of 45.8/100 (D), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This is a middle-of-the-pack score, where the composite lands for most US metros; look at individual dimensions to see the real trade-offs.

Where does Buffalo-Cheektowaga sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Buffalo-Cheektowaga ranks #189 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY

BEA RPP 95.8 sits mid-pack (#239 of 387 metros); cost is not the extreme signal here.

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

95.8
Cost index (US=100): $1,343
2BR rent / mo: $74,613
Median salary: 51.6
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Buffalo-Cheektowaga ranks #189 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (51.6/100), with its strongest marks in schools and job market.

#189
of 387 US metros · Above median: 19,867,248
metro-area population: 380
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 4,812
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: climate (14/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Buffalo-Cheektowaga ranks #189 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 95.8 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,343/mo, median salary $74,613; LiveAbility Score 51.6/100, strongest in schools and job market.

Signature: BEA RPP 95.8 sits mid-pack (#239 of 387 metros); cost is not the extreme signal here.

Purchasing power sits mid-band: BEA RPP 95.8 between corpus terciles 91.5 and 97.0. Median 2BR rent $1,343/mo.

LiveAbility 51.6/100 keeps Buffalo-Cheektowaga in the middle third (#189 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga area is 524,180.

Buffalo-Cheektowaga vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

52 Top 50% higher than 50% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

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 and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Buffalo-Cheektowaga housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Buffalo-Cheektowaga MSA; housing RPP 81.0 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,343/mo.

Studio

$1,105

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,139

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,343

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,640

/month

4 Bedroom

$1,869

/month

Buffalo-Cheektowaga wages and employment

Buffalo-Cheektowaga posts 524,180 total employment with median salary $74,613.

Median Salary

$74,613

Mean Salary

$78,929

Total Employment

524,180

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Home Health and Personal Care Aides	$36,570
Retail Salespersons	$34,910
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$34,560
Registered Nurses	$99,060
General and Operations Managers	$103,280

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Buffalo-Cheektowaga area from NCES.

Schools

4,812

Enrollment

2,505,133

Student:Teacher

11.8:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Buffalo-Cheektowaga area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$13,869

per year

Toddler (Center)

$12,979

per year

Preschool (Center)

$11,679

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Buffalo-Cheektowaga's composite Life Score is 45.8/100 (D), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

38/100

Below average

Wages

86/100

Elite

Rent

45/100

Average

Crime

39/100

Below average

Schools

2/100

Bottom decile

Childcare

21/100

Weak

Environment

61/100

Above average

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Buffalo-Cheektowaga ranks #189 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 51.6/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Schools (98/100)

Schools

98
Job market

86
Air quality

52
Housing

45
Safety

39
Cost of living

38
Low hazard

23
Climate

14

What this shows Buffalo-Cheektowaga's strongest dimensions are schools and job market; its weakest among scored dims is climate at 14/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Buffalo-Cheektowaga to

Davenport-Moline-Rock Island Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek Decatur Decatur Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach Denver-Aurora-Centennial

Metros near Buffalo-Cheektowaga on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Buffalo-Cheektowaga on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Buffalo-Cheektowaga cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Buffalo-Cheektowaga wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Buffalo-Cheektowaga?

Buffalo-Cheektowaga runs a $74,613 median salary at a 95.8 cost index, ranking #189 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Buffalo-Cheektowaga's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Buffalo-Cheektowaga head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Buffalo-Cheektowaga
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.