We’re New Yorkers, of course we think NYC is the best place to live in the state! However, a ranking from U.S. News & World Report begs to differ. According to their Best Places to Live in New York 2024-2025, Buffalo is the best place to live in New York.
The study examined quality of life (spanning crime rates, well-being, commuter index, quality, availability to health care, etc.) and value (measuring how comfortable one can afford to live within their means), among other factors, to reach an overall score. Though we most definitely disagree with the ranking, Buffalo outranked NYC in overall score by 0.7 points (Buffalo achieving a 6.5 and NYC getting a 5.8).
The disparity mainly stems from NYC’s low value score of 3.7–a 0.6 drop from last year’s value score of 4.3. Though we’re well familiar with the fact that NYC certainly isn’t known for its affordability, so this score doesn’t come as a surprise. In order to buy a home in NYC you need to have a salary of $186.1K and NYC is the second most unaffordable city for buying a starter home. Unfortunately, times are just as bleak for renters, as NYC rents rise 7x faster than wages.
In terms of quality of life, however, NYC outranked Buffalo with scores of 6.8 and 6.7, respectively. This fact certainly helped NYC to rank 5th overall for the best place to live in New York.
With Buffalo taking home the title of the Best Place to Live in New York–a title it stole from Albany, who was crowned #1 last year–it’s no reason why a separate study Zillow found that the upstate city, famous for epic snowstorms and proximity to Niagara Falls, is home to the hottest housing market for 2025. Plus, Buffalo was also recently ranked as the 22nd cheapest place to retire in the U.S.
Rounding out the top five in the ranking is as follows:
1. Buffalo
2. Syracuse
3. Rochester
4. Albany
5. New York City