Cheektowaga, New York

Area Profile

76,056 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Cheektowaga, in Erie County.

62out of 100
Area Score
Top 38% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
OpportunityTop 47% of 4,199 cities measured58
Schools2,688th of 4,162 cities measured39
Growth2,692nd of 4,224 cities measured44
Housing affordabilityTop 24% of 4,218 cities measured75
Climate3,210th of 4,225 cities measured62
Physical resilienceTop 25% of 4,226 cities measured80
AccessTop 31% of 4,226 cities measured97
Economic stabilityTop 37% of 4,226 cities measured64
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.3% and median household income $68,613, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured. The unemployment rate is published for Erie County, NY, which contains Cheektowaga, rather than for Cheektowaga alone.

In the public schools here, 59% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 10.9 students for every teacher.

Rent takes 29% of renter income here, below the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 2.3 times what its owners earn.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
76,056
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$68,613
Top 47% nationally
Density
2,997/sq mi
25.4 sq mi of land
Median age
39.4
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
New York
Nearest major airport
BUF
2 mi · Buffalo Niagara Intl
Median home value
$185,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Erie County, NY, which contains Cheektowaga, is 4.3%, lower than in 51% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Erie County, NY, which contains Cheektowaga, grew 0.8% over the past year, to 449,152 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsErie County, NY’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$60,93029th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftErie County, NY’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$70,45046th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$2,1602024 ACS 5-Year$68,613Top 47%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,2982024 ACS 5-Year$36,961Top 40%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year10.1%Top 47%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.0 min2024 ACS 5-Year21.6 minTop 24%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year29.6%Top 31%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year76.3%47th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentErie County, NY’s figureJuly 2026449,152Top 19%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Erie County, NY’s figureJuly 2026−1.1%Bottom 39%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Erie County, NY’s figureJuly 2026+0.8%Top 22%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceErie County, NY’s figureJuly 2026469,55881st percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year84.0%Top 28%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageBuffalo-Cheektowaga, NY Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$66,480Bottom 39%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageBuffalo-Cheektowaga, NY Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$50,790Bottom 46%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.5%2024 ACS 5-Year1.5%88th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Erie County, NY’s figureJuly 2026+0.1%Bottom 41%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateErie County, NY’s figureJuly 20264.3%Top 49%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year11.4%66th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202469k59k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $68,613 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Home Health and Personal Care Aides18,090$36,570
Retail Salespersons15,160$34,910
Fast Food and Counter Workers14,170$34,560
Registered Nurses13,830$99,060
General and Operations Managers11,100$103,280
Cashiers10,590$33,850

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish a labor-market series for this place — true of a consolidated city-county, a city and county sharing one government, or a Puerto Rico municipio, regardless of population. This is the figure for Erie County, NY, which contains this city.

59% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 55% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 10.9 students for every full-time teacher across 12 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
12
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
10.9
across all schools here
Math proficiency
58.9%
Bottom 25% in New York
Reading proficiency
55.1%
Bottom 24% in New York
The 12 largest public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Union East Elementary SchoolCHEEKTOWAGA CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT96312.834%25%
Cheektowaga High SchoolCHEEKTOWAGA CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT68210.392%92%
Cheektowaga Middle SchoolCHEEKTOWAGA CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT67710.623%25%
Cleveland Hill Elementary SchoolCLEVELAND HILL UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT66110.553%51%
Maryvale High SchoolCHEEKTOWAGA-MARYVALE UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT66011.698%92%
Maryvale Primary SchoolCHEEKTOWAGA-MARYVALE UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT56812.6——
Maryvale Middle SchoolCHEEKTOWAGA-MARYVALE UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT51810.852%42%
Maryvale Intermediate SchoolCHEEKTOWAGA-MARYVALE UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT49012.043%40%
Cleveland Hill High SchoolCLEVELAND HILL UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT3989.798%92%
John F Kennedy Senior High SchoolCHEEKTOWAGA-SLOAN UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT35310.492%98%
Cleveland Hill Middle SchoolCLEVELAND HILL UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT3058.548%46%
John F Kennedy Middle SchoolCHEEKTOWAGA-SLOAN UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT2999.632%22%

62.6% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against New York’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 5% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 94.9, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY Metro Area is up 51% over five years, and up 4.4% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $4,513 a year in real estate taxes, about 2.43% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,402, some 33% above the $1,055 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,402 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $56,100 a year, about 82% of the median household income here of $68,613.

The typical renter household here spends 29% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,055 a month.

A median home at $185,500 costs 2.3 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $80,057, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
94.9

Prices here run about 5% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
28.7%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.3×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,402
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,055
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$185,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Cheektowaga’s median household income of $68,613, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY Metro Area’s figure202394.9Top 26%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+4.4%71st percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+50.8%81st percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+111.8%79th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.12024 ACS 5-Year2.3Top 44%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year71.1%40th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±8182024 ACS 5-Year35,32799th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,189Top 36%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,711Top 30%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,402Top 35%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$232024 ACS 5-Year$1,055Bottom 43%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$4,5422024 ACS 5-Year$185,50050th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1002024 ACS 5-Year$4,51387th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$3,5072024 ACS 5-Year$80,057Top 48%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.08%2024 ACS 5-Year2.43%97th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year28.7%Bottom 48%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±932024 ACS 5-Year12991st percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.4%55th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year3.5%30th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3762024 ACS 5-Year1,35996th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

44/ 100
Ranks 2,692 of 4,224 published city profiles

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Federal tax returns show Erie County, which contains Cheektowaga, lost about 0.4% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $60,930, below the $70,450 of households that moved out.

At 1.2 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities. The permit rate is published for Erie County, NY, which contains Cheektowaga, rather than for Cheektowaga alone.

Units permitted
1,183
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
1.2
Bottom 30% nationally
Year over year
+18%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
40.8%
units in 5+ unit buildings

People moving in and out

Net migration
−0.4%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
48%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$60,930
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$70,450
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Niagara County, NY 2,829 people · 15% of arrivals
  2. Queens County, NY 990 people · 5.3% of arrivals
  3. Monroe County, NY 789 people · 4.2% of arrivals
  4. Kings County, NY 597 people · 3.2% of arrivals
  5. Cattaraugus County, NY 527 people · 2.8% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Niagara County, NY 3,468 people · 16% of departures
  2. Monroe County, NY 750 people · 3.4% of departures
  3. Cattaraugus County, NY 586 people · 2.7% of departures
  4. Chautauqua County, NY 585 people · 2.7% of departures
  5. Genesee County, NY 418 people · 1.9% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Erie County, NY. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

The Census Bureau's Building Permits Survey lists only jurisdictions that issue their own permits, and Cheektowaga, NY is not one. This is the figure for Erie County, NY, which contains this city.

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 80°F and January a low of 19°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 40.7 inches, including 95.4 inches of snow.

Air quality measures a median index of 43, in the Good band, and one day a year passes 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station BUFFALO, 2.8 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.1"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year622024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals40.7"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals95.4"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals19°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals80°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year12024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year432024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals46°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
43
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
62
90th percentile index
Days above 100
1
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

80 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, cold wave and tornado, with inland flooding alone responsible for 72% of it. Cold wave and tornado are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 75% of measured US cities.

Inland floodingElevated
Heat waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: cold wave, winter weather, tornado, ice storm, lightning, earthquake, strong wind, hurricane, wildfire, landslide, coastal flooding, hail, drought, avalanche, tsunami, volcanic activity.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Erie County records 3.5 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 5.9 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 20.5 per 100,000 residents in Erie County.

Homicide
3.5
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
5.9
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
20.5
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
11.9
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Cheektowaga (Erie County) rather than Cheektowaga itself. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. Either no municipal department reports for this place — many smaller communities are policed by the county — or its department did not report every month of the year. Either way there is no figure to show. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Buffalo Niagara Intl at 2 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1.0%2024 ACS 5-Year88.0%Bottom 42%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle2 miTop 1%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 20%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year8.8%Bottom 43%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Buffalo Niagara IntlBUF2 mi8,829 ft
Frederick Douglass/Greater Rochester IntlROC56 mi8,001 ft
Erie Intl/Tom Ridge FldERI92 mi8,420 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
62
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Other cities in Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
BuffaloErie County276,85454Buffalo vs Cheektowaga
Tonawanda TownErie County56,80662Tonawanda Town vs Cheektowaga
Niagara FallsNiagara County47,98749Niagara Falls vs Cheektowaga
West SenecaErie County45,30366
North TonawandaNiagara County30,19858
LockportNiagara County20,61059
LackawannaErie County19,75358
KenmoreErie County15,04464
TonawandaErie County15,03061
DepewErie County15,00058
EggertsvilleErie County14,89468
LancasterErie County10,11363

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Cheektowaga side by side with a similar place.

Cheektowaga vs Tonawanda TownCheektowaga vs Cedar Rapids

Moving to Cheektowaga from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

ZIP codes in Cheektowaga

2 ZIP areas

Every ZIP area in Cheektowaga with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Cheektowaga closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
1422533,620$67,237$170,400—
1422720,621$68,928$208,80067