14227 — Cheektowaga, New York

Area Profile

Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 14227. Its median home value runs 13% above Cheektowaga as a whole, which is why this ZIP carries a profile of its own.

67out of 100
Area Score
Top 21% of 3,113 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
OpportunityTop 45% of 3,116 ZIP areas measured56
SchoolsTop 23% of 3,047 ZIP areas measured71
Growth2,056th of 3,124 ZIP areas measured42
Housing affordabilityTop 21% of 3,112 ZIP areas measured77
Climate2,390th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured62
Physical resilienceTop 22% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured80
AccessTop 30% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured97
Economic stabilityTop 13% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured76
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.3% and median household income $68,928, putting employment conditions in the middle range of ZIP areas measured. The unemployment rate is published for Cheektowaga, NY, which contains 14227, rather than for 14227 alone.

In the public schools here, 64% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 10.0 students for every teacher.

Rent takes 28% 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
20,621
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$68,928
Bottom 45% nationally
Density
2,518/sq mi
8.2 sq mi of land
Median age
48.4
2024 ACS 5-Year
City
Cheektowaga
New York
Nearest major airport
BUF
4 mi · Buffalo Niagara Intl
Median home value
$208,800
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Cheektowaga, NY, which contains 14227, is 4.3%, lower than in 54% of the 3,127 measured US ZIP areas.

Employment across Cheektowaga, NY, which contains 14227, 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$60,93036th percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftErie County, NY’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$70,45053rd percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$5,2442024 ACS 5-Year$68,928Bottom 45%of 31,0492024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,9872024 ACS 5-Year$40,342Top 38%of 32,8222024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year6.6%Top 29%of 32,8462024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.2 min2024 ACS 5-Year21.0 minTop 16%of 32,8872024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year28.5%Top 37%of 33,1932024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year80.5%68th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentCheektowaga, NY’s figureJuly 2026449,152Top 10%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Cheektowaga, NY’s figureJuly 2026−1.1%Bottom 39%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Cheektowaga, NY’s figureJuly 2026+0.8%Top 21%of 3,127July 2026
Labor forceCheektowaga, NY’s figureJuly 2026469,55890th percentileof 3,127July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year85.9%Top 17%of 32,8832024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageBuffalo-Cheektowaga, NY Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$66,480Bottom 48%of 2,7602025 OEWS
Median annual wageBuffalo-Cheektowaga, NY Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$50,790Top 44%of 2,7602025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year0.8%77th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Cheektowaga, NY’s figureJuly 2026+0.1%Bottom 40%of 3,127July 2026
Unemployment rateCheektowaga, NY’s figureJuly 20264.3%Top 46%of 3,127July 2026
Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year9.7%50th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202469k62k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $68,928 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 labor-force data for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Cheektowaga, NY, the city containing this ZIP code.

64% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 63% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 10.0 students for every full-time teacher across 2 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
2
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
10.0
across all schools here
Math proficiency
64.5%
Top 36% in New York
Reading proficiency
62.9%
Top 35% in New York
All 2 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
John F Kennedy Senior High SchoolCHEEKTOWAGA-SLOAN UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT35310.492%98%
John F Kennedy Middle SchoolCHEEKTOWAGA-SLOAN UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT2999.632%22%

58.0% 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 $4,971 a year in real estate taxes, about 2.38% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,510, some 36% above the $1,109 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,510 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $60,400 a year, about 88% of the median household income here of $68,928.

The typical renter household here spends 28% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,109 a month.

A median home at $208,800 costs 2.3 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $89,344, 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
27.9%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.3×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,510
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,109
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$208,800
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against 14227’s median household income of $68,928, 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 35%of 2,7372023
Home price change (1 year)the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+4.4%73rd percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+50.8%78th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+111.8%76th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year2.3Top 35%of 29,2752024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year66.9%24th percentileof 32,7502024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±5162024 ACS 5-Year10,38784th percentileof 33,4602024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,280Bottom 49%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,840Top 44%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,510Top 49%of 3,031FY2026
Median gross rent ±$352024 ACS 5-Year$1,109Bottom 42%of 26,3962024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$7,3132024 ACS 5-Year$208,80047th percentileof 30,8122024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$2442024 ACS 5-Year$4,97188th percentileof 28,9352024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$6,7822024 ACS 5-Year$89,344Top 41%of 29,8022024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.14%2024 ACS 5-Year2.38%98th percentileof 24,0992024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year27.9%Top 48%of 26,2472024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±412024 ACS 5-Year3154th percentileof 33,7722024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.3%37th percentileof 32,9612024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year3.6%26th percentileof 32,7882024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2412024 ACS 5-Year40869th percentileof 33,7722024 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

42/ 100
Ranks 2,056 of 3,124 published ZIP 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.

At 1.2 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US ZIP areas. The permit rate is published for Cheektowaga, NY, which contains 14227, rather than for 14227 alone.

Units permitted
1,183
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
1.2
Bottom 27% 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 Building Permits Survey is not published for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Cheektowaga, NY, the city containing this ZIP code.

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.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station BUFFALO, 4.5 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 78% of measured US ZIP areas.

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. ZIP values are the land-area-weighted mean of the counties the ZIP Code Tabulation Area intersects. Expected annual loss is not allocated below county level. 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.

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 14227 (Erie County) rather than 14227 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. A ZIP area is not a jurisdiction, so no department reports for one. Cheektowaga carries the figure where its department reported a full year. 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 4 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year85.0%Bottom 30%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle4 miTop 5%of 3,127NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 21%of 3,127NASR current cycle
No internet access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year11.2%Bottom 33%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Buffalo Niagara IntlBUF4 mi8,829 ft
Frederick Douglass/Greater Rochester IntlROC57 mi8,001 ft
Erie Intl/Tom Ridge FldERI91 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
67
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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.

14227 vs Cheektowaga

How this ZIP area compares with Cheektowaga as a whole. Both figures come from the same ACS release, so the comparison is like for like — a gap here is a real difference between the two places, not two surveys disagreeing.

14227
Cheektowaga
Median household income: 14227 is the more favorable of the two.
Median household income
$68,928
vs
$68,613
Per capita income: 14227 is the more favorable of the two.
Per capita income
$40,342
vs
$36,961
Population density
2,518/sq mi
vs
2,997/sq mi
Median home value
$208,800
vs
$185,500
Median gross rent: Cheektowaga is the more favorable of the two.
Median gross rent
$1,109
vs
$1,055
Homeownership rate
66.9%
vs
71.1%
Bachelor's degree or higher: Cheektowaga is the more favorable of the two.
Bachelor's degree or higher
28.5%
vs
29.6%
Poverty rate: 14227 is the more favorable of the two.
Poverty rate
6.6%
vs
10.1%
Median age
48.4
vs
39.4

Some demographic statistics use Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, which approximate but do not exactly match USPS ZIP delivery geography. See the methodology for how AreaProfile maps between them.