Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 50/100
D+
Median home value$202,200
Buffalo $226,100
Median rent$969/mo
Buffalo $1,057/mo
Cost-burdened households28%
Buffalo 28%
Lancaster
Erie County10,113 residentsLancaster Central School District
63
C+
Suburbgrade score
4th of 13 Buffalo suburbs. Strongest on schools, held back by housing & affordability.
63
Buffalo median 59
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Lancaster yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 63 is computed on the other six categories, re-normalised to 100%. Answer the poll →
What living here is actually like
Written summary in preparation This page is waiting for its written summary, and for a person to check it. Until then it is excluded from search engines.
What Lancaster is like to live in, by category
Bars show Lancaster against Buffalo. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 80/100
B+
Within-state proficiency70th pct
Buffalo median 33rd pct
Student–teacher ratio12.0
Buffalo median 11.0
Graduation rate97%
Buffalo median 87%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 57/100
C−
Housing cost index90
Buffalo 100
Eff. tax rate2.16%
Buffalo 1.72%
Local sales tax8.54%
Buffalo median 8.54%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 70/100
B−
Mean commute18.9 min
Buffalo 21.5 min
Under 30 minutes74%
Buffalo 75%
Transit stops / sq mi1.0
Buffalo median 2.0 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 55/100
C−
Restaurants & cafés33
Buffalo median 49 · within 2 miles
Groceries2
Buffalo median 6 · within 2 miles
Parks40
Buffalo median 40 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 67/100
C+
Median household income$66,148
Buffalo $72,237
Unemployment1.3%
Buffalo 5.1%
Professional occupations37%
Buffalo 43%
Residents
12% of the score · inactive
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No responses yet. Residents is excluded from the score until eight people answer.
Ask the people who live here
Twelve yes/no questions, one tap each. No dataset knows whether the yards are kept or whether anyone talks to their neighbours. Answers feed the Residents grade, which needs eight responses before it counts.
Nobody has answered for Lancaster yet. If you live here, you can be the first.
Is it quiet at night?
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Do you feel safe walking after dark?
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Can you walk to a grocery store?
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Is it good for young children?
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Are yards and streets well kept?
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Tap either button to answer — no account neededAll twelve questions →
Better than Lancaster on housing & affordability
Lancaster's weakest grade is D+. Five suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbHousingOverall
West Seneca6 mi from LancasterC 59 C Tonawanda Town12 mi from LancasterC− 64 C+ Eggertsville8 mi from LancasterC− 71 B− Kenmore11 mi from LancasterC− 65 C+ Depew2 mi from LancasterC− 60 C Median home value: ACS 2020–24 · Ownership rate: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Lancaster
Is Lancaster, NY a good place to live?
Lancaster scores 63 out of 100, 4th of 13 Buffalo suburbs. It is strongest on schools and weakest on housing & affordability. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Lancaster expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades C−. The median home is $202,200, 11% below the Buffalo median, and the effective property tax rate is 2.16%. $969/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Lancaster?
Schools grade B+. The districts serving Lancaster sit at the 70th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 97% graduation rate and a 12.0 student–teacher ratio. Lancaster is served by Lancaster Central School District. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Lancaster?
The mean commute is 18.9 min, with 74% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 7.0% working from home. Transit density is 1.0 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Lancaster?
Within two miles there are 2 groceries, 33 restaurants and cafés and 40 parks, which grades C− on amenities.
Are the homes in Lancaster old or new?
The median home in Lancaster was built in 1952 — older than the Buffalo median of 1957. That is a median, so a town can be half post-war and half new-build and still land there. 67% of homes are houses rather than flats.
Every answer is built from the figures on this page, with their sources and as-of dates on the methodology page.