Albany vs Buffalo vs Syracuse (New York, Rochester: crime, neighborhoods, school districts)
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Is there anything else you are looking for? Is there anything specific that you want to know about the areas? For instance, in terms of crime rate, poverty and income(median HH, average annual, etc), it goes Albany, Syracuse and Buffalo. In terms of overall COL, it will go Buffalo, Syracuse and Albany. City size: Buffalo, Syracuse and Albany(but does have Schenectady and Troy that are center cities in the metro), but metro size is Buffalo, Albany(Schenectady-Troy) and Syracuse. So, those are some things you may want to consider.
Last edited by ckhthankgod; 10-15-2016 at 08:33 PM..
In terms of suburbs, I don't think that there is too much difference, but this will depend on what you are measuring. Syracuse and Buffalo seem to have more walkable options in terms of suburban villages, but Albany while it doesn't have as many suburban villages, does have small cities like Cohoes, Watervliet and Rensselaer as options as well.
Things to do I would say would go to Buffalo due to its size, but the other 2 have their share of things going on in relation to their size.
Food may actually go to Syracuse due to getting some national buzz in recent years and the influx of refugees has brought a recent international flavor to the city. Buffalo does have its local foods/dishes, with Syracuse having a couple as well.
I will say that all 3 cities have their mix of neighborhoods and each have their "trendy"/popular neighborhoods as well. These neighborhoods come to mind, Buffalo: The Elmwood Village Association
I dare say that Syracuse may have the most active Downtown of the 3 cities due to districts such as Armory Square, Hanover Square and Clinton Square, with the latter being a popular location for festivals during the warmer months and for Winter Fest.
Also in terms of suburbs, Bethlehem and Niskayuna in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy area are 1 and 2 in terms of median household income between the 3 areas. Fayetteville-Manlius and Skaneateles in the Syracuse area are next and then Williamsville and Clarence in the Buffalo area. All are in between $80-100,000 in regards to median household income. There are quite a few in the $60-80,000 range between the 3 areas as well.
Their suburbs are all very nice for the most part. The biggest differentiation is the history of each respective metro. Buffalo used to be in the top 20 metro areas, and is still nimber 50. It has a dense core of almost a million people. That being said, people have been fleeing since 1970 (with the exception of the last 5 years). Syracuse has been slow and steady, never really gaining a ton or losing. To me, Syracuse feels half the size of Buffalo because it is less dense. Albany is the fastest growing of these and is generally considered the most affluent, and it is quite a bit larger than Syracuse.
It is interesting to note that the past couple of years, Buffalo and Albany have been leading the state in job growth, with Albany generally performing better. Syracuse has really fallen behind these cities. All in all, i would choose Buffalo any day because it has a richer history than the other two as well as some of the larger city amenities i enjoy. If size isn't an issue, then these three are tied.
Also in terms of suburbs, Bethlehem and Niskayuna in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy area are 1 and 2 in terms of median household income between the 3 areas. Fayetteville-Manlius and Skaneateles in the Syracuse area are next and then Williamsville and Clarence in the Buffalo area. All are in between $80-100,000 in regards to median household income. There are quite a few in the $60-80,000 range between the 3 areas as well.
As of right now, i think Buffalo is the only metro here to have 2 zip codes with MHI over 100,000 (east amherst and clarence center). Albany has a greater volume of high income suburbs, but i dont believe any break the 100,000 mark.
As of right now, i think Buffalo is the only metro here to have 2 zip codes with MHI over 100,000 (east amherst and clarence center). Albany has a greater volume of high income suburbs, but i dont believe any break the 100,000 mark.
Yes, I think you are right, as the 2 Albany area suburban school districts mentioned have median HH incomes in between $97-98,000. I'm not sure what zip codes in that area would have a median HH income over $100,000. I think in the Syracuse area, the 2 SD's mentioned are in the mid 80's to low 90's in MHHI and there may be a couple of zips that come close, but are in the 90k range. I'll see if there are others.
In terms of Upstate NY school districts, Pittsford outside of Rochester is the only SD with a median HH income over $100,000.
As for size, keep in mind that the Syracuse metro lost Cayuga County right before the 2010 census likely due to commuter interchange changes(the former New Venture/Magna plant used to get quite a few of it employees from the Auburn area). So, if it stayed, it would be higher up the metro population list(at about 740,000 instead of 662,000). It is the 82nd biggest metro currently. Central(Upstate) NY has about 1.2 million when including the Utica-Rome and Ithaca metro areas.
Albany has about 850,000 in the metro(58th currently), but other counties may have been included or people may view the Capital Region/District as one metro of about 1.1 million.
In terms of job growth, in very recent years Albany and Buffalo have grown and both are probably the 2 areas where there has been some degree of visible investment by the state. Meaning, there has been some visible signs of what the state planned to do actually occurring.
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