What is the Best Neighborhoods USA ranking for Forest?
Forest is ranked #14 of 52 eligible neighborhoods in Buffalo; #186 of 418 eligible neighborhoods in NY; and #6,600 of 14,967 eligible neighborhoods in the United States.
Neighborhood Profile
Forest
Buffalo, NY | Erie County
Scored premium profile
Best Neighborhoods USA Index
52.8
Stability and Strength
40.5
Value Opportunity
50.8
Momentum
75.2
Score note: Rankings show denominators so users always see the size of the eligible cohort.
| Context | Value |
|---|---|
| Location | Buffalo, NY |
| County | Erie County |
| National rank | #6,600 of 14,967 |
| State rank | #186 of 418 |
| City rank | #14 of 52 |
| County rank | #16 of 54 |
| National percentile | 55.9 |
| National band | MIDDLE_50_PERCENT |
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Housing and local fundamentals
| Housing and market metrics | Value |
|---|---|
| Current Zillow home value | $285,604 |
| Year-over-year home value change | 4.9% |
| Month-over-month home value change | 0.06% |
| Home value to income ratio | 4.34 |
| Median household income | $65,871 |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 45.4% |
| Civilian unemployment rate | 4.9% |
| Homeownership rate | 36.9% |
| Housing vacancy rate | 16.0% |
| Rent burden 30% or higher | 51.1% |
How to read this profile
- Ranks are always shown with denominators.
- Momentum reflects both year-over-year and month-over-month housing change.
- Stability and Strength and Value Opportunity are governed composite scores.
- Identity composition is descriptive intelligence and is not a scoring component.
Questions and Answers
Questions About Living in Forest
Is Forest one of the best neighborhoods in Buffalo?
Forest has a Best Neighborhoods USA Index of 52.8 and a city ranking of #14 of 52 eligible neighborhoods in Buffalo.
How much are homes worth in Forest?
The current Zillow Home Value Index for Forest is approximately $285,604.
Are home values rising or falling in Forest?
Zillow neighborhood values changed 4.9% year over year and 0.06% month over month.
What is the Neighborhood Momentum Score for Forest?
Forest has a Neighborhood Momentum Score of 75.2. Momentum is 70% year-over-year and 30% month-over-month Zillow housing change.
What is the median household income in Forest?
The NDS-derived neighborhood median household income is approximately $65,871.
How affordable is Forest relative to household income?
The current Zillow home-value-to-household-income ratio is 4.34. Price-to-income affordability is a major Value Opportunity input.
Is Forest primarily homeowners or renters?
The NDS-derived homeownership rate is approximately 36.9%.
What is the unemployment rate in Forest?
The NDS-derived civilian unemployment rate is approximately 4.9%.
How educated are residents of Forest?
Approximately 45.4% of residents age 25 and older are estimated to have a bachelor's degree or higher.
What share of renters in Forest face high rent burden?
Approximately 51.1% of the applicable renter-household universe is estimated to spend 30% or more of household income on gross rent.
How does Best Neighborhoods USA score Forest?
The overall index combines 40% Stability and Strength, 35% Value Opportunity, and 25% Momentum. Race, ethnicity, and identity composition are not scoring components.
Governed ranking context
How this neighborhood ranks
HMDA Mortgage Intelligence
Neighborhood Mortgage Market
Modeled neighborhood-level mortgage activity allocated from governed HMDA tract data using Zillow neighborhood geometry. These neighborhood values are nonadditive and do not enter the Best Neighborhoods USA Index.
Activity year2024
Estimated applications107
Estimated originations64
Home-purchase applications47
Origination rate60.1%
Home-purchase share43.8%
Average application loan$220,352
Total application loan amount$23,485,394
National application rankNot rankable
Geometry coverage83.6%
Recent trend: Applications -21.6% YoY; originations -27.7% YoY
Mortgage methodology
HMDA is natively reported at tract and other lender-reporting geographies, not Zillow neighborhood or ZIP geography. This module uses the certified NDS HMDA-to-Zillow tract-vintage crosswalk and area-weighted allocation. Rankings require governed geometry coverage. Applicant demographics are excluded. Neighborhood values may overlap and must not be summed to reconstruct ZIP or national totals.