What it's like to live in Lackawanna
Lackawanna is a small city in New York with rent below the national average, home prices that remain within reach, commutes that run shorter than most cities, and schools with smaller class sizes than the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.
The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Lackawanna deals with household incomes below the national average, air quality that falls short of national benchmarks, college degree attainment below the national average, and a poverty rate above the national average.
The good
- Rent below the national average
- Affordable home prices
- Short commutes
- Low student-teacher ratio
The not so good
- Below-average household incomes
- Air quality concerns
- Low college degree attainment
- High poverty rate
- Cold winters
- Heavy snowfall — 95" per year
How Lackawanna compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Lackawanna
Based on Lackawanna's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$1,744
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $34,880 a year
- 48% of Lackawanna renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$28,140
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $14,070
- Homes cost 2.7× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of living▼ 38% below US
$872/mo median rent
Rent here is genuinely low, with median rent around $872 a month. Factoring in local incomes, the value gets even better. Money stretches further here than in most of the country. Home prices here are genuinely accessible, with a median around $140,700. That kind of affordability is rare in today's market.
Median home value $140,700 · 48% of renters cost-burdened
Job market
4.0% county unemployment
Unemployment in Erie County is 4.0%, close to the national average of 4.3%. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.
Erie County (county-wide)
Safety▼ 19% below US
266 violent crimes per 100k
Crime runs about typical for a city this size. Some neighborhoods are safer than others, and one overall rate doesn't tell the whole story, so a neighborhood-level look matters more than the headline stat.
Property crime 1887/100k · Lackawanna Police Department · 2025 data
Getting around▼ 23% below US
20 min average commute
Commutes are reasonable, averaging 20 minutes. Nothing heroic, and there's still time left over for a life after work. 8 in 10 workers drive to work; 8% work from home.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers are comfortable, with highs around 78°F, and winters are cold, with lows around 21°F and snow a regular occurrence. Rainfall is regular throughout the year.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Education & workforce▼ 44% below US
20% bachelor's degree or higher
College degree attainment runs below average at 20%. That tends to reflect a more trade and working-class economy, which can be great or limiting depending on the industry.
Schools
5 public schools inside the boundary
There are 5 public schools inside the boundary and 3 private schools. The student-to-teacher ratio is 10:1, well below the national average of 16:1. Smaller class sizes are generally a positive sign for a district.
Parks & recreation
The nearest national park or historic site is Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site (6 miles away).
Bottom line
Lackawanna's strongest points are rent below the national average and home prices that remain within reach; the main tradeoffs are household incomes below the national average and air quality that falls short of national benchmarks. A year of median rent ($872/mo) equals 20% of the median household income here, about the same as the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit people watching their budget and people who want short commutes.
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