The 10 Best Neighborhoods In Rochester, NY For 2024


The best Rochester neighborhoods are Park Avenue and Ellwanger-Barry for 2024 based on Saturday Night Science.

Best Neighborhoods In Rochester
Source: Flickr User | CC BY 2.0

What’s the best part of Rochester?

It could be where everyone knows their neighbor. Or it could be where home prices are the highest, meaning it’s where everyone wants to live.

Instead of relying on public opinion and speculation, we wanted to get the facts straight and find out which neighborhoods in Rochester are the best based on Saturday Night Science.

Whether you live in the sticks or in an apartment building downtown, you want a little pocket that you can call home. And each neighborhood offers different perks and benefits.

Smaller neighborhoods usually have obvious benefits — less crime, a slower pace of life, and a lower cost of living. But not all Rochester neighborhoods are created equal. Some are better than others. But which ones?

If you’re thinking of moving to New York and Rochester is on the top of your list, check out the best neighborhoods for 2024.


Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table


The Best Neighborhoods In Rochester For 2024

  1. Park Avenue
  2. Ellwanger-Barry
  3. Cobbs Hill
  4. Browncroft
  5. Culver-Winton
  6. East Avenue
  7. Homestead Heights
  8. Corn Hill
  9. Swillburg
  10. Central Business District

So what’s the best neighborhood to live in Rochester for 2024? According to the most recent census data, Park Avenue looks to be the best Rochester neighborhood to live in.

Read on to see how we determined the places around Rochester that deserve a little bragging rights, or maybe you’re interested in the worst neighborhoods in Rochester.

For more New York reading, check out:

The 10 Best Neighborhoods To Live In Rochester

Park Avenue Rochester, NY

Source: Flickr User JHughesthing | CC BY-SA 2.0

Population: 6,372
Median Home Value: $261,650 (best)
Median Income: $62,473 (Fifth best)
More on Park Avenue: Data | Real Estate

Population: 4,276
Median Home Value: $164,000 (Sixth best)
Median Income: $63,772 (Third best)
More on Ellwanger-Barry: Data | Real Estate

Cobbs Hill Rochester, NY

Source: Wikipedia User | CC BY-SA 4.0

Population: 1,469
Median Home Value: $230,200 (Third best)
Median Income: $106,229 (best)
More on Cobbs Hill: Data | Real Estate

Browncroft Rochester, NY

Source: Wikipedia User | CC BY-SA 3.0

Population: 3,413
Median Home Value: $130,250 (13th best)
Median Income: $85,448 (Second best)
More on Browncroft: Data | Real Estate

Population: 7,013
Median Home Value: $114,312 (14th best)
Median Income: $62,846 (Fourth best)
More on Culver-Winton: Data | Real Estate

East Avenue Rochester, NY

Source: Wikipedia User | CC BY-SA 3.0

Population: 6,890
Median Home Value: $226,500 (Fourth best)
Median Income: $54,360 (Eighth best)
More on East Avenue: Data | Real Estate

Population: 3,495
Median Home Value: $72,300 (2best)
Median Income: $61,461 (Sixth best)
More on Homestead Heights: Data | Real Estate

Population: 2,395
Median Home Value: $206,300 (Fifth best)
Median Income: $39,924 (16th best)
More on Corn Hill: Data | Real Estate

Swillburg Rochester, NY

Source: Flickr User JHughesthing | CC BY 2.0

Population: 1,776
Median Home Value: $135,950 (12th best)
Median Income: $44,152 (14th best)
More on Swillburg: Data | Real Estate

Population: 5,015
Median Home Value: $245,350 (Second best)
Median Income: $53,569 (Ninth best)
More on Central Business District: Data | Real Estate

Methodology: How We Determined The Best Rochester, NY Neighborhoods In 2024

To rank the best neighborhoods in Rochester, we had to determine what criteria define “best” and then apply Saturday Night Science to it.

Using FBI crime, Census, and extrapolated BLS data, we arrived at the following set of criteria:

  • High incomes
  • Low unemployment rates
  • Low crime
  • High home prices
  • High population densities (A proxy for things to do)

We then ranked each neighborhood with scores from 1 to 32 in each category, where 1 was the best.

Next, we averaged the rankings for each neighborhood to create a best neighborhood index.

And finally, we crowned the neighborhood with the lowest best neighborhood index, the “Best City Neighborhood In Rochester.” We’re lookin’ at you, Park Avenue.

Read on below to learn more about what it’s like to live in the best places Rochester, New York has to offer. Or skip to the end to see the list of all the neighborhoods in the city, from best to worst.

We updated this article for 2024. This report is our tenth time ranking the best neighborhoods to live in Rochester.

Summary: Putting A Bow On Our Analysis Of The Best Neighborhoods In Rochester

If you’re measuring the neighborhoods in Rochester where crime is low and everyone wants to live, this is an accurate list.

The best neighborhoods in Rochester are Park Avenue, Ellwanger-Barry, Cobbs Hill, Browncroft, Culver-Winton, East Avenue, Homestead Heights, Corn Hill, Swillburg, and Central Business District.

As mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Rochester aren’t all good. Best takes the title of the worst neighborhood to live in Rochester.

The worst neighborhoods in Rochester are Best, Charles House, Upper Falls, Dutchtown, and South Marketview Heights.

We ranked the neighborhoods from best to worst in the chart below.

For more New York reading, check out:

Best Neighborhoods To Live In Rochester For 2024 Detailed Data

Rank Neighborhood Population Home Value Median Income
1 Park Avenue 6,372 $261,650 $62,473
2 Ellwanger-Barry 4,276 $164,000 $63,772
3 Cobbs Hill 1,469 $230,200 $106,229
4 Browncroft 3,413 $130,250 $85,448
5 Culver-Winton 7,013 $114,312 $62,846
6 East Avenue 6,890 $226,500 $54,360
7 Homestead Heights 3,495 $72,300 $61,461
8 Corn Hill 2,395 $206,300 $39,924
9 Swillburg 1,776 $135,950 $44,152
10 Central Business District 5,015 $245,350 $53,569
11 Strong 4,246 $153,350 $54,846
12 19th Ward 19,116 $81,181 $47,842
13 South Wedge 3,650 $146,540 $48,928
14 Charlotte 5,134 $102,383 $37,386
15 Northland-Lyceum 5,565 $91,180 $45,906
16 Maplewood 18,384 $76,412 $43,339
17 Atlantic-University 1,874 $137,933 $38,480
18 Beechwood 7,623 $64,670 $37,591
19 Pearl-Meigs-Monroe 3,322 $108,733 $35,344
20 Highland 5,403 $142,467 $44,419
21 North Marketview Heights 4,924 $39,200 $22,091
22 Lyell-Otis 8,670 $52,625 $30,686
23 Genesee-Jefferson 4,523 $43,871 $22,632
24 Mayor’s Heights 2,406 $102,625 $22,113
25 Plymouth-Exchange 3,471 $41,380 $19,068
26 Edgerton 7,542 $46,075 $22,720
27 Susan B Anthony 755 $147,750 $19,618
28 South Marketview Heights 3,378 $46,800 $20,220
29 Dutchtown 3,516 $49,100 $22,697
30 Upper Falls 6,300 $30,600 $20,382
31 Charles House 2,575 $55,550 $20,658
32 Best 514 $62,567 $18,122
About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.