Cheektowaga: Ranked Most Livable Small City In America

One Western New York town is getting some well-earned national recognition for being a great place to live.

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WKBW-TV reports that according to a study conducted by smartasset.com, Cheektowaga was named the 'most livable small city in America!'

According to Mapquest, Cheektowaga's name comes from the Iroquoian word Ji-ik-do-wa-gah, meaning the place of the crab apple tree. Cheektowaga has a large Polish-American community, about 39.9% of population is of Polish heritage. It is the second-largest suburb of Buffalo next to Amherst and is the site of the Buffalo Niagara International Airport, Villa Maria College and the Walden Galleria Mall.

The ranking took into consideration the following things:

Concentration of entertainment establishments, restaurants, and bars
Income
Home affordability/Housing costs
Healthcare establishments
Percentage of residents below the poverty line
Percentage of residents without health insuarance
Commute time

Specifically, Cheektowaga ranks 11th out of 287 small cities for home affordability, with a home value to household income ratio of 2.23. Additionally, Cheektowaga has the 31st-highest concentration of bars as a percentage of all establishments, at 0.8%. Cheektowaga also has the 33rd-lowest percentage in the study of residents without health insurance, at 3.7%. (smartasset.com)

The study looked at 287 cities across the county.

You can read the entire study here.