Grand Island and Clarence rank as the class of suburbia

Business First of Buffalo - 7:22 AM EDT Thursday

by G. Scott Thomas

Business First

If you're seeking the ideal home in suburbia, Grand Island and Clarence are the first places to look.

Grand Island provides the best quality of life of any inner suburb in Western New York, according to a new study by Business First. And Clarence holds first place among all outer suburbs.
The study used 20 statistical indicators to rate the quality of life in every city, town and village across the eight-county region. Those communities were split into five categories, based on size and geography, to produce the final standings.

Results for two of those categories -- inner suburbs and outer suburbs -- are being released Thursday. Inner suburbs are defined as communities within 12 air miles of downtown Buffalo, while outer suburbs are farther away from the city.

Full details for all five categories will be available in the summer edition of Western New York Life, a regional magazine published by Business First. It hits newsstands Friday.

Affluence has some impact on the rankings, which reward places whose residents have large incomes, big homes and college degrees. But high scores are also given for qualities not directly related to earning power, such as racial diversity, short commuting times and the availability of affordable housing.

The overall goal is to identify well-rounded communities -- places that are generally acknowledged to offer an excellent quality of life.

The following is a closer look at the categories being unveiled Thursday:

Inner suburbs

Grand Island has the most clearly defined boundary of any Western New York community, surrounded as it is by the Niagara River.

It also ranks first among all inner suburbs, thanks to its high income levels, strong educational system and ample supply of large houses. One-eighth of Grand Island's homes have at least nine rooms.

And there's the additional benefit of the town's unique setting in northwestern Erie County.

"There's a great sense of community here," says Brooke Anderson-Tompkins, the president of Anderson Funding Ltd., who has lived on the island for nine years. "As with much of Western New York, there's a feeling of being at home. But I think it's heightened because of the island setting. There's a feeling of separation."

Orchard Park is No. 2 on the list of inner suburbs. It has the group's lowest poverty rate and most impressive inventory of big homes.

Ranking third through fifth, respectively, are the region's largest suburb, Amherst-Williamsville (population: 116,500), Lancaster and Hamburg.

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Here are the top 10 inner suburbs in Western New York Life's rankings:

Outer suburbs

Clarence is the region's wealthiest community, and it also offers the best quality of life in any outer suburb.

The town's median household income was $68,000 in 2000, the last time the Census Bureau checked. (Median is the midpoint, with half of all households earning more money and half earning less.) Grand Island and Pendleton are the only other Western New York communities above $60,000, regardless of category.

A strong commitment to education and a wide array of upscale homes are positives in Clarence's favor. And Jeredith Nolan would add another factor, room to breathe, since Clarence has just 490 residents per square mile, compared to Buffalo's population density of 7,200.

"Looking out my back window and seeing nothing but trees, that's a great feeling," says Nolan, a financial services executive with MetLife and a Clarence resident since last November. "I grew up in Marilla, and I just love being able to see green space."

The slots immediately below Clarence in the standings are occupied by three suburbs southeast of Buffalo -- Elma, East Aurora and Wales. Fifth place belongs to Pendleton in Niagara County.

Here are the top 10 outer suburbs on Western New York Life's list: