Original analysis of Census, FEMA, NY Department of Labor and NOAA data
Buffalo mold and water risk by ZIP code
In Buffalo, a damp basement usually starts with the age of the house. 59% of homes in the city's ZIP codes were built before 1940, when a foundation meant stone or unsealed block and nobody put a vapor barrier under the floor. Look up your ZIP below.
What we found
- The city is old; most suburbs aren't. 59% of homes in the 17 city ZIP codes predate 1940, against 14% in the 29 suburban and rural ones. 14222 (Elmwood Village) leads at 78%. Outside the city, the most prewar housing is in 14217 (Kenmore and Tonawanda (town), 39%), 14141 (Springville, 32%), 14218 (Lackawanna, 31%).
- Renters live in the oldest housing. In the ten oldest ZIPs, 60% of occupied homes are rented, against 27% in the ten newest. That's a lot of upper and lower flats sharing one old basement. Mold in a rental.
- Basement season starts in December. The airport averages 11.9 thaw days a year (2016-2025), and 83% of them fall between December and February; December has the most. The count has barely moved in 70 years: 12.1 a year over 1951-1980, with snowfall then averaging 96.3 inches against 92.3 over 2016-2025.
- Summer does the rest. 58 days a year with a dew point of 60°F or more, up from 52 in the 1991-2020 normals, nearly all of them June to September. July averages a 61.3°F dew point.
- The worst flood years were creek years. 1,136 of Erie County's 2,483 federal flood claims came in 1979 (723) and 1985 (413). 14221 (Williamsville and central Amherst) had 270 and 14219 (Blasdell) had 83. Lake Erie itself peaked at 574.51 feet (IGLD) in June 2019, 2.6 feet above its 1991-2020 average.
- Licensed contractors are easy to check. 24 active remediation and 21 active assessment contractor licenses list an Erie County address, and 4 businesses hold both. Another 13 licenses at county addresses show as expired, which is the case for looking a number up rather than trusting a logo on a van.
Every ZIP code
Sorted oldest first. Click a column heading to sort.
| ZIP | Area | Built before 1940 | Median year built | Rented | Homes | NFIP claims | 1979 + 1985 | Mold licenses (assess / remediate) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14222 | Elmwood Village | 78% | before 1940 | 60% | 7,466 | 4 | 1 | 1 / 0 |
| 14213 | Upper West Side (Grant-Ferry) | 75% | before 1940 | 61% | 11,699 | 4 | 2 | 0 / 0 |
| 14201 | Allentown and Lower West Side | 66% | before 1940 | 76% | 6,921 | 1 | 0 | 0 / 0 |
| 14203 | Downtown (south) and the First Ward | 66% | before 1940 | 97% | 1,689 | 2 | 1 | 3 / 0 |
| 14208 | Hamlin Park and Masten | 66% | before 1940 | 46% | 5,690 | 0 | 0 | 0 / 0 |
| 14209 | Delaware District and Linwood | 64% | before 1940 | 66% | 4,935 | 4 | 2 | 0 / 0 |
| 14211 | East Side (Genesee-Moselle, Schiller Park) | 61% | before 1940 | 55% | 11,531 | 16 | 8 | 0 / 0 |
| 14207 | Black Rock and Riverside | 60% | before 1940 | 65% | 11,681 | 6 | 2 | 1 / 0 |
| 14216 | North Buffalo (Hertel) | 60% | before 1940 | 54% | 12,838 | 21 | 8 | 0 / 0 |
| 14214 | University Heights and Parkside | 59% | before 1940 | 58% | 9,519 | 8 | 3 | 0 / 0 |
| 14212 | Broadway-Fillmore | 58% | before 1940 | 47% | 5,640 | 8 | 4 | 1 / 2 |
| 14210 | South Buffalo (Seneca-Cazenovia, the Valley) | 56% | before 1940 | 54% | 7,896 | 132 | 26 | 0 / 0 |
| 14206 | Kaisertown and Lovejoy | 55% | before 1940 | 39% | 10,551 | 47 | 24 | 0 / 1 |
| 14220 | South Buffalo (Cazenovia Park) | 54% | before 1940 | 29% | 11,502 | 99 | 63 | 0 / 0 |
| 14215 | East Side (Kensington-Bailey) | 52% | before 1940 | 50% | 18,809 | 13 | 8 | 0 / 0 |
| 14202 | Downtown Buffalo | 41% | 1954 | 78% | 2,492 | 30 | 24 | 1 / 1 |
| 14217 | Kenmore and Tonawanda (town) | 39% | 1947 | 34% | 11,093 | 6 | 3 | 0 / 1 |
| 14141 | Springville | 32% | 1964 | 26% | 3,603 | 16 | 2 | 1 / 0 |
| 14218 | Lackawanna | 31% | 1953 | 44% | 9,541 | 91 | 52 | 0 / 3 |
| 14204 | Larkinville and Hydraulics | 30% | 1973 | 74% | 5,470 | 4 | 2 | 1 / 0 |
| 14006 | Angola | 28% | 1955 | 10% | 5,026 | 95 | 27 | 0 / 0 |
| 14057 | Eden | 26% | 1960 | 11% | 3,219 | 5 | 1 | 0 / 0 |
| 14001 | Akron | 24% | 1976 | 20% | 4,554 | 10 | 2 | 0 / 0 |
| 14052 | East Aurora | 24% | 1960 | 14% | 7,836 | 22 | 4 | 0 / 0 |
| 14047 | Derby | 23% | 1970 | 20% | 2,641 | 18 | 5 | 0 / 0 |
| 14004 | Alden | 22% | 1965 | 15% | 4,249 | 25 | 8 | 0 / 0 |
| 14025 | Boston | 20% | 1967 | 12% | 1,557 | 12 | 1 | 0 / 0 |
| 14219 | Blasdell | 18% | 1962 | 26% | 5,552 | 187 | 83 | 0 / 0 |
| 14086 | Lancaster | 17% | 1981 | 17% | 15,544 | 37 | 10 | 1 / 4 |
| 14150 | City of Tonawanda and Tonawanda (west) | 16% | 1956 | 28% | 20,271 | 43 | 18 | 2 / 1 |
| 14226 | Amherst (Eggertsville, Snyder) | 14% | 1953 | 29% | 13,212 | 70 | 51 | 0 / 0 |
| 14075 | Hamburg | 13% | 1972 | 26% | 20,482 | 81 | 47 | 0 / 1 |
| 14223 | Tonawanda (town, east) | 13% | 1953 | 19% | 10,857 | 26 | 11 | 1 / 1 |
| 14043 | Depew | 11% | 1966 | 28% | 11,869 | 48 | 21 | 0 / 1 |
| 14224 | West Seneca | 11% | 1967 | 24% | 19,196 | 156 | 64 | 3 / 1 |
| 14032 | Clarence Center | 10% | 1996 | 5% | 3,991 | 16 | 1 | 0 / 0 |
| 14059 | Elma | 10% | 1972 | 13% | 3,648 | 12 | 4 | 1 / 0 |
| 14225 | Cheektowaga (north) | 10% | 1956 | 27% | 16,186 | 97 | 54 | 0 / 2 |
| 14031 | Clarence | 10% | 1984 | 19% | 4,597 | 6 | 4 | 0 / 0 |
| 14127 | Orchard Park | 9% | 1976 | 26% | 13,800 | 25 | 7 | 2 / 3 |
| 14221 | Williamsville and central Amherst | 8% | 1970 | 25% | 25,661 | 335 | 270 | 2 / 1 |
| 14068 | Getzville | 5% | 1984 | 32% | 3,574 | 8 | 4 | 0 / 0 |
| 14228 | Amherst (north) and UB North Campus | 4% | 1979 | 47% | 10,992 | 40 | 8 | 0 / 0 |
| 14072 | Grand Island | 4% | 1975 | 18% | 8,910 | 28 | 16 | 0 / 0 |
| 14227 | Cheektowaga (south) and Sloan | 3% | 1971 | 33% | 10,387 | 59 | 25 | 0 / 1 |
| 14051 | East Amherst | 2% | 1987 | 19% | 8,212 | 94 | 13 | 0 / 0 |
Census ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates by ZIP Code Tabulation Area (B25001, B25003, B25034, B25035); the Census tops out median year built at 1939, shown here as "before 1940". OpenFEMA NFIP redacted claims by reported ZIP, all years. Active NY mold contractor licenses by the ZIP of the business address, pulled October 29, 2026.
Thaw days per year since 1950
Lake Erie at Buffalo: highest monthly mean each year (feet above 570 ft IGLD)
Federal flood insurance claims per year, Erie County
Federal disaster declarations, Erie County
| Incident began | Event | Type |
|---|---|---|
| December 23, 2022 | Severe Winter Storm | Emergency |
| December 23, 2022 | Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Major disaster |
| November 18, 2022 | Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Emergency |
| October 31, 2019 | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, And Flooding | Major disaster |
| November 17, 2014 | Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, And Flooding | Major disaster |
| October 27, 2012 | Hurricane Sandy | Emergency |
| August 8, 2009 | Severe Storms And Flooding | Major disaster |
| October 12, 2006 | Severe Storms And Flooding | Major disaster |
| October 12, 2006 | Lake Effect Snowstorm | Emergency |
| August 29, 2005 | Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Emergency |
| May 13, 2004 | Severe Storms And Flooding | Major disaster |
| December 24, 2001 | Severe Winter Storm | Major disaster |
| December 24, 2001 | Snow | Emergency |
| November 19, 2000 | Snow | Emergency |
OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries: storms, floods, snow and ice.
Questions about the data
Which Buffalo ZIP codes have the oldest houses?
By share of homes built before 1940 (Census ACS 2020-2024): 14222 Elmwood Village (78%), 14213 Upper West Side (Grant-Ferry) (75%), 14201 Allentown and Lower West Side (66%), 14203 Downtown (south) and the First Ward (66%), 14208 Hamlin Park and Masten (66%).
How many licensed mold contractors are in Erie County?
As of October 29, 2026, the New York Department of Labor lists 24 active mold remediation contractor licenses and 21 active mold assessment contractor licenses with an address in the 46 Erie County ZIP codes in this table. 4 businesses hold both. Companies based elsewhere can work here too.
Where does Erie County flood?
Mostly along creeks, not the lake. Of 2,483 federal flood insurance claims on record, 1,136 came in 1979 and 1985. The most claims in those two years were in 14221 (Williamsville and central Amherst, 270), 14219 (Blasdell, 83), 14224 (West Seneca, 64). Most basement water in Buffalo is snowmelt, seepage and plumbing, which flood insurance mostly doesn't see.