The Empire State has a few weaknesses. 3 cities in central and western New York are among the "50 Worst American Cities to Live In."

24/7 Wall St. looked at the 551 U.S. cities with 65,000 people or more. "Based on a range of variables, including crime rates, employment growth, access to restaurants and attractions, educational attainment, and housing affordability, America’s 50 worst cities to live were revealed."

#22 Buffalo - "Buffalo is the second largest New York city, and the most economically and socially distressed."

The average household income is only $32,509 a year. 1 in 3 are living below the poverty line with little employment opportunities. Buffalo's unemployment rate is the highest in the state at 7.1%. There may be some good news though. 1,400 jobs are coming in 2019 after Panasonic invested millions of dollars in a solar cell manufacturing plant.

Let's not forget all that Lake Effect snow Buffalo sees most winters with storms rolling off Lake Erie.

John Normile/Getty Images
John Normile/Getty Images
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#31 Syracuse - "Syracuse has been in decline for decades."

Over 30% live in poverty, double the average state poverty rate of 15.4%. The job market is to blame with the unemployment at 6.6%, well above the state average of 5.3%.

Homes are pretty cheap in Syracuse. The average is worth only $93,100, a lot less than the state average of $293,500.

At least they have Jim Boeheim and the Orange.

Big East Basketball Tournament - Syracuse v Pittsburgh
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#34 Rochester - "In addition to low incomes, serious financial hardship is common in the western New York city."

The average household income is $31,946 a year. Serious financial hardship is common in Rochester with 1 in 3 residents living in poverty, a higher poverty rate than in all but 14 other U.S. cities.

Property values are very low with more than half of the homes worth less than $77,000, one of the lowest in the country. To make matters worse, residents are faced with high property taxes; 3.3%, far higher than the 1.2% average homeowners pay.

We're not sure what Rochester has other than the Strong National Museum of Play.

stand of toys
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Where's the worst place to live in the U.S.? Detroit, Michigan topped the list.

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