Buffalo, New York
Cost of living, housing, income, commute, climate, and safety — compiled for relocators researching Buffalo.
Key figures
Each metric shows how Buffalo compares with the U.S. baseline (ACS/BLS nationals where available; catalog-city averages for crime, climate, and commute). Income, housing, population, and crime are for the incorporated city (city limits), not the broader metro/MSA — unemployment is county-level (BLS LAUS).
- Population
- 276,397City limits · not metro/MSA
- Median household income
- $48,050Incorporated place (ACS)39% below U.S. avgU.S. $78,538
- Housing cost index
- 62ACS home+rent vs U.S. (100 = avg)38% below U.S. avgU.S. 100
- Median home value
- $152,300City limits (ACS)50% below U.S. avgU.S. $303,400
- Median rent
- $989City limits (ACS)27% below U.S. avgU.S. $1,348
- Unemployment
- 4.1%County LAUS · not city-onlyNear U.S. avg (4.2 pts)U.S. 4.2 pts
- Avg commute
- 21 min16% below U.S. avgU.S. 25 min
- Walk Score
- 6851% above U.S. avgU.S. 45
- Violent crime rate
- 990.7annualized per 100k · citywide64% above U.S. avgU.S. 602.7
- Property crime rate
- 3245.4annualized per 100k · citywide5% above U.S. avgU.S. 3084.9
- Summer high
- 78°F9.0°F below U.S. avgU.S. 87°F
- Winter low
- 21°F13.0°F below U.S. avgU.S. 34°F
- Annual rainfall
- 40.7 in24% above U.S. avgU.S. 32.9 in
- Sunny days
- 19925% below U.S. avgU.S. 266
Compare Buffalo with another city
Buffalo, New York counts about 276,397 residents inside the city limits. Households here report a median income near $48,050; our housing-derived cost index is about 62 (among the more affordable large markets in this catalog on housing costs). Entry home prices around $152,300 still look attainable compared with coastal metros.
Snow-belt Upstate and transit-heavy downstate markets feel like different worlds. Pack for 78°F summer peaks; winter mornings often settle near 21°F. Commutes average near 21 minutes one-way, with walkability near 68/100. BLS LAUS puts recent unemployment around 4.1% for the surrounding county. FBI CDE violent-offense rates run comparatively high (~990.7 per 100k annualized), so block-by-block due diligence is especially important.
Buffalo is compact enough that a single wrong neighborhood choice is easy to feel day to day — visit at commute hour before signing. Figures on this page are merged from Census ACS, BLS LAUS, FBI Crime Data Explorer, and NOAA Climate Normals — use them to compare Buffalo with nearby alternatives before you relocate.
Nearby & similar cities
Continue researching with these internal links — each page is a full data profile.
Sources
- Census / ACS: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 5-year (Buffalo city, 1600000US3611000)
- BLS: BLS LAUS LAUCN360290000000003 (Erie County, May 2026)
- Crime: FBI CIUS Table 8 (2019) city offenses known to law enforcement — rates per 100k; CDE API unavailable at enrich time
- Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 Monthly Normals (USW00014733 BUFFALO)
Last updated 2026-07-28