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Jobs & commute in Buffalo

Most of Buffalo commutes out: there are 0.0 jobs for every working resident

Hardly any stay in Buffalo for work; outside it, Chanute is the main destination (20%, 13 miles). 4 jobs are based in Buffalo for 114 working residents. For 0% of workers, the job is at home (Kansas 12%).

Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made

Day and night

The daily flow of workers through Buffalo

On a workday 114 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 4 people come in from elsewhere.

114live here, work elsewhere
0live and work here
4work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night210
Workday99
210live here− 110head out to work+ 4come in to work= 99on a workday

About 99 people are in Buffalo on a workday afternoon, 53% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.04jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.

The commute map

The towns that employ Buffalo’s residents

BuffaloNeodesha: 6 residents work here (5%)Fredonia: 17 residents work here (15%)Iola: 2 residents work here (2%)Chanute: 23 residents work here (20%)Independence: 3 residents work here (3%)Pittsburg: 3 residents work here (3%)Lawrence: 3 residents work here (3%)Wichita: 5 residents work here (4%)Overland Park: 4 residents work here (4%)Topeka: 5 residents work here (4%)Colfax TownshipNewark TownshipTioga TownshipChetopa TownshipChanuteFredoniaNeodeshaWichitaTopekaOverland ParkBuffalo
1
Chanute13 mi away
20%23
2
Fredonia14 mi away
15%17
3
Neodesha19.7 mi away
5%6
4
Wichita90.3 mi away
4%5
5
Topeka91.6 mi away
4%5
6
Overland Park98.1 mi away
4%4
7
Independence32.9 mi away
3%3
8
Pittsburg58.4 mi away
3%3
9
Lawrence89.5 mi away
3%3
10
Iola22.2 mi away
2%2
Everywhere elseother towns and states
38%43
The top trips

Where Buffalo clocks in

Lines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.

A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.

The jobs

Most jobs in Buffalo are in services

Jobs based in BuffaloJobs Buffalo residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms0%34%
Trade, transport & utilities0%13%
Services: health, schools, offices100%53%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less25%16%
$1,251–$3,333 a month50%28%
Over $3,333 a month25%56%

Who does it

29 or younger0%17%
30 to 5475%58%
55 and older25%25%
−75%

Jobs based in Buffalo, 2013 → 2023: 16 → 4. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.

Here is what they are, next to the jobs Buffalo’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Time on the road

Each way, about 24 minutes from Buffalo

A year of commuting
182 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.6 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Buffalo24 min
Kansas20 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
0%

of Buffalo workers work from home, vs 12% across Kansas. Their commute is the hallway.

About 0 in 10
How Buffalo gets to work
89%Drive alone
3%Carpool
2%Walk
6%Other

Share of the 102 commuters (the 0% who work from home are left out). Across Kansas: 85% drive alone, <1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.

From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.

How far

How far Buffalo’s workers travel

10 mi25 mi50 mi80 miChanute: 20% · 13 miFredonia: 15% · 14 miNeodesha: 5% · 19.7 miWichita: 4% · 90.3 miTopeka: 4% · 91.6 miOverland Park: 4% · 98.1 miIndependence: 3% · 32.9 miPittsburg: 3% · 58.4 miLawrence: 3% · 89.5 miIola: 2% · 22.2 miChanute 20%Fredonia 15%Neodesha 5%Wichita 4%Topeka 4%Buffalo
BuffaloTop destinations (size = commuters)
3%Under 10 mi3 residents
51%10–24 mi58 residents
9%25–50 mi10 residents
37%Over 50 mi42 residents

About 37% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.

Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.

Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

  • Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
  • Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.

How these figures and grades are made →

Jobs and commuting in Buffalo: questions

What is the median household income in Buffalo?

$68,750 (±$36,373) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,275 across Kansas and $80,734 nationally.

What is the poverty rate in Buffalo?

8.2%, against 11.3% across Kansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).

How long is the commute from Buffalo?

24 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Kansas and 26 nationally. 0% of workers work from home.

Where do people who live in Buffalo work?

0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chanute (20%, 13 mi), Fredonia (15%, 14 mi), Neodesha (5%, 20 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).

Can you get around Buffalo without a car?

0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Buffalo, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Ask neighbors
Beyond the commute

More of Buffalo

Buffalo home →

Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer.