BuffaloMN
A town of 16,878, settled in 1856. 49% more nonprofits per person than the typical Minnesota town.
Is Buffalo a good place to live?
Buffalo is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades A overall, 64th among Minnesota's 271 graded towns, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is safety: it reports less crime per resident than 86% of U.S. towns. It also does better than most on schools: its public schools beat 81% of Minnesota towns on state tests and graduation. A typical home there costs about $381K, 3.8 years of the Minneapolis metro’s $100K median household income. Only 50 of Minnesota’s 572 towns score higher on civic life. 21% of working residents work locally in Buffalo, against 9.7% in Minnesota’s towns and 8% across U.S. towns.
What makes Buffalo stand out
Where Buffalo beats most towns.
Community nonprofits per 1,000 residents
Violent crime per 1,000 residents
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Northwinds Elementary | K–5 | 419 |
| Tatanka Elementary STEM School | K–5 | 393 |
| Parkside Elementary | PK–5 | 348 |
How Buffalo grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Minnesota), ordered by how far Buffalo is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Buffalo: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Buffalo, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Buffalo.
Buffalo sees little violent crime and gets more snow than most of the country, though not than most of Minnesota.
For safety, Buffalo earns an A
Violent crime is rare: 9 reported in 2025, 0.5 per 1,000 residents.
The property crime rate in Buffalo is 3.5 per 1,000 residents.
| Buffalo | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.5 per 1,000 residents | 8.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.5 per 1,000 residents | 1.1 | 1.6 |
Violent crime per 1,000 residents
Property crime per 1,000 residents
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
For schools, Buffalo earns an A−
Its public schools are run by the Buffalo-Hanover-Montrose Schools. Three of its 18 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo Community MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,160 | B |
| Buffalo Senior HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,681 | B |
| Northwinds ElementaryTop results in townGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 419 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MN on state tests and graduation
Residents of Buffalo are healthier than 74% of U.S. towns
Buffalo beats the Minnesota average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 19% of Buffalo adults binge drink.
| Buffalo | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 16% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 30% | 36% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 30% | 33% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 75% | 75% | 79% |
| What stands out | Buffalo | MN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 6.3% | 8.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Low risk in Buffalo, with inland flooding at the top
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 69% of U.S. communities. Since 1983, 40 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Buffalo.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
In Buffalo, expect four seasons and pleasant summers
The Buffalo 2ne weather station records that 40 inches of snow fall in a normal winter: more than most of the country, but less than 85% of Minnesota places with climate records.
Buffalo has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Buffalo’s July high is 82°F.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Buffalo has 0.8 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
About one in 5 of Buffalo’s working residents works in town. Since 2013, Buffalo has added 489 jobs, to 7,074 in 2023. The top destinations are Minneapolis (6%), Plymouth (5%) and Maple Grove (3%).
| Buffalo | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 8.9% | 7% | 9.6% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
An age mix much like Minnesota’s
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Minnesota average. Buffalo has grown 4.3% since 2020, to 16,878 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 32% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 39% across Minnesota.
| Buffalo | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 24% | 23% | 22% |
| Median age | 38.6 years | 39.9 years | 40.5 years |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.1 points. Across Minnesota, 49.9% of residents are women. Median age: women 38.5, men 38.6.
| Buffalo | MN | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 13.8% | 12.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.3% | 10.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.4% | 8.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.8% | 13% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.1% | 13.5% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 15.1% | 11.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.2% | 12.9% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.9% | 10.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.4% | 7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.2% | 6.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 27.9% | 23.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 22.1% | 19.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 12.7% | 11.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 18.5% | 25.6% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 13.5% | 13.8% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
For cost of living, Buffalo earns a B−
The typical Buffalo home is worth about $381,000, up 1.5% in a year, 9% above the Minnesota typical home.
| Buffalo | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 74% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,182 a month | $1,199 a month | $1,185 a month |
Typical home value
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
| Buffalo | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.5% | 4.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. West Pulaski Park | — | 14 |
| 2. Sturges Park | — | 11 |
| 3. Mills-Sturges Park | — | 9 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Everything we know about Buffalo
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Buffalo; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Buffalo residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Minnesota.
About Buffalo
Township in Minnesota, United States
Buffalo Township is a township in Wright County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,883 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 29 sq mi
- Elevation
- 1,030 ft
Buffalo’s neighbors
4 towns share a border with Buffalo.
| Town | MN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo | #64 | A | B− | A | A− | B+ |
| Buffalo Township | — | — | C+ | — | A− | A− |
| Chatham Township | — | — | C | — | A− | A− |
| Rockford Township | #107 | A− | B− | — | A− | A− |
| Maple Lake Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Buffalo Township and Chatham Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Buffalo Township, Chatham Township and Rockford Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Maple Lake Township isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Buffalo with a neighbor →
Questions about Buffalo
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Buffalo, MN a good place to live?
By most measures, yes. Buffalo grades A overall, better than 92% of U.S. towns and #64 of 271 in Minnesota. It grades B+ for health, A for safety and A− for schools.
Is Buffalo, MN expensive?
Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.