More people are out of work in Buffalo (6.0%) than in 74% of U.S. towns
Commuters spend 27 minutes getting to work on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. Buffalo grades B for jobs and income and B− for walkability. About one in five stay in Buffalo for work; outside it, Minneapolis is the main destination (6%, 33 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Buffalo apart
What’s behind Buffalo’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Buffalo is better than 57% of U.S. towns, #177 of 273 in Minnesota. Job access by car holds Buffalo’s grade up (ahead of 71% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Buffalo could be anywhere from C+ to A−.
Out of Buffalo to work: where people go
Where Buffalo clocks in
6% of workers
3% of workersLines 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.
Who leaves, who stays, who comes in
On a workday 6,677 residents head out to work, 1,752 work right here, and 5,322 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.84 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
What Buffalo’s employers do
7,074 jobs are based in Buffalo.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Buffalo, 2013 → 2023: 6,585 → 7,074. 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.
Buffalo’s commute takes about 27 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Buffalo workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 7,068 commuters (the 13% who work from home are left out). Across Minnesota: 84% drive alone, 2% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Miles to work from Buffalo
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.
In Buffalo, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Buffalo is more walkable than 55% of U.S. towns, #174 of 273 in Minnesota. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 5.7% across Minnesota.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 8,085 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 3.9% of Buffalo households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Buffalo’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Buffalo is 1,153rd among 1,999 U.S. towns of 12,000 to 23,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 11 | Victoria MN | 12,447 | $196K | 2.1% | 1.8% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 29 | Hugo MN | 17,167 | $116K | 2.8% | 1.6% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,151 | Glenvar Heights FL | 19,395 | $72K | 12.1% | 4.9% | 5% | B |
| 1,152 | Altoona IA | 22,796 | $86K | 8.3% | 7.5% | 10% | B |
| 1,153 | Buffalo MN | 16,878 | $89K | 8.9% | 6.0% | 21% | B |
| 1,154 | Claiborne LA | 13,308 | $72K | 11.3% | 3.1% | 4% | B |
| 1,155 | Hickory Hills IL | 14,101 | $77K | 11.4% | 6.1% | 4% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 1,999 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Buffalo, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
Work in the towns next to Buffalo
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Buffalo workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo | – | B | B− | 27 min | $88,820 |
| Buffalo Township | under 2% | A | C− | 30 min | $118,194 |
| Chatham Township | under 2% | A+ | B | 28 min | $158,958 |
| Rockford Township | under 2% | A | C+ | 35 min | $93,378 |
| Maple Lake Township | under 2% | — | — | 26 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Maple Lake Township: not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Buffalo’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
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.
Jobs and commuting in Buffalo: questions
What is the median household income in Buffalo?
$88,820 (±$5,708) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Buffalo?
8.9%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Buffalo?
27 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Buffalo work?
21% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Minneapolis (6%, 33 mi), Plymouth (5%, 22 mi), Maple Grove (3%, 20 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Buffalo walkable?
Buffalo is more walkable than 55% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 8.0 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Buffalo without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 4% 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.
More of Buffalo
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. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.