Most of Buffalo City commutes out: there are 0.1 jobs for every working resident
There are 53 jobs in Buffalo City, and 561 of its residents work somewhere. Jobs and income earn Buffalo City C; getting around on foot earns it C−. Only 2% work in Buffalo City; the top destination outside it is Winona (23%, 15 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Buffalo City
Buffalo City is a place people come home to
There are 53 jobs based in Buffalo City, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Buffalo City has about 500 people in it, 50% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
A lot of Buffalo City workers cross into Minnesota
37% of Buffalo City workers work outside Wisconsin, the Census survey finds. In the commute data, Winona (23%), Wabasha (3%) and Goodview (2%) are among the top workplaces. The commute map ↓
Buffalo City workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 33 minutes each way, against 22 across Wisconsin. Over a year that’s about 253 hours of commuting, 84 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 561 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Buffalo City’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty and job access, Buffalo City is better than 26% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds Buffalo City’s grade up (8.2%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 13% of U.S. towns).
Unemployment (2.0%) is left out: Buffalo City’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Buffalo City could be anywhere from D to B−.
Buffalo City quiets down on a workday
On a workday 552 residents head out to work, 9 work right here, and 44 people come in from elsewhere.
About 500 people are in Buffalo City on a workday afternoon, 50% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
Where Buffalo City’s working residents head each day
Where Buffalo City clocks in
23% of workers
5% 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.
From Buffalo City, about 33 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Buffalo City workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 393 commuters (the 6% who work from home are left out). Across Wisconsin: 86% 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.
What Buffalo City’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Buffalo City, 2014 → 2024: 43 → 53. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Buffalo City’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How many miles Buffalo City commutes
About 23% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Driving is how Buffalo City gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Buffalo City is more walkable than 16% of U.S. towns. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 4.8% across Wisconsin.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 420 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). 2.0% of Buffalo City households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Buffalo City’s commuters take a bus or train.
1,897th of 3,133: where Buffalo City ranks among U.S. towns of 700 to 1,400
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | 1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | Nashotah WI | 1,298 | $148K | 1.1% | 0.6% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 28 | Maple Bluff WI | 1,305 | $199K | 3.0% | 1.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 67 | Kaukauna WI | 1,295 | $122K | 2.0% | 1.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,895 | Pelahatchie MS | 1,324 | $56K | 15.0% | 4.0% | 7% | C |
| 1,896 | Oakland NE | 1,337 | $69K | 10.9% | 0.0% | 18% | C |
| 1,897 | Buffalo City WI | 1,009 | $61K | 8.2% | 2.0% | 2% | C |
| 1,898 | Center Hill FL | 1,081 | $68K | 11.0% | 4.7% | 1% | C |
| 1,899 | Washington Township PA | 1,236 | $64K | 10.9% | 3.3% | <1% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 3,133 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 1% | 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 City, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
Around Buffalo City: the bordering towns
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Buffalo City workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo City | – | C | C− | 33 min | $60,865 |
| Belvidere | under 2% | — | — | 34 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Belvidere: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Buffalo City’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 2024, 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 City: questions
What is the median household income in Buffalo City?
$60,865 (±$11,042) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Buffalo City?
8.2%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Buffalo City?
33 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Buffalo City work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Winona (23%, 15 mi), Cochrane (6%, 1 mi), La Crosse (5%, 42 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Buffalo City walkable?
Buffalo City is more walkable than 16% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 6.3 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Buffalo City 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 City, from the people who make the trip.
More of Buffalo City
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.