Side-by-side metrics and state or size-class ranks use the same Census and FBI fields shown on this profile. Results stay in the URL so you can bookmark or share them.
Place dossier plate
SheetMN-BUFFALO-LAKE-MN · Buffalo Lake, MN 664 pop · income 30th pct
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Buffalo Lake
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Buffalo Lake on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Ozark Acres · lowest
32,422
Ozark Acres · lowest
32,422 median HH income
32.9% of the leader · rank #1
Buffalo Lake · this city
56,719
Buffalo Lake · this city
56,719 median HH income
57.5% of the leader · rank #2
Toledo · near
56,719
Toledo · near
56,719 median HH income
57.5% of the leader · rank #3
Hollyvilla · near
56,719
Hollyvilla · near
56,719 median HH income
57.5% of the leader · rank #4
Interlaken · near
56,719
Interlaken · near
56,719 median HH income
57.5% of the leader · rank #5
Walbridge · near
56,719
Walbridge · near
56,719 median HH income
57.5% of the leader · rank #6
Elysian · highest
98,571
Elysian · highest
98,571 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Buffalo Lake on ACS population and median household income
. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 664.
Nationally, Buffalo Lake sits in the 30th percentile for household income and the 99th percentile for safety among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
30th
percentile, household income
12th
percentile, home value
36th
percentile, median rent
99th
percentile, safety
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Buffalo Lake, MN
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 664 residents in Buffalo Lake, a small town within Minnesota. Median household income here is $56,719 per year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 7.9%. Typical homes in Buffalo Lake are valued around $106,000, and the median resident age is 41.2 years. 20.1% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 47.6% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 0 residential building permits were authorized in Buffalo Lake (No Permits), per Census BPS data. Buffalo Lake reports a comparatively low crime rate: the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program logs 0.0 total incidents per 100,000 residents here, below the national average (agency reporting is voluntary, so this measures reporting activity, not a definitive danger score).
Minnesota tracks close to the national cost-of-living baseline: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts Minnesota at 98.6 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Near Average). Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $1,125 monthly. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Minnesota run around $225, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 42.4 out of 100 (Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Buffalo Lake's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from work and mobility to reported crime to comparison shortlist to schools and households to housing and income to population change; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Buffalo Lake, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, commute-mode shares, matched public-school count, FBI reported-crime rates, local building permits.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
What does the journey to work look like in Buffalo Lake?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 84.7%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Buffalo Lake?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 0.0 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 100% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
Which cities make useful reference points for Buffalo Lake?
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching.
Within Minnesota, the closest population matches are Elysian (663 residents, $98,571 income); The Lakes (666 residents, $88,929 income); Center City (668 residents, $94,712 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Ozark Acres, AR (664 residents); Polkville, MS (664 residents); Bella Villa, MO (664 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
What does the education layer cover for Buffalo Lake?
The matched institution count is small, so district boundaries and schools outside the city line may matter more than the municipal count suggests. Use the number as a coverage cue, then verify attendance zones with the district before making a household decision.
The NCES join finds 1 public school within the city match. 20.1% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Housing and income
How far does income reach against housing in Buffalo Lake?
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. The ratio makes housing the clearest place to start this profile, but a low multiple can coexist with slow demand, older stock, or household-level hardship. Compare the home-value distribution and same-state peer table before treating it as an advantage.
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 1.9 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 7.9%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Value / income
1.9×
Home value
$106,000
Household income
$56,719
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
Is Buffalo Lake growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -16 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -2.5% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 0 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Recent estimates point downward. A falling count can reflect migration, household size, annexation boundaries, or estimation noise, so it is a prompt to inspect the full series rather than a claim about local economic health.
2020 estimate
653
2025 estimate
637
Period change
-2.5%
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
Below median income · poverty 7.9% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
98.6 (US=100)
Above-average cost · BEA RPP 2024, Minnesota average
C-
City profile score · Buffalo Lake, MN
51/100
5 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Violent crime A+
0 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Poverty rate D
7.9%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Cost of living D
98.6 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Bachelor's+ share F
20.1%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income F
$56,719
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Buffalo Lake profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Violent crime: 97/100 (A+) · 0 /100k
Poverty rate: 48/100 (D) · 7.9%
Cost of living: 46/100 (D) · 98.6 index
Bachelor's+ share: 35/100 (F) · 20.1%
Household income: 30/100 (F) · $56,719
How does Buffalo Lake compare to other US cities?
Buffalo Lake measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income30% higher than other cities
Home value12% pricier than other cities
Median rent36% pricier than other cities
Safety99% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
A national percentile can hide a lot of local variation: narrowed to Minnesota alone, Buffalo Lake ranks #3 of 229 Minnesota cities by lowest crime rate - a different, more locally useful comparison than stacking it against the entire country.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Buffalo Lake against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Minnesota only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Minnesota-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Buffalo Lake near the bottom of Minnesota's cities
Among the 785 Minnesota cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Buffalo Lake ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Buffalo Lake only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#575 of 775
26th percentile in Minnesota
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 785
0th percentile in Minnesota
Median Home Value
#605 of 774
22nd percentile in Minnesota
Poverty Rate
#262 of 785
66th percentile in Minnesota
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#399 of 784
48th percentile in Minnesota
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Minnesota only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
30th percentile nationally for median household income · 99th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Buffalo Lake's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Buffalo Lake's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Buffalo Lake's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$106,000Among the most affordablemore affordable than 88% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Buffalo Lake's home-value-to-income ratio: 1.9×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#1,200 of 15,516
More affordable than 92% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#1,158 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 1.9×, Buffalo Lake sits in the affordable band:
national rank #1,200 of 15,516 and #1,158 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
The multiple is comparatively compact among tracked cities, but a low ratio can still coexist with slow demand or household-level hardship.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$56,719Buffalo Lake, MN median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Buffalo Lake, MN median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Buffalo Lake, MN.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)20.1%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)7.9%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)47.6%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
664
Median Income
$56,719
Median Home Value
$106,000
Median Age
41.2
Poverty Rate
7.9%
Labor force participation
47.6%
Bachelor's Degree+
20.1%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
0.0
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
0.0
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
0.0
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Schools
Total Schools
1
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Buffalo Lake's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
653 residents
2021
649 residents
2022
645 residents
2023
640 residents
2024
641 residents
2025
637 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
Total Permits (2024)
0
housing units authorized
Single-Family
0
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
0
0
0
-
2020
0
0
0
-
2021
0
0
0
-
2022
0
0
0
-
2023
1
1
0
$0.1M
2024
0
0
0
-
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
84.7%
Carpool
0.8%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
4.1%
Work from Home
10.3%
Based on 242 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Minnesota statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $225
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Minnesota at $225 (electricity about $95 , water and sewer about $45 ).
These are Minnesota statewide averages, not a meter reading for Buffalo Lake. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Minnesota's BEA cost-of-living index is 98.6 (Near Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Buffalo Lake is $1,125/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Minnesota statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 42.4 / 100 (Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Minnesota statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Buffalo Lake sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Buffalo Lake compares to similar-size Minnesota cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, FBI UCR, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.