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Place dossier plate
SheetSD-BUFFALO-GAP-SD · Buffalo Gap, SD 140 pop · income 28th 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 Gap
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Buffalo Gap on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Gough · lowest
13,826
Gough · lowest
13,826 median HH income
9.3% of the leader · rank #1
Fort Bliss · near
55,267
Fort Bliss · near
55,267 median HH income
37.3% of the leader · rank #2
Buffalo Gap · this city
55,268
Buffalo Gap · this city
55,268 median HH income
37.3% of the leader · rank #3
Ingalls Park · near
55,268
Ingalls Park · near
55,268 median HH income
37.3% of the leader · rank #4
Sylvan Beach · near
55,268
Sylvan Beach · near
55,268 median HH income
37.3% of the leader · rank #5
Wilmington · near
55,269
Wilmington · near
55,269 median HH income
37.3% of the leader · rank #6
Rowena · highest
148,036
Rowena · highest
148,036 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 Gap 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: 140.
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Buffalo Gap lands in the 28th percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.
28th
percentile, household income
2nd
percentile, home value
13th
percentile, median rent
📝 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 Gap, SD
140 people live in Buffalo Gap, South Dakota - a small town by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Buffalo Gap households earn a median of $55,268 annually, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 8.8%. Buffalo Gap's housing stock carries a median value of $67,500, and the median resident age is 64.0 years. 20.0% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 54.2% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Living costs in South Dakota run below the national norm: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, South Dakota scores 88.6 (Well Below Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $990 per month. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts South Dakota's average monthly utility costs around $200 (state average). Natural-hazard exposure scores 26.8 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (Very Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Buffalo Gap'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 population change to comparison shortlist to work and mobility to housing and income; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Buffalo Gap, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, annual population history.
No matched row is reported here for FBI reported-crime rates, matched public-school count, within-city Census tract profiles, local building permits; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Population change
Is Buffalo Gap growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Recent estimates point upward. Growth can increase housing demand and service needs, but the permit record must move in the same direction before calling it a supply response; the two series measure different things.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +27 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +21.1% change. No comparable local building-permit series is available here, so population change should not be read as a housing-supply measure. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Which cities make useful reference points for Buffalo Gap?
Within South Dakota, the closest population matches are Canova (140 residents, $58,000 income); Geddes (141 residents, $61,250 income); Frankfort (142 residents, $61,875 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Antares, AZ (140 residents); Pyatt, AR (140 residents); Reed, AR (140 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.
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.
What does the journey to work look like in Buffalo Gap?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. Remote work has a visible role in the local pattern. That can reduce commute exposure for some workers, but it says nothing about job availability or broadband quality; read it alongside income and housing rather than as a stand-alone lifestyle score.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 79.7%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
How far does income reach against housing in Buffalo Gap?
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 1.2 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 8.8%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
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.
Below median income · poverty 8.8% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
88.6 (US=100)
Very affordable · BEA RPP 2024, South Dakota average
D
City profile score · Buffalo Gap, SD
49/100
4 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.
Cost of living A+
88.6 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Poverty rate D
8.8%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share F
20.0%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income F
$55,268
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Buffalo Gap profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 91/100 (A+) · 88.6 index
Poverty rate: 44/100 (D) · 8.8%
Bachelor's+ share: 34/100 (F) · 20.0%
Household income: 28/100 (F) · $55,268
How does Buffalo Gap compare to other US cities?
Here's how Buffalo Gap stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income28% higher than other cities
Home value2% pricier than other cities
Median rent13% pricier than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Buffalo Gap against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to South Dakota only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
South Dakota-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Buffalo Gap near the bottom of South Dakota's cities
Among the 303 South Dakota cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Buffalo Gap ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Buffalo Gap only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#194 of 285
32nd percentile in South Dakota
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 303
0th percentile in South Dakota
Median Home Value
#228 of 263
13th percentile in South Dakota
Poverty Rate
#109 of 302
64th percentile in South Dakota
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#149 of 303
50th percentile in South Dakota
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 South Dakota only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
28th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Buffalo Gap's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$67,500Among the most affordablemore affordable than 98% 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 Gap's home-value-to-income ratio: 1.2×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#129 of 15,516
More affordable than 99% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#127 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 1.2×, Buffalo Gap sits in the affordable band:
national rank #129 of 15,516 and #127 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
$55,268Buffalo Gap, SD median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Buffalo Gap, SD 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 Gap, SD.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)20.0%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)8.8%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)54.2%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
140
Median Income
$55,268
Median Home Value
$67,500
Median Age
64.0
Poverty Rate
8.8%
Labor force participation
54.2%
Bachelor's Degree+
20.0%
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Buffalo Gap's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
128 residents
2021
134 residents
2022
144 residents
2023
146 residents
2024
152 residents
2025
155 residents
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
79.7%
Carpool
4.7%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
0.0%
Work from Home
15.6%
Based on 64 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
South Dakota statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $200
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across South Dakota at $200 (electricity about $95 , water and sewer about $40 ).
These are South Dakota statewide averages, not a meter reading for Buffalo Gap. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
South Dakota's BEA cost-of-living index is 88.6 (Well Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Buffalo Gap is $990/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to South Dakota statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 26.8 / 100 (Very Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a South Dakota statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Buffalo Gap sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Buffalo Gap compares to similar-size South Dakota 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, 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.