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Place dossier plate
SheetWI-BUFFALO-CITY-WI · Buffalo City, WI 916 pop · income 40th pct · 5 tracts
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 City
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Buffalo City on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Laurel Hill · lowest
26,250
Laurel Hill · lowest
26,250 median HH income
25.2% of the leader · rank #1
Buffalo City · this city
62,917
Buffalo City · this city
62,917 median HH income
60.4% of the leader · rank #2
Minto · near
62,917
Minto · near
62,917 median HH income
60.4% of the leader · rank #3
Smithville · near
62,917
Smithville · near
62,917 median HH income
60.4% of the leader · rank #4
Thornton · near
62,917
Thornton · near
62,917 median HH income
60.4% of the leader · rank #5
Kiowa · near
62,917
Kiowa · near
62,917 median HH income
60.4% of the leader · rank #6
Spaulding · highest
104,205
Spaulding · highest
104,205 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 City 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: 916.
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Buffalo City lands in the 40th percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.
40th
percentile, household income
32nd
percentile, home value
29th
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 City, WI
Wisconsin's Buffalo City is a small town, with 916 residents per the latest Census Bureau ACS figures. Median household income here is $62,917 per year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 7.5%. Typical homes in Buffalo City are valued around $165,900, and the median resident age is 57.1 years. 19.0% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 59.0% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 5 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Low Activity).
Living costs in Wisconsin run below the national norm: the state registers 94.1 on a 100-equals-national-average index (Below Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $1,097 per month statewide. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Wisconsin run around $225, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. Commute times here average 35.4 minutes, with 82.6% driving alone and 4.1% working from home, per Census ACS commuting data. FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 59.1 out of 100 (Moderate).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Buffalo City'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 comparison shortlist to within-city variation to housing and income to work and mobility to population change; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Buffalo City, city-specific coverage includes local building permits, commute-mode shares, annual population history, within-city Census tract profiles.
No matched row is reported here for matched public-school count, FBI reported-crime rates; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
Which cities make useful reference points for Buffalo City?
Within Wisconsin, the closest population matches are Brandon (914 residents, $76,964 income); Greenleaf (921 residents, $92,635 income); Whitelaw (922 residents, $57,298 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Stephens, AR (916 residents); Spaulding, IL (916 residents); Laurel Hill, NC (916 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 can 5 Census tracts reveal inside Buffalo City?
That layer breaks the citywide income, rent, and home-value medians into smaller Census geographies, which can reveal differences that one municipal median necessarily hides. A tract is a statistical area, not a locally defined neighborhood or a promise about conditions on a particular block. Start with the city profile for the broad comparison, then use the tract layer to test whether the same housing and income pattern is consistent across the city. Large within-city spreads are a reason to avoid treating any citywide median as a universal resident experience.
How far does income reach against housing in Buffalo City?
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 2.6 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 7.5%, 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. Income and home value move within the same broad scale here. The useful next check is not a generic affordability label, but whether similar-size cities offer a materially different income, housing, or commute trade-off.
What does the journey to work look like in Buffalo City?
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.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 82.6%. The reported mean trip to work is 35.4 minutes.
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.
Population change
Is Buffalo City growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
The recent population line is broadly flat. That makes the composition of change more important than the headline count: housing turnover, household size, and age structure can shift even when the total barely moves.
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -2 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -0.2% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 5 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Period change
-0.2%
2025 estimate
1,009
2020 estimate
1,011
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
Below median income · poverty 7.5% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
94.1 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Wisconsin average
D
City profile score · Buffalo City, WI
48/100
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 B-
94.1 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 C-
7.5%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income F
$62,917
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Bachelor's+ share F
19.0%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Buffalo City profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 68/100 (B-) · 94.1 index
Poverty rate: 50/100 (C-) · 7.5%
Household income: 39/100 (F) · $62,917
Bachelor's+ share: 31/100 (F) · 19.0%
How does Buffalo City compare to other US cities?
Buffalo City measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income40% higher than other cities
Home value32% pricier than other cities
Median rent29% 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 City against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Wisconsin only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Wisconsin-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Buffalo City near the bottom of Wisconsin's cities
Among the 761 Wisconsin cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Buffalo City ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Buffalo City only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#466 of 753
38th percentile in Wisconsin
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 761
0th percentile in Wisconsin
Median Home Value
#428 of 754
43rd percentile in Wisconsin
Poverty Rate
#270 of 761
64th percentile in Wisconsin
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#425 of 761
43rd percentile in Wisconsin
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 Wisconsin only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
40th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Buffalo City's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$165,900Among the most affordablemore affordable than 68% 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 City's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.6×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#4,705 of 15,516
More affordable than 70% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#4,161 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 2.6×, Buffalo City sits in the affordable band:
national rank #4,705 of 15,516 and #4,161 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
$62,917Buffalo City, WI median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Buffalo City, WI 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 City, WI.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)19.0%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)7.5%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)59.0%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
916
Median Income
$62,917
Median Home Value
$165,900
Median Age
57.1
Poverty Rate
7.5%
Labor force participation
59.0%
Bachelor's Degree+
19.0%
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Buffalo City's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
1,011 residents
2021
1,015 residents
2022
1,018 residents
2023
1,019 residents
2024
1,014 residents
2025
1,009 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
🏗️ Low Activity
Total Permits (2024)
5
housing units authorized
Single-Family
5
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
5.5
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
0
0
0
-
2020
2
2
0
$0.3M
2021
1
1
0
$0.2M
2022
1
1
0
$0.3M
2023
2
2
0
$0.5M
2024
5
5
0
$1.8M
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
35.4 minutes
Drive Alone
82.6%
Carpool
13.3%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
0.0%
Work from Home
4.1%
Based on 459 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Wisconsin statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $225
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Wisconsin at $225 (electricity about $100 , water and sewer about $45 ).
These are Wisconsin statewide averages, not a meter reading for Buffalo City. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Wisconsin's BEA cost-of-living index is 94.1 (Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Buffalo City is $1,097/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Wisconsin statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 59.1 / 100 (Moderate).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Wisconsin statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Buffalo City sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Buffalo City compares to similar-size Wisconsin 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 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.