Living in Buffalo, NY
Mid-size city in New York
Buffalo is a mid-size city in New York, home to about 276,000 people, with 775,000 living within 31 mi. Day to day, you can walk or take transit almost everywhere. Life moves at a fast pace, and homes are mostly apartments.
Is Buffalo a good place to live? Pros and cons
👍 Pros
- Mild summers: highs around 78°F
- Affordable housing: a typical 3-bedroom home is about $246k and rents for $1,640 a month
- Easy flying: BUF is 7 mi away
- Great outdoors: coast or a lake close by
👎 Cons
- Cloudier than most places
- Few dog parks: 5 within 9 mi
- Fewer family amenities than most places
- Smaller job market: about 775,000 people live within 31 mi
Whether it's a good place for you depends on what you value. Take the quiz to see how Buffalo ranks against your own priorities.
Key facts
Living in Buffalo: common questions
What is the cost of living in Buffalo?
A typical 3-bedroom home is worth about $246k, and a 3-bedroom rents for about $1,640 a month including utilities. Overall living costs are below the US average (index 96, where the US is 100).
What are taxes like in Buffalo?
New York collects about $3,080 in state income tax per resident, and homeowners here pay about 1.07% of their home's value in property tax each year.
Is Buffalo safe?
Violent crime is well above the national rate (2.6× in FBI 2019 data).
What is the weather like in Buffalo?
Buffalo has long, snowy winters: winter days average around 34°F and summer days around 78°F, with roughly 95″ of snow a year.
Does Buffalo get natural disasters?
Natural disaster risk is moderate, mainly from flooding and cold waves: 9 federally declared disasters have hit the county since 2000, and FEMA expects about 0.6 deaths or injuries per 100,000 residents a year.
What is the nearest major airport to Buffalo?
The nearest major airport is BUF, about 7 mi away.
How Buffalo scores
Each bar compares Buffalo with the other 1143 places in Best Life Fit Me. A dot shows where it sits between two ends, such as major metro and small town; neither end is better. Coloured bars run from poor (red) to excellent (green).
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Is Buffalo right for you?
Answer 27 quick questions and see how it ranks against your priorities.