Demographics of Buffalo city, New York

Buffalo city, New York had 274,613 people on July 1, 2025, by the Census Bureau’s estimate: −3,137 since July 2020. Age, income, poverty, housing and origin below come from the survey, averaged over 2020–2024, each with its margin of error.

Buffalo city, in four figures

274,613
Population: July 1, 2025, Vintage 2025 estimate. The survey’s 2020–⁠2024 figure is 276,854 ±74.; −1.1%
Change since July 2020: −3,137 people.; 34.3 ±0.5
Median age: ACS 2020–⁠2024.; $50,041 ±$1,988
Median household income: ACS 2020–⁠2024, in 2024 dollars.

Population, year by year

July 1 estimates from the Census Bureau’s Vintage 2025. The Bureau publishes no births, deaths or migration for a place, so the change is the difference between one July estimate and the next.

Buffalo city, New York's population shrank 1.1% from July 2020 to July 2025, against +3.1% nationally

The July 1 estimate of Buffalo city, New York's resident population and the nation's, each year of the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025, as a share of its July 2020 level (= 100).

Source: The Census Bureau

About this chart

The figures

Buffalo city, New York's population shrank 1.1% from July 2020 to July 2025, against +3.1% nationally. The July 1 estimate of Buffalo city, New York's resident population and the nation's, each year of the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025, as a share of its July 2020 level (= 100).
July 1	Population	Index	United States
2020	277,750	100.0	100.0
2021	277,593	99.9	100.2
2022	276,251	99.5	100.7
2023	275,772	99.3	101.6
2024	275,322	99.1	102.5
2025	274,613	98.9	103.1

Population of Buffalo city, New York on July 1 of each year, Vintage 2025
July 1	Population	Change
2020	277,750	—
2021	277,593	−157
2022	276,251	−1,342
2023	275,772	−479
2024	275,322	−450
2025	274,613	−709

Age, 2020–2024

The median age is 34.3 ±0.5: for men 33.7 ±0.5 and for women 35.1 ±0.6. Shares are of everyone the survey counts, in the Bureau’s sex-by-age table (B01001).

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People in Buffalo city by age, ACS 2020–2024
Age	People	Share	New York	United States
Under 5	16,746 ±910	6.0% ±0.3	5.4% ±<0.1	5.6% ±<0.1
5 to 17	45,055 ±1,459	16.3% ±0.5	15.0% ±<0.1	16.3% ±<0.1
18 to 24	30,226 ±1,657	10.9% ±0.6	8.9% ±<0.1	9.1% ±<0.1
25 to 44	84,447 ±1,995	30.5% ±0.7	27.1% ±<0.1	26.9% ±<0.1
45 to 64	61,101 ±1,856	22.1% ±0.7	25.6% ±0.1	24.8% ±<0.1
65 and over	39,279 ±1,474	14.2% ±0.5	17.9% ±0.1	17.2% ±<0.1

Income and poverty, 2020–2024

Median household income is $50,041 ±$1,988, and income per person $31,843 ±$777, in 2024 dollars. The median is $85,974 ±$402 in New York and $80,734 ±$166 in the United States.

Households by income

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Households in Buffalo city by income, ACS 2020–2024
Household income	Households	Share	New York	United States
Under $25,000	32,688 ±1,667	27.3% ±1.3	16.0% ±0.1	14.6% ±<0.1
$25,000 to $49,999	27,091 ±1,441	22.6% ±1.2	15.1% ±0.1	16.7% ±<0.1
$50,000 to $74,999	20,595 ±1,221	17.2% ±1.0	13.6% ±0.1	15.5% ±<0.1
$75,000 to $99,999	13,311 ±1,066	11.1% ±0.9	11.4% ±0.1	12.6% ±<0.1
$100,000 to $149,999	14,002 ±978	11.7% ±0.8	16.7% ±0.1	17.5% ±<0.1
$150,000 to $199,999	5,645 ±552	4.7% ±0.5	10.1% ±0.1	9.6% ±<0.1
$200,000 or more	6,298 ±506	5.3% ±0.4	17.1% ±0.1	13.4% ±0.1

Poverty by age

The poverty rate is the share of people whose family income is below the federal threshold for their family’s size, of everyone for whom the Bureau determines it (B17020).

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Poverty rate in Buffalo city by age, ACS 2020–2024
Age	Below poverty	Rate	New York	United States
All ages	70,101 ±2,754	26.0% ±1.0	14.0% ±0.2	12.5% ±0.1
Under 18	21,674 ±1,420	35.5% ±1.9	18.3% ±0.2	16.1% ±0.1
18 to 59	37,086 ±1,745	23.9% ±1.0	12.8% ±0.1	11.6% ±0.1
60 and over	11,341 ±923	21.0% ±1.6	13.1% ±0.2	11.0% ±<0.1

Housing, 2020–2024

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Housing in Buffalo city, ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Buffalo city	New York	United States
Housing units	136,850 ±1,365	8,585,241 ±652	143,775,355 ±10,234
Occupied	87.4% ±0.7	90.0% ±0.1	89.9% ±0.1
Vacant	12.6% ±0.7	10.0% ±0.1	10.1% ±0.1
Owner occupied	43.0% ±1.2	54.3% ±0.2	65.2% ±0.3
Renter occupied	57.0% ±1.2	45.7% ±0.1	34.8% ±0.1
Median home value	$164,200 ±$5,446	$423,800 ±$1,627	$332,700 ±$236
Median gross rent	$1,046 ±$18	$1,621 ±$7	$1,413 ±$2
Median year built	At the edge of the top or bottom interval	1959 ±1	1980 ±1

Occupied and vacant are shares of all housing units; owner and renter occupied are shares of occupied units. Value and rent are medians in 2024 dollars.

Origin and place of birth, 2020–2024

Hispanic or Latino origin is not a race in the Census Bureau’s tables. Here the people of Hispanic origin, of any race, are one row, and everyone else is counted by race alone (B03002), so the rows add to the whole.

Hispanic origin and race

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People in Buffalo city by Hispanic origin and race, ACS 2020–2024
Origin	People	Share	New York	United States
Hispanic or Latino	33,987 ±1,263	12.3% ±0.5	19.8% ±<0.1	19.3% ±<0.1
White alone, not Hispanic	117,470 ±2,324	42.4% ±0.8	52.8% ±<0.1	57.4% ±<0.1
Black alone, not Hispanic	86,532 ±2,243	31.3% ±0.8	13.4% ±<0.1	11.9% ±<0.1
Asian alone, not Hispanic	24,192 ±1,540	8.7% ±0.6	9.0% ±<0.1	5.9% ±<0.1
American Indian and Alaska Native alone, not Hispanic	790 ±192	0.3% ±0.1	0.2% ±<0.1	0.5% ±<0.1
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone, not Hispanic	0 to 34	0% to < 0.1%	< 0.1% ±<0.1	0.2% ±<0.1
Some other race alone, not Hispanic	1,229 ±481	0.4% ±0.2	1.0% ±<0.1	0.6% ±<0.1
Two or more races, not Hispanic	12,640 ±1,495	4.6% ±0.5	3.8% ±0.1	4.3% ±<0.1

A range (the estimate less and plus its margin) where the Bureau's estimate is too uncertain to state as one number: a coefficient of variation over 30%.

Place of birth and citizenship

“Born a citizen outside the states” counts people born in Puerto Rico, the island areas, or abroad to American parents. Naturalized citizens and those who are not citizens together make up the people born abroad (B05002).

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People in Buffalo city by place of birth and citizenship, ACS 2020–2024
Born	People	Share	New York	United States
Born in the state	203,386 ±2,542	73.5% ±0.9	62.4% ±0.1	57.3% ±<0.1
Born in another state	32,096 ±1,700	11.6% ±0.6	12.3% ±0.1	26.9% ±<0.1
Born a citizen outside the states	11,230 ±1,153	4.1% ±0.4	2.5% ±<0.1	1.7% ±<0.1
Born abroad	30,142 ±1,788	10.9% ±0.6	22.8% ±0.1	14.1% ±<0.1
Naturalized citizens	16,542 ±1,347	6.0% ±0.5	13.6% ±0.1	7.4% ±<0.1
Not citizens	13,600 ±1,270	4.9% ±0.5	9.2% ±0.1	6.8% ±<0.1

Buffalo city among the places of New York

2nd of 354 places of 5,000 or more by the survey’s 2020–2024 count. Every one is listed on the New York page.

Places of New York near Buffalo city in population, ACS 2020–2024
Place	ACS 2020–⁠2024
New York city	8,483,844
Buffalo city	276,854 ±74
Yonkers city	209,978 ±75
Rochester city	208,772 ±54
Syracuse city	146,384 ±135
Albany city	100,492 ±63
New Rochelle city	82,769 ±76

Elsewhere on the site

Reported crime in Buffalo city, New York

Rankings this appears in

No. 9 Places in New York by poverty rate
No. 103 Places by poverty rate
No. 115 Places in New York by Hispanic or Latino share
No. 134 Places in New York by foreign-born share
No. 239 Places in New York by median rent
No. 268 Places in New York by median age

Sources

Census Bureau population estimates — incorporated places and New England towns — U.S. Census Bureau · U.S. Government work · retrieved September 25, 2026
American Community Survey 5-year estimates — table-based Summary File · U.S. Government work

Compiled automatically from Census Bureau population estimates — incorporated places and New England towns and American Community Survey 5-year estimates — table-based Summary File by a checked SQL query · Editor: Kian O'Connor · How this site is built

Data retrieved September 25, 2026