How serious are America’s mayors? · Incorporated city
Buffalo, NY
276,617 people, 2024 · Census GEOID 3611000 · Census profile · mayors: being verified
Overall in 2023, Buffalo ranked #283 of 340 cities and 6th of 14 in its peer group, on 8 of 9 measures. Weigh the measures yourself · how ranks are made
Its peer group is Buffalo and the 13 cities most like it in 2005 (size, income, poverty, industry, growth, density, place), fixed since: Pittsburgh PA, Cincinnati OH, Rochester NY, St. Louis MO, Toledo OH, Springfield MA, Cleveland OH, Akron OH, Syracuse NY, Dayton OH, Knoxville TN, Birmingham AL, Baltimore MD · on the map, and why
| Topline | 2005–2024 | Latest rank | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rankamong all cities with a score that year | #283 of 340 cities · 6th of 14 in its peer group · 2023 | #327 | #331 | #332 | #327 | #257 | #293 | #321 | #323 | #289 | #300 | #307 | #318 | #288 | #300 | #306 | #277 | #297 | #265 | #283 | #314 | |
| people · size, not ranked | 275,688 | 271,646 | 268,358 | 265,732 | 263,100 | 261,275 | 260,701 | 260,155 | 260,013 | 259,548 | 258,165 | 256,816 | 256,301 | 255,781 | 255,284 | 277,558 | 277,728 | 275,907 | 276,376 | 276,617 | ||
| net movers per 100 residents · estimate · higher is better | #165 of 340 cities · 5th of 14 in its peer group | -0.9 | -0.9 | -0.6 | -0.4 | -0.2 | — | -0.2 | -0.3 | -0.2 | -0.2 | -0.5 | -0.6 | -0.2 | -0.2 | -0.3 | -0.1 | +0.1 | -0.6 | -0.4 | -0.3 | |
| new homes per 1,000 residents · higher is better | #262 of 281 cities with data · 10th of 10 in its peer group with data · 2011 | — | 0.1 | 0.5 | — | — | — | 0.1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| rent as % of income · lower is better | #237 of 340 cities · 9th of 14 in its peer group | 25.8% | 24.9% | 24.4% | 25.9% | 26.4% | 26.7% | 27.0% | 26.1% | 26.2% | 26.9% | 26.3% | 25.8% | 25.0% | 25.4% | 23.7% | — | 25.9% | 23.8% | 26.4% | 26.3% | |
| per 100,000 residents · lower is better | #258 of 304 cities with data · 5th of 14 in its peer group | 20.3 | 27.2 | 20.1 | 13.9 | 22.8 | 21.1 | 13.8 | 18.5 | 18.1 | 23.1 | 15.9 | 17.1 | 15.6 | 22.3 | 18.4 | 22.7 | 23.8 | 24.3 | 14.5 | 13.7 | |
| per 100,000 residents · lower is better | #228 of 295 cities with data · 2nd of 13 in its peer group with data | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 207.8 | 156.2 | 153.1 | 137.0 | |
| jobs · size, not ranked | 151,835 | 150,369 | 143,063 | 134,261 | 141,746 | 147,040 | 143,881 | 137,037 | 141,978 | 145,114 | 143,126 | 147,474 | 149,161 | 152,548 | 151,608 | 138,212 | 139,018 | 145,500 | 147,792 | — | ||
| points ahead of the metro · higher is better | #109 of 329 cities with data · 6th of 14 in its peer group · 2023 | -2.7 | -0.8 | -4.7 | -4.7 | +6.3 | +1.6 | -2.6 | -4.7 | +2.0 | +1.7 | +0.0 | +1.5 | +2.1 | +0.6 | -1.2 | +0.7 | -1.1 | -0.1 | +0.8 | — | |
| people · size, not ranked | — | — | — | — | — | — | 106,717 | 105,037 | 106,850 | 110,147 | 111,038 | 106,998 | 120,219 | 114,478 | 114,902 | — | 118,681 | 132,844 | 123,966 | 129,481 | ||
| % of workforce · lower is better | #299 of 340 cities · 11th of 14 in its peer group | — | — | — | — | — | — | 14.1% | 13.6% | 11.8% | 8.6% | 7.3% | 8.0% | 8.1% | 6.0% | 5.6% | — | 10.2% | 4.3% | 6.2% | 7.2% | |
| % of promises funded · not ranked: 38 cities report | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| surplus as % of revenue · higher is better | #294 of 314 cities with data · 14th of 14 in its peer group | 13% | 12% | 17% | 16% | 17% | 13% | 11% | 11% | 12% | 3% | 5% | 7% | 4% | 2% | 6% | 5% | 10% | -8% | -3% | -12% | |
| dollars per resident · lower is better | #110 of 314 cities with data · 6th of 14 in its peer group | $3,648 | $3,414 | $3,482 | $3,128 | $3,188 | $3,027 | $2,946 | $3,200 | $2,695 | $2,579 | $2,389 | $6,978 | $1,997 | $2,011 | $1,828 | $1,448 | $1,932 | $1,467 | $1,320 | $1,962 |
Click a row for its source and its rank in every year. 1st is best whichever way the measure points. A rank is out of all 340 cities, or out of its peer group of 14; where some had no value that year it says “with data” and counts only those. An em dash is a year the source does not hold for Buffalo. A greyed homicide figure is a year the FBI holds as a transition year for this department. What each row is, and is not, is on the main page, with a link to every source in Sources.