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Buffalo Demographics and Statistics

The demographics of Buffalo can be divided into two segments: city proper and the Buffalo-Niagara Falls metropolitan area.

There were 292,648 people, 122,720 households and 67,005 families in the city proper at the time of 2000 census. The population comprises mainly of White (54%) and Afro-American (37%) people. Buffalo city also has a sizeable population of people of Irish, Italian, Polish, German, Jewish, Puerto Rican Arab, Greek, Greek, and Indian descent. During the fifties and sixties, a large chunk of Jewish population shifted to the suburbs and recently there has been an influx of people of Arab descent, primarily from Yemen.

The Buffalo-Niagara Falls metropolitan area is predominantly white (82%) with only 13% Afro-American people and rest comprising of Native American, Asian, Hispanic, and other races.

Average household income in the city is $24,536 and in the metropolitan area is $48,400. There is also a vast difference in per capita incomes, $14,991 for the city proper and $48,400 for the metropolitan area.

Buffalo (city), New York

  People QuickFacts Buffalo New York
  Population, 2006 estimate 276,059 19,306,183
  Population, percent change, April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2006 -5.7% 1.7%
  Population, 2000 292,648 18,976,457
  Persons under 5 years old, percent, 2000 7.1% 6.5%
  Persons under 18 years old, percent, 2000 26.3% 24.7%
  Persons 65 years old and over, percent, 2000 13.4% 12.9%
  Female persons, percent, 2000 53.0% 51.8%
  White persons, percent, 2000 (a) 54.4% 67.9%
  Black persons, percent, 2000 (a) 37.2% 15.9%
  American Indian and Alaska Native persons, percent, 2000 (a) 0.8% 0.4%
  Asian persons, percent, 2000 (a) 1.4% 5.5%
  Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, percent, 2000 (a) Z Z
  Persons reporting two or more races, percent, 2000 2.5% 3.1%
  Persons of Hispanic or Latino origin, percent, 2000 (b) 7.5% 15.1%
  Living in same house in 1995 and 2000, pct 5 yrs old & over 54.1% 61.8%
  Foreign born persons, percent, 2000 4.4% 20.4%
  Language other than English spoken at home, pct age 5+, 2000 12.4% 28.0%
  High school graduates, percent of persons age 25+, 2000 74.6% 79.1%
  Bachelor's degree or higher, pct of persons age 25+, 2000 18.3% 27.4%
  Mean travel time to work (minutes), workers age 16+, 2000 21.2 31.7
 
  Housing units, 2000 145,574 7,679,307
  Homeownership rate, 2000 43.5% 53.0%
  Median value of owner-occupied housing units, 2000 $59,300 $148,700
 
  Households, 2000 122,720 7,056,860
  Persons per household, 2000 2.29 2.61
  Median household income, 1999 $24,536 $43,393
  Per capita money income, 1999 $14,991 $23,389
  Persons below poverty, percent, 1999 26.6% 14.6%
  Business QuickFacts Buffalo New York
  Wholesale trade sales, 2002 ($1000) 3,757,606 343,663,041
  Retail sales, 2002 ($1000) 1,495,330 178,067,530
  Retail sales per capita, 2002 $5,203 $9,291
  Accommodation and foodservices sales, 2002 ($1000) 370,456 27,835,952
  Total number of firms, 2002 13,045 1,707,168
  Black-owned firms, percent, 2002 13.4% 7.6%
  American Indian and Alaska Native owned firms, percent, 2002 F 0.7%
  Asian-owned firms, percent, 2002 2.9% 8.5%
  Hispanic-owned firms, percent, 2002 3.8% 9.6%
  Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander owned firms, percent, 2002 F 0.2%
  Women-owned firms, percent, 2002 27.8% 29.6%
 
Geography QuickFacts Buffalo New York
Land area, 2000 (square miles) 40 47,213
Persons per square mile, 2000 7,206.3 401.9
FIPS Code 11000 36
Counties Erie County