Population
Buffalo
276,397
Roanoke
98,677
Median Income
Buffalo
$48,050
Roanoke
$52,671
Home Value
Buffalo
$152,300
Roanoke
$180,500
Rent
Buffalo
$989
Roanoke
$964
Crime Rate
Buffalo
7.07
Roanoke
6.20
Cost of Living
Buffalo
86.7
Roanoke
91.4
Avg Temp
Buffalo
N/A
Roanoke
N/A
Unemployment
Buffalo
7.2%
Roanoke
5.5%
How Similar Are Buffalo & Roanoke?
Roanoke is Buffalo's #9 most similar city
4 of 10 key metrics match within 10%
Population
Buffalo
276,397
Roanoke
98,677
Buffalo (276,397) is about 2.8x larger than Roanoke (98,677).
Violent Crime
Buffalo
7.07
Roanoke
6.20
Buffalo has a 12% higher violent crime than Roanoke.
Property Crime
Buffalo
38.10
Roanoke
40.56
Both cities have similar property crime — just a 6% difference.
Political Leaning
Buffalo
45.2%
Roanoke
37.5%
Both cities lean Democratic, but Buffalo has a stronger Democratic lean (17% difference).
Unemployment
Buffalo
7.2%
Roanoke
5.5%
Buffalo has a 24% higher unemployment than Roanoke.
Median Income
Buffalo
$48,050
Roanoke
$52,671
Both cities have similar median income — just a 9% difference.
Home Values
Buffalo
$152,300
Roanoke
$180,500
Roanoke has a 16% higher home values than Buffalo.
Education
Buffalo
20.2%
Roanoke
20.2%
Both cities have similar education — just a 0% difference.
Demographics
Buffalo
45.4%
Roanoke
57.5%
Roanoke has a 21% higher demographics than Buffalo.
Cost of Living
Buffalo
86.7
Roanoke
91.4
Both cities have similar cost of living — just a 5% difference.
4 out of 10 key metrics match within 10%. Buffalo and Roanoke share several key characteristics.
At a Glance
0
Buffalo
0
Roanoke
Roanoke leads in 5 of 8 categories
Cost of Living & Affordability — Buffalo leads
Source: City Stats Index / HUDBuffalo scores 73.5 on the transportation index (100 = national avg) vs 80.5 in Roanoke. Roanoke has a fair market rent (1br) of $1,053 vs $1,139 in Buffalo (8% lower). Roanoke has a fair market rent (2br) of $1,254 vs $1,343 in Buffalo (7% lower).
Overall Cost Index
Housing Index
Food Index
Transportation Index
Healthcare Index
Utilities Index
Living Wage (1 Adult)
Living Wage (Family of 4)
Fair Market Rent (1BR)
Fair Market Rent (2BR)
Housing Market — Roanoke leads
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSRoanoke has a single-family homes of 64.8% compared to 39.5% in Buffalo. Roanoke has a owner-occupied of 51.7% compared to 42.7% in Buffalo. Roanoke has a median home value of $180,500 vs $152,300 in Buffalo (16% higher).
Median Home Value
Median Rent
Median Property Tax
Owner-Occupied
Vacancy Rate
Single-Family Homes
Jobs & Economy — Roanoke leads
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSBuffalo: 132,325 vs Roanoke: 49,076 for labor force. Roanoke has a poverty rate of 19.7% compared to 27.4% in Buffalo. Roanoke has a unemployment rate of 5.5% compared to 7.2% in Buffalo.
Median Household Income
Per Capita Income
Poverty Rate
Unemployment Rate
Labor Force
Mean Commute
Work from Home
Private Sector
Government Sector
Crime & Safety — Roanoke leads
Source: FBI UCRRoanoke has a robbery rate (per 1k) of 0.93 compared to 1.58 in Buffalo. Roanoke has a property crime clearance of 18.3% compared to 10.0% in Buffalo. Roanoke has a violent crime clearance of 58.5% compared to 39.3% in Buffalo.
Violent Crime Rate (per 1K)
Property Crime Rate (per 1K)
Murder Rate (per 1K)
Robbery Rate (per 1K)
Assault Rate (per 1K)
Burglary Rate (per 1K)
Larceny Rate (per 1K)
Violent Crime Clearance
Property Crime Clearance
Weather & Climate
Source: NOAA / Open-MeteoAvg Annual Temperature
Avg Annual High
Avg Annual Low
Sunny Days per Year
Annual Rainfall
Annual Snowfall
Avg Humidity
Schools & Education — Roanoke leads
Source: NCES / U.S. Census BureauRoanoke has a high school diploma or higher of 44.0% compared to 38.3% in Buffalo.
Public Schools
Avg Student-Teacher Ratio
Colleges & Universities
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
High School Diploma or Higher
Demographics & Community
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSBuffalo has a population of 276,397, about 2.8x the size of Roanoke (98,677). Buffalo skews younger with a median age of 34.3 vs 38.0.
Population
Median Age
Avg Household Size
Married Population
Foreign Born
White
Black
Hispanic
Asian
Buffalo
Roanoke
Healthcare — Roanoke leads
Source: CMS Hospital CompareRoanoke: 5 vs Buffalo: 3 for with emergency services. Roanoke: 3.8 vs Buffalo: 2.7 for avg cms rating (out of 5).
Nearby Hospitals
Avg CMS Rating (out of 5)
With Emergency Services
Transportation & Commute
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSBuffalo has a bicycle of 0.6% compared to 0.2% in Roanoke. Buffalo has a public transit of 8.5% compared to 2.4% in Roanoke. Roanoke has a drive alone of 76.2% compared to 64.5% in Buffalo.
Mean Commute Time
Drive Alone
Public Transit
Bicycle
Work from Home
Airports
Cities Similar to Buffalo, NY
Compare Buffalo against its closest statistical matches across demographics, income, crime, health, and more.
City Comparison
8-axis fingerprint: population, income, housing, crime, education, age, climate, and cost of living. Click legend items to toggle.