Population
Buffalo
276,397
Syracuse
146,211
Median Income
Buffalo
$48,050
Syracuse
$45,845
Home Value
Buffalo
$152,300
Syracuse
$125,100
Rent
Buffalo
$989
Syracuse
$998
Crime Rate
Buffalo
7.07
Syracuse
7.65
Cost of Living
Buffalo
86.7
Syracuse
86.9
Avg Temp
Buffalo
N/A
Syracuse
N/A
Unemployment
Buffalo
7.2%
Syracuse
7.5%
How Similar Are Buffalo & Syracuse?
Syracuse is Buffalo's #2 most similar city
6 of 10 key metrics match within 10%
Population
Buffalo
276,397
Syracuse
146,211
Buffalo has a 47% larger population than Syracuse.
Violent Crime
Buffalo
7.07
Syracuse
7.65
Both cities have similar violent crime — just a 8% difference.
Property Crime
Buffalo
38.10
Syracuse
42.34
Syracuse has a 10% higher property crime than Buffalo.
Political Leaning
Buffalo
45.2%
Syracuse
41.4%
Both cities lean Democratic with similar vote shares — 8% difference.
Unemployment
Buffalo
7.2%
Syracuse
7.5%
Both cities have similar unemployment — just a 3% difference.
Median Income
Buffalo
$48,050
Syracuse
$45,845
Both cities have similar median income — just a 5% difference.
Home Values
Buffalo
$152,300
Syracuse
$125,100
Buffalo has a 18% higher home values than Syracuse.
Education
Buffalo
20.2%
Syracuse
18.8%
Both cities have similar education — just a 7% difference.
Demographics
Buffalo
45.4%
Syracuse
51.9%
Syracuse has a 13% higher demographics than Buffalo.
Cost of Living
Buffalo
86.7
Syracuse
86.9
Both cities have similar cost of living — just a 0% difference.
6 out of 10 key metrics match within 10%. Buffalo and Syracuse share several key characteristics.
At a Glance
0
Buffalo
0
Syracuse
Buffalo leads in 4 of 8 categories
Cost of Living & Affordability — Syracuse leads
Source: City Stats Index / HUDBuffalo scores 96.0 on the housing index (100 = national avg) vs 100.2 in Syracuse. Buffalo has a fair market rent (2br) of $1,343 vs $1,392 in Syracuse. Syracuse scores 71.3 on the transportation index (100 = national avg) vs 73.5 in Buffalo.
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 — Buffalo leads
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSBuffalo has a median property tax of $1,625 vs $3,129 in Syracuse (48% lower). Buffalo has a median home value of $152,300 vs $125,100 in Syracuse (22% higher). Syracuse has a single-family homes of 44.2% compared to 39.5% in Buffalo.
Median Home Value
Median Rent
Median Property Tax
Owner-Occupied
Vacancy Rate
Single-Family Homes
Jobs & Economy — Buffalo leads
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSBuffalo: 132,325 vs Syracuse: 67,768 for labor force. Buffalo has a per capita income of $30,995 vs $27,570 in Syracuse (12% higher). Syracuse has a work from home of 10.5% compared to 9.6% 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 — Buffalo leads
Source: FBI UCRBuffalo has a violent crime clearance of 39.3% compared to 26.9% in Syracuse. Buffalo has a burglary rate (per 1k) of 4.38 compared to 7.21 in Syracuse. Syracuse has a robbery rate (per 1k) of 1.34 compared to 1.58 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 — Buffalo leads
Source: NCES / U.S. Census BureauBuffalo has a high school diploma or higher of 38.3% compared to 35.3% in Syracuse. Buffalo has a bachelor's degree or higher of 20.2% compared to 18.8% in Syracuse.
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 1.9x the size of Syracuse (146,211). Syracuse skews younger with a median age of 31.9 vs 34.3.
Population
Median Age
Avg Household Size
Married Population
Foreign Born
White
Black
Hispanic
Asian
Buffalo
Syracuse
Healthcare
Source: CMS Hospital CompareSyracuse: 5 vs Buffalo: 3 for with emergency services. Buffalo: 2.7 vs Syracuse: 2.0 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 ACSSyracuse has a bicycle of 0.9% compared to 0.6% in Buffalo. Buffalo has a public transit of 8.5% compared to 6.5% in Syracuse. Syracuse has a work from home of 10.5% compared to 9.6% 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.