Population
Buffalo
276,397
Topeka
126,103
Median Income
Buffalo
$48,050
Topeka
$55,902
Home Value
Buffalo
$152,300
Topeka
$130,600
Rent
Buffalo
$989
Topeka
$947
Crime Rate
Buffalo
7.07
Topeka
8.57
Cost of Living
Buffalo
86.7
Topeka
88.9
Avg Temp
Buffalo
N/A
Topeka
N/A
Unemployment
Buffalo
7.2%
Topeka
4.9%
How Similar Are Buffalo & Topeka?
Topeka is Buffalo's #25 most similar city
4 of 10 key metrics match within 10%
Population
Buffalo
276,397
Topeka
126,103
Buffalo (276,397) is about 2.2x larger than Topeka (126,103).
Violent Crime
Buffalo
7.07
Topeka
8.57
Topeka has a 17% higher violent crime than Buffalo.
Property Crime
Buffalo
38.10
Topeka
36.43
Both cities have similar property crime — just a 4% difference.
Political Leaning
Buffalo
45.2%
Topeka
48.8%
Both cities lean Democratic with similar vote shares — 7% difference.
Unemployment
Buffalo
7.2%
Topeka
4.9%
Buffalo has a 32% higher unemployment than Topeka.
Median Income
Buffalo
$48,050
Topeka
$55,902
Topeka has a 14% higher median income than Buffalo.
Home Values
Buffalo
$152,300
Topeka
$130,600
Buffalo has a 14% higher home values than Topeka.
Education
Buffalo
20.2%
Topeka
19.6%
Both cities have similar education — just a 3% difference.
Demographics
Buffalo
45.4%
Topeka
71.0%
Topeka has a 36% higher demographics than Buffalo.
Cost of Living
Buffalo
86.7
Topeka
88.9
Both cities have similar cost of living — just a 2% difference.
4 out of 10 key metrics match within 10%. Buffalo and Topeka share several key characteristics.
At a Glance
0
Buffalo
0
Topeka
Cost of Living & Affordability — Buffalo leads
Source: City Stats Index / HUDTopeka has a fair market rent (1br) of $820 vs $1,139 in Buffalo (39% lower). Topeka has a fair market rent (2br) of $1,057 vs $1,343 in Buffalo (27% lower). Buffalo scores 86.7 on the food index (100 = national avg) vs 92.7 in Topeka.
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 — Topeka leads
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSTopeka has a single-family homes of 70.4% compared to 39.5% in Buffalo. Topeka has a vacancy rate of 9.4% compared to 12.4% in Buffalo. Topeka has a owner-occupied of 59.1% compared to 42.7% in Buffalo.
Median Home Value
Median Rent
Median Property Tax
Owner-Occupied
Vacancy Rate
Single-Family Homes
Jobs & Economy — Topeka leads
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSBuffalo: 132,325 vs Topeka: 62,868 for labor force. Topeka has a poverty rate of 15.6% compared to 27.4% in Buffalo. Topeka has a unemployment rate of 4.9% 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 — Buffalo leads
Source: FBI UCRTopeka has a robbery rate (per 1k) of 0.81 compared to 1.58 in Buffalo. Buffalo has a property crime clearance of 10.0% compared to 5.8% in Topeka. Buffalo has a burglary rate (per 1k) of 4.38 compared to 6.38 in Topeka.
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
Source: NCES / U.S. Census BureauTopeka has a high school diploma or higher of 41.1% compared to 38.3% in Buffalo. Buffalo has a bachelor's degree or higher of 20.2% compared to 19.6% in Topeka.
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 2.2x the size of Topeka (126,103). Buffalo skews younger with a median age of 34.3 vs 38.2.
Population
Median Age
Avg Household Size
Married Population
Foreign Born
White
Black
Hispanic
Asian
Buffalo
Topeka
Healthcare — Topeka leads
Source: CMS Hospital CompareTopeka: 5 vs Buffalo: 3 for with emergency services. Topeka: 4.0 vs Buffalo: 2.7 for avg cms rating (out of 5).
Nearby Hospitals
Avg CMS Rating (out of 5)
With Emergency Services
Transportation & Commute — Buffalo leads
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSBuffalo has a bicycle of 0.6% compared to 0.1% in Topeka. Buffalo has a public transit of 8.5% compared to 0.9% in Topeka. Topeka has a drive alone of 76.7% 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.