Work & commute · Buffalo

Work & commute in Buffalo, MN

About one in 5 of Buffalo’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Minneapolis (6%), Plymouth (5%) and Maple Grove (3%). Half commute less than 21 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

21%

1,752 of 8,429 working residents

Typical commute

21 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

27 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

13%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 6,677 Buffalo residents head out of town to work, 1,752 work right here, and 5,322 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Buffalo.

6,677live here, work elsewhere

1,752live and work here

5,322work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Buffalo goes to work

Buffalo (in town)right here

21%1,752

Minneapolis32.7 mi away

6%540

Plymouth22.4 mi away

5%426

Maple Grove20.2 mi away

3%273

Monticello8.8 mi away

3%264

Eden Prairie30.2 mi away

2%208

Delano10.3 mi away

2%185

Minnetonka26.2 mi away

2%175

St. Paul40.4 mi away

2%169

St. Michael8.6 mi away

2%156

Everywhere elseother towns and states

51%4,281

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far Buffalo commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

32%

28%

35%

32%Under 10 mi

28%10–24 mi

35%25–50 mi

5%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Buffalo is balanced between jobs and homes

0.84jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.84 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Buffalo are

7,074 jobs are based in Buffalo. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Buffalo’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Buffalo

7,074 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)12%

Trade, transport & utilities25%

Services (health, schools, offices…)64%

$1,250 a month or less24%

$1,251–$3,333 a month24%

Over $3,333 a month52%

Jobs Buffalo residents hold

8,429 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)23%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)55%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month20%

Over $3,333 a month64%

+7%

Jobs based in Buffalo, 2013 → 2023: 6,585 → 7,074. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.

Where the employer saysA job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.

Two surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.