Buffalo makes Missouri’s top 10 on 2 lists
Buffalo is ranked on 33 lists against the 256 Missouri towns with 2,500+ residents. It makes the top 10 on 2 and the top quarter on 3.
Shorter growing season than 99% of Missouri
Not better or worse, just Buffalo’s character, from the lists where neither end is the “good” one. The most distinctive come first.
The lists Buffalo does best on
Each list ranks every MO town with 2,500+ residents. Tap one to see the whole list with Buffalo marked.
Buffalo lands in the top half on 9 of 20 lists
Each dot is Buffalo’s spot on one list: the left end is #1 in MO, the right end is last. Areas where Buffalo does best come first.
3 spots from the top 3 for graduation rate
Lists where Buffalo sits just outside a milestone, and what it would take to get in.
Every MO list, and where Buffalo lands
41 lists from Census, school, health, library, crime, climate and land data. Tap any list to see every town on it.
Cost of living
Most affordable#1 Pine Lawn · 0.9 yrs
#73
Cheapest rent#1 Mountain View · $424/mo
#7
Lowest property tax#1 Mountain Grove · $438/yr
#32
Rent easiest to afford#1 De Soto · 20.3%
People
Most educated#1 Glendale · 90.1%
#95
F
Youngest#1 Fort Leonard Wood · 20.5
#203
Oldest#1 Osage Beach · 59.4
#57
Most residents 65+#1 Forsyth · 36.4%
#215
Most kids#1 Glasgow Village · 40%
#244 
Housing
Vacation-home towns#1 Osage Beach · 57.2%
#30
N
Most new homes#1 North Kansas City · 27.0 per 1,000
#89
Fastest-rising home prices#1 Versailles · +110.5%
#33
Housing hasn't kept up#1 Forsyth · 13.6 per home
Outdoors
Most conserved land#1 Park Hills · 63%
#148
Most trails#1 Park Hills · 3.3 mi / sq mi
Most walkable#1 Pine Lawn · 213 / sq mi
#80 Health
Healthiest#1 Ladue · 99 / 100
#185
Lowest obesity#1 Town and Country · 23%
#119
Fewest smokers#1 Town and Country · 7%
#178
Most active#1 Glendale · 16%
#180
Fewest uninsured#1 Ladue · 3%
#129
Lowest depression#1 Black Jack · 19%
#150
Closest to a top hospital#1 Branson · 0.0 mi
#173 
Getting around
F Shortest commute#1 Fort Leonard Wood · 9 min #250Climate
U Snowiest#1 Union · 29 in #170
Least snow#1 Salem · 1.3 in
#83
Mildest winters#1 Caruthersville · 29.5°
#133
Hottest summers#1 Carl Junction · 90.4°
#75
U
Coolest summers#1 Union · 85.4°
#165
Longest growing season#1 Caruthersville · 230 days
#253
Wettest#1 Kennett · 51 in
#77 Libraries
Most-used libraries#1 Richmond Heights · 16.6 per resident
N
Most library borrowing#1 North Kansas City · 30.2 per resident
N
Best libraries for kids#1 North Kansas City · 61.4 per child
Safety
Safest#1 Odessa · 4.4
The number on the right is Buffalo’s spot. All of Missouri’s rankings, with the map → · National lists and other states: all rankings.
Do the numbers ring true?
The lists count what can be counted. Neighbors know the rest.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
- 2,500+ residents. Census estimates for smaller towns carry margins of error too wide to rank fairly, so they sit out every MO list.
- One town, one row. A city that is both a city and a town in Census data, or a village inside a town, is counted once.
- Ties share a rank. Towns on one weather station, one school district or one CDC estimate share a figure, so they share a spot (T).
- No “worst” lists. Lists rank toward the good end, and share cards are made only for the top half. Age, snow and the like are character, not grades.
U.S. Census Bureau (American Community Survey 5-year, 2010 and 2020 censuses, Building Permits Survey), U.S. Department of Education, FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, CDC PLACES, Medicare Care Compare, IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FHFA House Price Index, NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. Each list explains its own method.