Work & commute · Buffalo

Work & commute in Buffalo, WI

Most working residents leave Buffalo for work: only 2% work in town. The top destinations are Winona (27%), Cochrane (8%) and Whitehall (5%). Half commute less than 16 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

12 of 530 working residents

Typical commute

16 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

33 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 518 Buffalo residents head out of town to work, 12 work right here, and 43 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Buffalo.

518live here, work elsewhere

12live and work here

43work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Buffalo goes to work

Winona, MN15.4 mi away

27%141

Cochrane1.2 mi away

8%44

Whitehall27.8 mi away

5%28

Alma8.5 mi away

5%25

La Crosse42.1 mi away

4%22

Waumandee7.8 mi away

4%19

Wabasha, MN13.6 mi away

3%15

Goodview, MN13.1 mi away

2%13

Buffalo City (in town)right here

2%12

Eau Claire45 mi away

2%9

Everywhere elseother towns and states

38%202

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.

21%

43%

17%

19%

21%Under 10 mi

43%10–24 mi

17%25–50 mi

19%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Buffalo is a commuter town

0.10jobs per working resident

A commuter town

0.10 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Buffalo are

55 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

55 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)11%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)65%

$1,250 a month or less38%

$1,251–$3,333 a month16%

Over $3,333 a month45%

Jobs Buffalo residents hold

530 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)33%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)46%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month58%

+4%

Jobs based in Buffalo, 2013 → 2023: 53 → 55. 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.