Buffalo, New York’s 5 Poorest Neighborhoods

Every ten years, the US Commerce Department conducts a decennial US Census that gathers information about the people who live in America. They then update that info annually with the ACS, otherwise known as the American Community Survey. If you spend any time looking at the various Federal Government websites where they publish all this data, you may be quite surprised by the sheer amount of data they gather and store about us every year.

When reviewing the information gathered during the 2020 Census, along with the data updated annually in the ACS, you will have access to learn a lot about Western New York and the 716. From economic trends to demographic shifts, it's pretty cool to see how Buffalo has changed over time. Some things have improved quite a bit, while others have declined. When looking at this stuff, it's really interesting to see how these changes have impacted Buffalo's economy and how those changes compare to the economy in New York State and the entire nation.

Buffalo has seen a big push on investment over the years in both the real estate market and the local economy, however Buffalo still lags behind other cites and remains one of the poorest cities in the entire United States of America. If being one of the poorest cities in the US wasn't enough, Buffalo still finds a way to be one of the most economically segregated places in America. In simple terms, what that means is that poverty in the 716 area is not evenly spread. There are some exceptionally poor and needy areas, and then there are incredibly wealthy areas. Buffalo and Western New York is the tale of two cities.

You will find some eye-opening details in New York's Census data.

Where Are Buffalo's Most Impoverished Areas?

The US Census Bureau divides every area into Census Tracts or small, relatively permanent statistical subdivisions of a county. Census tracts generally have a population between 1,200 and 8,000 people, with an optimum size of 4,000. They are tracked and identified by an 11-digit number assigned to each neighborhood or area.

Most of the low-income Census Tracts in Erie County are within the City of Buffalo, which includes the five poorest neighborhoods, while a vast majority of the upper-income Census Tracts are outside of the City.

According to the Census, the annual median income within the Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY (MSA) is approximately $78,000. In contrast, the income in the five wealthiest neighborhoods in Buffalo averages well above $150,000 per year.

Western New York's Richest Neighborhoods Are The Exact Opposite

While you can find some seriously impoverished areas in Western New York, you will not find any of WNY's richest areas. You can check them out here.