Browse / United States / South Dakota / Buffalo
Buffalo
South Dakotatown
Buffalo
Total population
278
Median home value
$114,100
Bachelor's+
Median income
$85,104
Founded
1909
Demographic figures from US Census Bureau · ACS 5-year estimates. Overview below cites Wikipedia and may reference a different year.
City facts
Facts from Wikidata (CC0).
Overview
Buffalo is a town in, and the county seat of, Harding County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 346 at the 2020 census.
Read more on WikipediaHistory & geography
History
Buffalo was established in 1909. It was named for the large herds of bison (mistakenly called buffalo) that once roamed the area. It is about fifty miles west of Bison, South Dakota.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all land. Buffalo has a cold semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk). Like all of the High Plains, this climate features summers with cool to pleasant mornings and typically very warm to hot afternoons, alongside winters that average freezing but are extremely variable due to the conflict between hot Chinook winds and cold Arctic air. Annual precipitation is quite low at around and concentrated in the spring and summer months from April to August. Buffalo lies within USDA hardiness zone 4a, meaning temperatures can drop to as low as .
Excerpted from the corresponding Wikipedia article (CC BY-SA).
Demographics & economy
Race & ethnicity
Source: US Census Bureau — American Community Survey, 5-year estimates.
Geography
Coordinates & boundaries from the US Census TIGER/Line shapefiles.
Climate
Current forecast
Forecast for Buffalo, SD from NOAA NWS API.
Air quality
Industrial & pollution facilities
Natural hazard risk
Health (adults)
Age-adjusted prevalence estimates from CDC PLACES (latest release).
Walkability
Amenities nearby
Wildlife & biodiversity
Schools
Largest nearby schools
- Buffalo Elementary - 02Elementary · Buffalo · 92 students · 11.5:1 ratio
- Harding County Middle School - 03Middle · Buffalo · 60 students · 20:1 ratio
- Harding County High School - 01High · Buffalo · 56 students · 8:1 ratio
Public K–12 schools within ~10 mi from Urban Institute Education Data Portal (NCES Common Core of Data, 2022).
Earthquake history
Photos
Sights & places nearby
Notable people from here
Nearby places in South Dakota
Geography & sun
Elevation, sunrise/sunset and daylight from Open-Meteo. Solar climatology from NASA POWER.
Nearby airports
Public attention
Pageview totals from the Wikimedia Pageviews API.
Books about Buffalo
Search results from Open Library.
Recent natural events nearby
- Wildfire Fairpoint, Meade, South DakotaWildfires · 2026-07-27 · 66 mi
- Wildfire Twin Butte Ck, Corson, South DakotaWildfires · 2026-07-27 · 84 mi
- Incident Complex Rattlesnake Complex, Prairie, MontanaWildfires · 2026-09-04 · 96 mi
- Wildfire Ayers Pond, Prairie, MontanaWildfires · 2026-09-03 · 96 mi
- Wildfire Snow, Custer, MontanaWildfires · 2026-09-02 · 100 mi
- Wildfire Duhamel, Pennington, South DakotaWildfires · 2026-07-29 · 101 mi
- Wildfire Kohns, Campbell, WyomingWildfires · 2026-07-27 · 109 mi
- Wildfire Montgomery Draw, Campbell, WyomingWildfires · 2026-08-06 · 141 mi
Wildfires, storms and other events from NASA EONET (last 12 months, within 250 mi).
Ground air-quality sensors
Recently spotted species
Research-grade observations from iNaturalist (within ~15 mi).
Nearest stream gauge
Events
Gallery
Sources
- • Wikipedia
- • US Census Bureau (ACS 5-year estimates)
- • NOAA National Weather Service
- • Wikidata
- • NCES via Urban Institute Education Data Portal
- • iNaturalist
- • CDC PLACES
- • Open-Meteo / sunrise-sunset.org
- • Wikipedia Pageviews API
- • Open Library
- • NASA EONET