The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Buffalo, MN
Buffalo is a city of 21,500 in Wright County, about 30 miles northwest of downtown Minneapolis · Updated November 2026
Is Buffalo, MN safe?
Yes. Most US neighborhoods have little crime, and Buffalo has less than most of them: its overall CrimeGrade™ is A+, safer than the neighborhoods where 93% of Americans live. Violent and property crime both grade A+ here. Every neighborhood in Buffalo grades A+.
A+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 970 of 1,000Safer than nearly all US neighborhoodsi What this means
93% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Buffalo as a whole, and 7% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Buffalo scores 970.
Crime is concentrated in a small share of places, so most neighborhoods score high on the 0 to 1,000 scale. That is why a score in the 800s can still mean more crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its crime with the people, homes and cars there, on one national scale, from green for the least crime to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy shopping center can show red while the homes beside it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a strong connection. Compare high speed internet in Buffalo, MN at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Buffalo, and anyone thinking about buying or renting a home there.
Business and enterprise customers: this free map shows neighborhood areas. CrimeGrade™ business reports map crime at about 66-meter detail and estimate it for one address and type of business. See business reports
What stands out in Buffalo
Thefts are uncommon. Buffalo has thefts at less than half the US rate: 4.3 a year per 1,000 residents, against 13.1 nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of Buffalo
Every part of Buffalo where people live grades A or B on the national scale.
100%
A or B 100%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Within Buffalo, the southwest side has the least crime and the center the most.
Crime rates and types in Buffalo
CrimeGrade™ estimates Buffalo has about 8.6 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 77% less than the US as a whole and 71% less than Minnesota.
Overall crime
Violent crime
Property crime
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. These figures include simple assaults and vandalism, which the FBI's violent and property crime rates leave out.
Theft makes up about 50% of crime reported in Buffalo. Assault is less common but costs more, because each one does more harm.
Each CrimeGrade™ compares a crime with what it affects: people for assaults and robbery, homes for burglary, parked cars for vehicle theft. Rates count crimes per 1,000 residents.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
Where and when crime happens in Buffalo
Buffalo has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Vandalism
Homes (29%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
How Buffalo compares with nearby cities
Of the 9 cities closest to Buffalo, 7 have less crime. Maple Lake and Waverly have the least.
Empty homes, night lighting and walkability in Buffalo
Two things set Buffalo apart: it has 2.2% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 48% of the land where people live lit at night, against 78% nationally. Places like that tend to report less burglary, vandalism and arson, and vandalism runs low here.
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.2.2% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 94% of US city residents
Lit at nightSatellite images show which neighborhoods are lit at night, a sign of busy streets and businesses. Brightly lit places tend to report more theft and vandalism.48% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 88% of US city residents
Walk GradeBestNeighborhood's grade for getting through daily life on foot, traced along real walking routes to shops, schools and parks. Walkable places tend to report more theft and assault. 92% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D- (10 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 78% of US city residents
Show all 6
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft and robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Buffalo: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.2.9 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 82% of US city residents
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery and car theft.5% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 73% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Buffalo on shops, parks, home prices, getting around and more.
These traits tend to go with more or less crime; none of them causes it on its own. Sources: Census job counts and housing figures, OpenStreetMap and Overture business listings, CrimeGrade™ parking estimates, NASA night-light imagery, US Forest Service tree cover, EPA transit data and BestNeighborhood's Walk Grade.
What crime costs Buffalo
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Buffalo about $221 a year per household, 82% less than the US figure of $1,205.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost comes to about $4.7 million a year, or $219 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$150,000
$7
Rape
$160,000
$8
Robbery
$33,000
$2
Assault
$530,000
$25
Burglary
$51,000
$2
Theft
$470,000
$22
Vehicle theft
$52,000
$2
Arson
$11,000
under $1
Vandalism
$250,000
$11
Total
$1.7 million
$80
How CrimeGrade™ works
A CrimeGrade™ shows how much crime an area has compared with the rest of the country, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most. Every neighborhood in the US is graded on the same scale, so a B in Buffalo means the same as a B anywhere else.
CrimeGrade™ starts from the crimes people report to police and measures each kind of crime against what it affects: people for assaults, homes for burglaries, parked cars for car thefts.
The rates on this page count crimes for every 1,000 people who live here, the way police departments report them.
Comparisons with US neighborhoods use the Census Bureau's block groups, small areas of about 1,400 residents, and count the people who live in each. The figures count crimes reported to police; many crimes, shoplifting above all, never are. Behind the grades, CrimeGrade™ tested 21,607 factors from 125 data families. For business owners, paid CrimeGrade™ location reports estimate crime at a single address for each type of business.
Where the numbers come from
Crime reports that police departments file with the FBI
State crime records and city crime data, where they are published
Published research on what crime costs victims and communities
These are estimates of reported crime for whole areas, not a record of what happened on any one street. CrimeGrade™ updates them once a year and provides them free and without guarantee. Check local sources before you rely on them for a decision.
Schools in Buffalo, MN average a SchoolGrade of A-: 45% of students test proficient, against 54% projected for schools like them. Overall, they don't meet expectations. See schools in Buffalo on SchoolGrade
