Map the Block › Places › South Dakota › Buffalo County
What are the crime rate and median income in Buffalo County, South Dakota?
Households here have a median income of $47,045 and the unemployment rate was 5.7% in August 2026. About 1,808 people live in the county.
Last updated . Crime: FBI 2021-2025. Income and housing: Census ACS 2020-2024. Unemployment: BLS August 2026. Road work: October 11, 2026.
Also on the map: income · hazard risk · Superfund · dams
What is the crime rate in Buffalo County?
We don't show a crime rate for Buffalo County: only tribal police reported a full year here; county sheriff and town figures are missing, so counts are partial. Reported counts for individual police agencies are on the map's crime layer.
What is the median household income in Buffalo County?
The median household in Buffalo County earns $47,045 a year, 37% lower than the South Dakota median ($75,081). Owner-occupied homes have a median value of $117,800, and the median rent is $540 a month. 23.6% of households received SNAP benefits in the past year (state: 7.9%). The newest monthly figure from the Bureau of Labor Statistics is 5.7% for August 2026 (preliminary), with 37 people out of work and looking.
| Census ACS 2020-2024 | Buffalo County | South Dakota | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 1,808 | 907,428 | 334,922,499 |
| Median household income | $47,045 | $75,081 | $80,734 |
| Median home value (owner-occupied) | $117,800 | $250,000+ | $332,700 |
| Median gross rent | $540 | $946 | $1,413 |
| Unemployment rate (2020-2024 average) | 10.8% | 2.9% | 5.2% |
| People below the poverty line | 33.9% | 11.9% | 12.5% |
| Households receiving SNAP (food stamps) | 23.6% | 7.9% | 12.1% |
| Adults 25+ with a bachelor's degree or higher | 9.9% | 31.9% | 35.7% |
| Homeowner households | 52.6% | 68.6% | 65.2% |
| Median age | 22.8 | 38.0 | 38.9 |
| Households with broadband internet | 68.7% | 89.6% | 91.0% |
| People without health insurance | 43.0% | 9.0% | 8.4% |
What natural hazards and environmental sites are in Buffalo County?
On FEMA's National Risk Index, Buffalo County has an overall natural-hazard risk rating of “Very Low”. No single hazard among floods, wildfire, tornadoes, heat waves, earthquakes and hurricanes is rated higher than “Relatively Moderate”. The index compares counties with each other and also weighs how vulnerable and resilient a community is, so it is a long-run estimate, not a forecast.
Superfund sites
EPA lists no Superfund site in Buffalo County, active or completed (October 2026).
High-hazard dams
Buffalo County has 2 dams classed as high hazard in the National Inventory of Dams. 1 is rated Poor or Unsatisfactory in condition. Tallest on the list: Big Bend Dam (205 ft) and Rank Dam (40 ft). “High hazard” describes what lies downstream (people would probably die if the dam failed), not how likely the dam is to fail.
Disasters, air and water
Buffalo County was covered by 2 federal major disaster declarations from 2016 through 2025 (Flood 2), not counting COVID-19. EPA puts the county in radon zone 1 (highest). NHTSA counted 4 traffic deaths in the county in 2024.
Is there road construction in Buffalo County?
South Dakota does not publish an open highway work-zone feed that we can read yet, so road construction in Buffalo County is not on our map. Check the state's 511 traveler site for current closures.
See today's work zones on the map →
How many schools, nursing homes and parks are in Buffalo County?
USGS mapping shows 2 fire or EMS stations and 2 police or sheriff stations.
What tribal lands and sacred sites are in Buffalo County?
Census tribal areas that reach into Buffalo County: Crow Creek Reservation and Lower Brule Reservation and Off-Reservation Trust Land. 1 ancient or sacred site is on the map here: Fort Thompson Mounds. Many are sacred to living communities, so visit respectfully and follow posted rules.
Tribal areas are Census statistical boundaries, shown for reference; they are not legal boundaries.
See them on the map: tribal lands · sacred sites →
Gun shops, liquor stores and Planned Parenthood in Buffalo County
Gun shops
No gun shops or licensed gun dealers are on the map in Buffalo County.
Liquor stores
No liquor stores are on the map in Buffalo County. South Dakota has no complete public liquor licence list we can use, so this count also draws on OpenStreetMap and Overture Maps and may miss some stores or include closed ones.
Planned Parenthood
There is no Planned Parenthood health center in Buffalo County on the map.
Sources: ATF licensee list (Sept 2026); state liquor licence lists, OpenStreetMap and Overture Maps (non-official; partial in some states); HHS Title X directory and CMS NPPES.
Common questions
What is the crime rate in Buffalo County?
We don't show a crime rate for Buffalo County: only tribal police reported a full year here; county sheriff and town figures are missing, so counts are partial. Reported counts for individual police agencies are on the map's crime layer.
What is the median household income in Buffalo County?
$47,045 (Census American Community Survey, 2020-2024 average), compared with $75,081 for South Dakota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the unemployment rate in Buffalo County?
The newest monthly figure from the Bureau of Labor Statistics is 5.7% for August 2026 (preliminary), with 37 people out of work and looking.
What natural hazards affect Buffalo County?
On FEMA's National Risk Index, Buffalo County has an overall natural-hazard risk rating of “Very Low”. No single hazard among floods, wildfire, tornadoes, heat waves, earthquakes and hurricanes is rated higher than “Relatively Moderate”.
How does Buffalo County compare with neighboring counties?
| County | Population | Violent crimes per 1,000 (2021-25) | Median household income |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brule County | 5,283 | 2.2 | $73,720 |
| Hand County | 3,140 | 0.87 | $74,635 |
| Hyde County | 1,191 | 0.00 | $73,472 |
| Jerauld County | 1,772 | 0.17 | $73,750 |
| Lyman County | 3,724 | 0.78 | $67,143 |
More: South Dakota statewide numbers · Sex-offender registry search (U.S. Justice Department, NSOPW)
Where do these numbers come from?
- Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting 2021-2025 (agency level, Return A), averaged and summed by county by Map the Block; Census population; state and national rates: FBI estimated crimes 2021-2025.
- Income, housing, education: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year, table B19013 (median household income) and related tables.
- Monthly unemployment: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS), county data, not seasonally adjusted. Public domain.
- Hazards: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), county scores; disasters: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries.
- Superfund: U.S. EPA, Superfund site boundaries and NPL status (October 2026). Dams: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, National Inventory of Dams (public map service, October 2026). Chemical releases: U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory, reporting year 2024 (basic data file).
- Air and water: U.S. EPA AirData, annual AQI by county 2024; EPA Air Quality Design Values 2023-2025 (June 2026); U.S. EPA SDWIS via ECHO drinking-water download (September 30, 2026). Traffic deaths: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 2024; Census population.
- Work zones: State departments of transportation, via the U.S. DOT Work Zone Data Exchange (WZDx) and state 511 feeds; refreshed every morning (snapshot October 11, 2026).
- Schools: National Center for Education Statistics, EDGE public school locations 2024-25; budgets: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of School System Finances, fiscal year 2024; National Center for Education Statistics, EDGE Private School geocodes (Private School Survey 2023-24). Nursing homes: U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Nursing Home Provider Information and Penalties (September 2026). Stations: U.S. Geological Survey, National Structures Dataset (Fire Stations/EMS Stations), October 2026 pull.
- Parks: USGS Protected Areas Database of the U.S. (PAD-US 4.1); state park agencies' open data (CA, NY, PA, TN, TX, FL, NJ, KY, HI, UT, MT and others); OpenStreetMap contributors for some hours, phones, fees and camping; U.S. National Park Service: unit boundaries (Land Resources Division), Acreage Report (Sept 30, 2026), park pages on nps.gov (hours, fees), Visitor Use Statistics (2025).
Map the Block shows public statistics about places, not people, and does not rate or rank neighborhoods as places to live. Figures are as published by each source; check the source before relying on a number.
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