Buffalo is a town in and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

of Harding County,

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

, United States. The population was 346 at the 2020 census.

Trivia

Buffalo has been assigned the ZIP code 57720 and the

FIPS place code The Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) of the United States are a set of publicly announced standards that the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed for use in computer systems of non-military, American ...

08140.

History

Buffalo was established in 1909. It was named for the large herds of

bison Bison are large bovines in the genus ''Bison'' (Greek: "wild ox" (bison)) within the tribe Bovini. Two extant and numerous extinct species are recognised. Of the two surviving species, the American bison, ''B. bison'', found only in North Ame ...

(mistakenly called buffalo) that once roamed the area. It is about fifty miles west of

Bison, South Dakota Bison is a town in and the county seat of Perkins County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 302 at the 2020 census. History Bison was platted in 1907, and named after the American bison which were once numerous in the area. A pos ...

Geography

Buffalo, South Dakota, is located at (45.584845, -103.545001). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the town has a total area of , all land.

Climate

Buffalo has a cool semi-arid climate (

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

''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 wind Chinook winds, or simply Chinooks, are two types of prevailing warm, generally westerly winds in western North America: Coastal Chinooks and interior Chinooks. The coastal Chinooks are persistent seasonal, wet, southwesterly winds blowing in from ...

s 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 A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most wide ...

4a, meaning temperatures can drop to as low as .

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2010, there were 330 people, 168 households, and 86 families residing in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was . There were 220 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.3%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 0.9% Native American, 0.3% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 1.5% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 1.5% of the population. There were 168 households, of which 22.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.7% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 7.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 48.8% were non-families. 46.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.96 and the average family size was 2.80. The median age in the town was 43.8 years. 21.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 5.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.6% were from 25 to 44; 30.6% were from 45 to 64; and 17.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 52.7% male and 47.3% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 380 people, 176 households, and 99 families residing in the town. The

was 693.6 people per square mile (266.8/km²). There were 243 housing units at an average density of 443.5 per square mile (170.6/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 99.21%

, and 0.79% from two or more races.

of any race were 1.05% of the population. 26.6% were of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

, 25.7%

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

, 15.9%

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

, 8.1%

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

and 6.1%

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

ancestry according to

Census 2000 The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 cen ...

. There were 176 households, out of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.7% were

living together, 6.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.8% were non-families. 42.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 23.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.16 and the average family size was 3.02. In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.5% under the age of 18, 5.0% from 18 to 24, 22.6% from 25 to 44, 26.3% from 45 to 64, and 20.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.6 males. The median income for a household in the town was $21,875, and the median income for a family was $37,000. Males had a median income of $30,417 versus $16,250 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the town was $13,208. About 7.0% of families and 12.2% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 8.9% of those under age 18 and 15.6% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

Town of Buffalo, SD - Official Website

Harding County School District
{{Authority control Towns in Harding County, South Dakota Towns in South Dakota County seats in South Dakota Populated places established in 1909 1909 establishments in South Dakota