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Welcome to Buffalo ...

The village of Buffalo is located in Sangamon County<1>.

The pronunciation of Buffalo: BUHF-uh-loh<2>

While we don't have a date for the founding of Buffalo, you might consider that their post office opened in 1868.

When the people of Buffalo refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Buffalonian<3>

From the  Census Estimates for 2019, Buffalo has a population of 476 people<4> (see below for details).

Buffalo is 610 feet [186 m] above sea level.<5>.

Time Zone: Buffalo lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time

Area Codes for Buffalo: 217 & 447<6>

The ZIP code for Buffalo: 62515<7>

Population Details ...

Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Buffalo had an population of 476 people. This is a decrease of 5.37% since the 2010 Census (or a decrease of 3.05% since the 2000 Census).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Buffalo had a population of 503 people. This makes Buffalo the county's 22nd most populous community.

With a 2010 count of 503 people, the population of Buffalo increased 2.44% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 491 people).

More information can be found on the Census Page for Buffalo.

Communities Also Named Buffalo ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 57 communities that are also named Buffalo - they are located in Alabama, Alberta, Arkansas (3), Colorado, Florida, Indiana (3), Iowa (2), Kansas (4), Kentucky (4), Maine, Minnesota, Missouri (3), Montana, Nebraska (2), New York, North Carolina (3), North Dakota, Ohio (2), Oklahoma (2), Oregon, Pennsylvania, Saskatchewan, South Carolina (3), South Dakota, Tennessee (5), Texas (4), West Virginia (2), Wisconsin and Wyoming.

For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Buffalo.

Communities near Buffalo ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Buffalo.

  • Springfield
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Chatham
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
  • Sherman
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Rochester
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Riverton
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Athens
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
  • Jerome
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Jerome is located in Sangamon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerome
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,575 people
  • Southern View
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Southern View is located in Sangamon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southern View
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,557 people
  • Williamsville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Leland Grove
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Leland Grove is located in Sangamon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leland Grove
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,451 people

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Buffalo. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Buffalo.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Buffalo. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Buffalo.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Buffalo. See our Newspapers Page for Buffalo.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Buffalo ...

Looking for more information about Buffalo? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

In addition to the Tourism page for Buffalo, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Buffalo.

Adding Buffalo to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Buffalo in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found (so far) for Buffalo was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<9>

From that list, the Buffalo post office opened in 1868.

For more details, see References and Mentions for Buffalo.

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of Illinois' counties, including Sangamon, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>The pronunciation we've provided is our attempt to give a phonetic pronunciation for Buffalo. While it might not be exactly right, hopefully it will be close. If we have it wrong or there's a better way to pronounce the name, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
<3>A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Buffalo refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a village's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Buffalo may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different.
<4>Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Buffalo.
<5>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Buffalo - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<6>When there's a risk of an area code running out of phone numbers, an 'Overlay Area Code' is created that has the same geographic boundaries as the existing area code. In this case, the 217 code has been Overlayed with the 447 area code. New phone numbers in the Buffalo area will be assigned with one of these codes: 217 or 447. As a result, placing a call in the Buffalo area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number).
<7>ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a village (such as Buffalo). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Buffalo or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS).
<8>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<9>A copy of the Blevins & Helbock Post Office list with background information can be found at:

      https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/