13,464 people (2024 Census estimate, +1.1% since 2020)
676 square miles of land · 20 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
7 active community water systems list Buffalo County in the area they serve, reporting 4,819 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| MONDOVI WATERWORKS groundwater · local government · WI6060193 | 2,667 served |
| ALMA WATERWORKS groundwater · local government · WI6060192 | 769 served |
| COCHRANE WATERWORKS groundwater · local government · WI6060226 | 450 served |
| FOUNTAIN CITY WATERWORKS groundwater · local government · WI6060228 | 443 served |
| NELSON WATER & SEWER DEPT groundwater · local government · WI6060232 | 375 served |
| RIVERVIEW PARK groundwater · private · WI6060227 | 90 served |
| FOUNTAIN BLUFFS MHP LLC groundwater · private · WI6060230 | 25 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 19 people were held in Buffalo County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2025). In 2020 it was about 10.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
4 school districts have their office in Buffalo County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $15.3 million — $12.9 million to run schools, about $13,390 per student, plus $791,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $5.6 million local (mostly property tax), $10.1 million state, $2.1 million federal. Long-term debt: $15.4 million.
Spent $8.7 million — $7.7 million to run schools, about $13,821 per student, plus $205,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $4.3 million local (mostly property tax), $5.1 million state, $1.2 million federal. Long-term debt: $4 million.
Spent $4.3 million — $3.6 million to run schools, about $15,227 per student, plus $81,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $2.7 million local (mostly property tax), $2.3 million state, $540,000 federal. Long-term debt: $2.1 million.
Spent $3.2 million — $2.6 million to run schools, about $19,348 per student, plus $129,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $1.4 million local (mostly property tax), $1.7 million state, $453,000 federal.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Very Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Buffalo County about $7 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively Moderate; social vulnerability: Very Low.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
239 bridges in Buffalo County: 143 in good condition, 76 fair, and 20 poor (8.4%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| STH 35 over SLOUGH · built 1933 | 2,100 vehicles a day |
| STH 35 over SLOUGH · built 1933 | 2,100 vehicles a day |
| STH 35 over SLOUGH · built 1933 | 2,100 vehicles a day |
| STH 35 over SLOUGH · built 1933 | 2,100 vehicles a day |
| STH 35 over SLOUGH · built 1933 | 2,100 vehicles a day |
| STH 35 over SLOUGH · built 1933 | 2,100 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $2.8 million of work in Buffalo County in fiscal 2025, about $208 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
Registration deadlines, early voting and polling places for Wisconsin are on the federal site vote.gov, which links to the state's official election office.
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Buffalo County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Buffalo County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Wisconsin: the state government and every county in Wisconsin.
Nearby counties: Pepin County (17 mi) · Trempealeau County (21 mi) · Wabasha County, MN (24 mi) · Winona County, MN (28 mi) · Eau Claire County (33 mi) · Dunn County (39 mi).