Buffalo () is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. and the principal city of the Buffalo-Niagara Falls metropolitan area (which is the largest in Western New York and the larger Upstate New York). Downtown Buffalo is located 17 miles (27 km) south of Niagara Falls and 59 miles (95 km) southeast of Toronto, Ontario (Canada's largest city). The city also lies adjacent to the rapidly growing Golden Horseshoe region of Southern Ontario, which has a population of more than 8 million. Buffalo itself has a population of 270,919 (July 1, 2009 Estimate), and the Buffalo–Niagara–Cattaraugus Combined Statistical Area is home to 1,203,997 residents. If the neighboring Regional Municipality of Niagara in Canada is included, the population of the Greater Buffalo-Niagara Region is 1,631,418 residents.

Originating around 1789 as a small trading community near the eponymous Buffalo Creek, and went on to become a major railroad hub, and the largest grain-milling center in the country. The latter part of the 20th Century saw a reversal of fortunes: Great Lakes shipping was rerouted by the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway, and steel mills and other heavy industry relocated to places such as China. With the start of Amtrak in the 1970s, Buffalo Central Terminal was also abandoned, and trains were rerouted to nearby Depew, New York (Buffalo-Depew) and Exchange Street Station. By 1990 the city had fallen back below its 1900 population levels.

Today, the region's largest economic sectors are health care and education, and these continue to grow despite the lagging national and worldwide economies. This growth has been maintained, in part, by major expansions of the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus and the University at Buffalo. The retail sector of the economy is strong with additional revenue from Canadian shoppers who wish to take advantage of the weak American Dollar. A recent study showed that Buffalo's June 2010 unemployment rate of 7.7% is lower than both the New York State and national averages. In 2010 Forbes rated Buffalo the 10th best place to raise a family.