The local economy is often discussed in terms of the Buffalo-Niagara Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), a multi-county area with a population of over one million. While it is useful to take a regional perspective, it is also useful to consider individual cities, towns or villages. The economic picture in the city of Buffalo (population 266,012) is so quite different than that of the town of Holland (population 3,430). The poverty rates in the cities of Buffalo (29.6%) and Niagara Falls (21.8%) are vastly higher than in the remaining parts of the MSA (just over 8%). The 2010 poverty rates for a sampling (52) of the municipalities and “census designated areas” (densely settled areas that may or may not be municipalities) in the Buffalo-Niagara MSA are detailed below
