Winter Home Emergency Index · 2026 edition
Buffalo, NY: 9th of 100 for winter heat and burst-pipe searches
Buffalo has 30.2 typical December–February searches for furnace, frozen-pipe and emergency plumber help per 1,000 households, 2.5x the median city (12.3). That's 1.68x what its normal winter cold predicts, 13th of 99 cities on this measure.
Ranking check: Confirmed. Buffalo ranks 9th on households inside city limits and 14th on metro population: top 25 on both. How the check works
Winter in Buffalo
- Search demand typically peaks in January, when it runs 1.87x the city's yearly average.
- 19% of winter searches are for urgent problems: burst or frozen pipes, no heat, emergency furnace repair.
- Emergency plumber searches add up to about 36.9 per 1,000 households a year.
- A normal December–February brings 3,346 heating degree days at Buffalo Niagara International Airport.
Homes in Buffalo
- The median home was built in 1938.
- 90% of homes were built before 1980.
- 86% of households heat with gas and 9% with electricity.
- 43% of households own their home.
- 119,548 households in city limits (ACS 2023).
Buffalo ranks 27th in the Summer AC Emergency Index. See Buffalo's summer page.
About these numbers
Search demand from Google Ads, Oct 2022 to Sep 2026, for 30 heating and plumbing terms. Each month uses the median of that calendar month across four years. "Buffalo" is the location as Google Ads defines it; households are city limits. This measures searches, not breakdowns or claims. Full methodology.
Cite: Home Stats Data, "Buffalo, NY ranks 9th of 100 for winter heat and burst-pipe searches," October 24, 2026, https://homestatsdata.com/plumbing/frozen-pipe-statistics/buffalo-ny/