Buffalo is the second most densely inhabited city within New York State. It is located within the Western New York region on the eastern coast of Lake Erie. Buffalo sits at the head of the Niagara River and across from Fort Erie, Ontario. The City of Buffalo forms the seat of Erie County. It is the principal city of the Buffalo-Niagara Falls metropolitan region that is the biggest in Upstate New York. According to the Census of 2010, the city of Buffalo had a population of 261,310 and there were 1,215,826 inhabitants within the Buffalo-Niagara-Cattaraugus Combined Statistical Area. Downtown Buffalo is located 17 miles south or 27 km south of Niagara Falls.
The area emerged as a small trading community around 1789 near the eponymous Buffalo Creek. After the opening of the Erie Canal during the year 1825, Buffalo quickly grew together with the city as its western terminus. The city became the 8th biggest in the United States by 1900 and grew to become a major railroad hub. Buffalo also became known as the largest grain-milling center in the nation.
The city of Buffalo saw a reversal of fortunes as the 20th Century evolved. As the St. Lawrence Seaway opened, it in effect re-routed shipping within the Great Lakes. Different steel mills and other heavy industry were moved to places like for instance China. In the 1970s, with the start of Amtrak, Buffalo Central Terminal was abandoned and trains were re-routed to Exchange Street Station and nearby Depew, New York.
The economy within the region is based on a mixture of light manufacturing, service oriented businesses and high technology. There is likewise various life science research and industry. Though manufacturing has declined in recent decades, it still plays a major role in the economy. Finances, health services and education have grown to become more popular in the economy these days. Also, the area's "Byte Belt," includes around 700 high-tech companies that provide many job opportunities.
The areas of employment that can be found in the area include jobs in: chemicals, pharmaceuticals, polymers and plastics, automotive components, aerospace, defense technology, food products and food, fabricated metals and medical instruments.
The city of Buffalo has become a centre for human genome research and bioinformatics, with research in these fields being performed out of the University at Buffalo and the Rosewell Park Cancer Institute. The technological resources from the University are provided to private business. A number of companies and organizations are included in the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus.
Various large companies have their head offices situated in the city of Buffalo, like for example, M&T Bank and facilities for HSBC Bank USA, KeyBank, Merchants Insurance Group and Bank of America. Among the biggest food manufacturers that is family-owned within the globe, Rich Products is also situated within the city of Buffalo. Labatt Brewing and New Era Cap Company likewise call Buffalo home for their headquarters. Ford likewise has a plant here.
There are a variety of local programs for retraining and training workers from the Buffalo and Erie County Workforce Development Consortium, Inc. The Business Services Division of the Erie and Buffalo County Workforce Development Consortium is available to coordinate on the job training, to help transition displaced workers and to customize training programs for businesses.