AC repair data for Buffalo: what the federal numbers say
Free local data for AC repair work in Buffalo, taken from federal sources and last pulled October 30, 2026. It covers the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY Metro Area, starting with the homes and moving on to the local trade.
The housing here
The year-built mix is the closest public proxy for cooling load: it says how many systems are original or long past replacement. In the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY Metro Area, 157,865 of 541,660 homes (29.1%) were built before 1940, and 296,599 (54.8%) before 1960. Nationally the shares are 11.7% and 25.6%. The median home across the metro is worth $226,100, against $332,700 nationally. 33.2% of households rent. Heating fuel splits 84.8% gas and 9.3% electric. Fuel oil heats 1.5%.
| Area | Homes | Median year built | Built before 1940 | Built before 1960 | Renters | Gas heat | Electric heat | Median value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY Metro Area | 541,660 | 1957 | 29.1% | 54.8% | 33.2% | 84.8% | 9.3% | $226,100 |
| Erie County, New York | 441,214 | 1957 | 29.4% | 55.1% | 34.2% | 86.8% | 8.7% | $233,800 |
| Niagara County, New York | 100,446 | 1958 | 28.0% | 53.5% | 28.8% | 76.2% | 11.8% | $189,800 |
| Buffalo (city) | 136,850 | 1938 | 61.0% | 80.3% | 57.0% | 85.9% | 9.9% | $164,200 |
| New York | 8,585,241 | 1959 | 30.3% | 52.0% | 45.7% | 59.1% | 15.4% | $423,800 |
| United States | 143,775,355 | 1980 | 11.7% | 25.6% | 34.8% | 46.5% | 41.3% | $332,700 |
U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates 2020-2024. Counties shown are the main ones in the metro (2 in all).
The local market
County Business Patterns counts 308 plumbing and HVAC contractors across the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY Metro Area, 6.14 for every ten thousand households. That is roughly one for every 1,628 households. The Census counts locations rather than companies, so a one-truck operator and a national chain's branch each count once. That Census code covers plumbing and heating and cooling together, so it counts more establishments than the trade alone.
Home prices
The Federal Housing Finance Agency's house price index for Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY is up 6.3% over the latest year (through 2025). Over five years it is up 57.8%, and over ten it is up 104.7%. The index follows repeat sales of the same houses, so it measures how prices moved, not what any one home sells for this month.
What the trade pays
HVAC and refrigeration mechanics and installers (SOC 49-9021) in Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY earned a mean of $31.40 an hour ($65,320 a year) in May 2025, against $31.14 an hour ($64,780) nationally, about 1% above the national mean. The median is $29.89 an hour here and $29.33 nationally. BLS estimates 1,370 people hold that job in Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY.
These are wages paid to workers, not prices charged to customers; a customer's bill also has to cover the vehicle and the insurance.
Where these numbers come from
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates 2020-2024, tables B25034, B25040, B25003, B25024, B25035, B25077, B01003, B11001
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates 2015-2019 (county trend comparison)
- FHFA House Price Index (all-transactions, annual, NSA), Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY
- U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023, NAICS 238220 (HVAC & refrigeration)
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year 2020-2024, table B11001 (households, density denominator)
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics) (OEWS), HVAC and refrigeration mechanics and installers (49-9021), Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY, May 2025 (national benchmark: U.S.)
The American Community Survey is a sample, so every housing figure carries a margin of error, and it is widest for small areas. Where a source suppresses a cell to protect individual businesses or because the sample is too thin, we leave it blank rather than estimate it. Queen City Cooling Desk reads these files and does not edit them.