West - Buffalo Tucked on the shore of Lake Erie in western New York, the 30th contains most of the southern and eastern part of Buffalo and the portion of Erie County that lies south of the city. The region went through a transition in the 1990s, struggling to shed its high unemployment and Rust Belt image of the previous decade. Trade agreements giving Canadian businesses access to Buffalo's skilled labor market and lower taxes have helped to revive Buffalo's manufacturing sector. Sports teams, particularly the Buffalo Bills football franchise, are the pride of the city and bring together a diverse population. Buffalo has the highest concentration of black residents in the district and also is home to a large Polish-American population.
South Buffalo has a large Irish population.
Buffalo also is the center for the 30th's blue-collar workers. The 30th is mostly Democratic but can be volatile. The lake shore is home to business executives, while the rural outskirts of Erie County are socially conservative. Residents gave Clinton solid support in 1992 and '96 but sent a moderate Republican to Congress in 1992 after nine-term Democratic Rep. Henry J. Nowak retired.