Buena Vista ( ) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) within Buena Vista Charter Township, Saginaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The U.S. Census Bureau has defined a census-designated place (CDP) with the same name for statistical purposes. The CDP has no official status as a municipality and the boundaries defined by the Census Bureau may not precisely correspond to local understanding of the Buena Vista area. The CDP consists of an area adjacent to the city of Saginaw on the city's east side and mostly west of Interstate 75. As of the 2020 census, Buena Vista had a population of 5,855.
History
Buena Vista began in 1846 when Curtis Emerson bought an abandoned mill here and created a settlement around it. It was named to commemorate Zachary Taylor's then recent victory at the Battle of Buena Vista.
On July 30, 2013, the Saginaw Intermediate School District Board of Trustees officially dissolved the Buena Vista School District with the district area being split up between three other districts.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , all land.
Demographics
Racial and ethnic composition
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+Buena Vista CDP, Michigan – Racial and ethnic composition<br><small></small>
!Race / Ethnicity <small>(NH = Non-Hispanic)</small>
!Pop 2000
!Pop 2010
!
!% 2000
!% 2010
!
|-
|White alone (NH)
|1,519
|961
|style='background: #ffffe6; |770
|19.36%
|14.10%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |13.15%
|-
|Black or African American alone (NH)
|5,384
|4,957
|style='background: #ffffe6; |4,249
|68.63%
|72.73%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |72.57%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)
|25
|25
|style='background: #ffffe6; |28
|0.32%
|0.37%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.48%
|-
|Asian alone (NH)
|13
|20
|style='background: #ffffe6; |13
|0.17%
|0.29%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.22%
|-
|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)
|1
|1
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0
|0.01%
|0.01%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.00%
|-
|Other race alone (NH)
|5
|5
|style='background: #ffffe6; |27
|0.06%
|0.07%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.46%
|-
|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)
|128
|159
|style='background: #ffffe6; |226
|1.63%
|2.33%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |3.86%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|770
|688
|style='background: #ffffe6; |542
|9.82%
|10.09%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |9.26%
|-
|Total
|7,845
|6,816
|style='background: #ffffe6; |5,855
|100.00%
|100.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%
|}
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Buena Vista had a population of 5,855. The median age was 37.9 years. 27.8% of residents were under the age of 18 and 18.7% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 83.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 75.1 males age 18 and over.
100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 2,514 households in Buena Vista, of which 32.2% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 18.1% were married-couple households, 22.4% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 52.9% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 37.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.