Afton has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.4 for each
For jobs and income Afton is better than 11% of U.S. towns (D); for walkability it is more walkable than 25% of U.S. towns (C). Employers in Afton report 469 jobs; 1,093 of its residents have a job. Household incomes here are lower than in 86% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Afton in brief
The four measures behind Afton’s grade
The poverty rate holds Afton’s grade up (12.1%, U.S. 12.5%); unemployment pulls it down (7.8%, U.S. 5.2%).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Afton could be anywhere from D− to B−.
Each way, about 23 minutes from Afton
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Afton workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,049 commuters (the 4% who work from home are left out). Across New York: 57% drive alone, 25% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Who works in Afton, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 991 residents head out to work, 102 work right here, and 367 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,100 people are in Afton on a workday afternoon, 23% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
10% of working residents work in Sidney
Where Afton clocks in
6% of workers
5% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
The kinds of work in Afton
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Afton, 2013 → 2023: 409 → 469. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Afton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far it is to work from Afton
About 27% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Getting around Afton: mostly by car
How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 2.1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 32.9% across New York, on an EPA index of 4.6.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,098 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 3.1% of Afton households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Afton’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Afton ranks: 4,309th of 4,969 U.S. towns of 1,900 to 3,700
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 6 | Old Brookville NY | 2,098 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.2% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | East Williston NY | 2,616 | $215K | 2.3% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 10 | Laurel Hollow NY | 1,949 | $250K | 3.5% | 2.2% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,307 | Elkton KY | 2,387 | $49K | 18.2% | 0.5% | 21% | D |
| 4,308 | Pulaski NY | 2,269 | $50K | 20.5% | 5.0% | 23% | D |
| 4,309 | Afton NY | 2,719 | $52K | 12.1% | 7.8% | 9% | D |
| 4,310 | Union Township OH | 1,999 | $53K | 26.4% | 4.1% | 1% | D |
| 4,311 | Icard NC | 2,153 | $45K | 18.4% | 13.9% | 4% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 4,969 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 13.3% | 12% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Afton, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
Afton and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Bainbridge (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Afton workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afton | – | D | C | 23 min | $51,736 |
| Bainbridge | 4% | C− | C+ | 22 min | $60,391 |
| Colesville | under 3% | C− | C+ | 22 min | $61,317 |
| Coventry | under 3% | C− | D | 28 min | $63,281 |
| Sanford | under 3% | C− | B− | 27 min | $76,724 |
| Masonville | under 3% | D | D− | 27 min | $58,750 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Afton’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Afton: questions
What is the median household income in Afton?
$51,736 (±$13,469) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Afton?
12.1%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Afton?
23 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Afton work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Sidney (10%, 14 mi), Binghamton (6%, 21 mi), Union (5%, 27 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Afton walkable?
Afton is more walkable than 25% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 4.6 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Afton without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Afton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Afton
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.