With 0.1 jobs for every working resident, most of Alma works elsewhere
Hardly any work in Alma; the top destination outside it is Wellsville (34%, 8 miles). 30 jobs are based in Alma, and 273 of its residents work somewhere. Working from home is the commute for 4% of workers, against 15% across New York.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Alma stands out on work
Alma and Wellsville trade workers both ways
Wellsville is the top workplace for Alma residents (34%) and also where the most people who work in Alma come from (27% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Alma is a place people come home to
There are 30 jobs based in Alma, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Alma has about 520 people in it, 32% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Alma are quick
The average trip to work takes 24 minutes, against 33 across New York. That’s about 69 hours a year less on the road than the typical New York worker. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 273 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Commuting out of Alma: the destinations
Where Alma clocks in
34% of workers
4% of workers
3% 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.
Alma by day and by night
On a workday 272 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 29 people come in from elsewhere.
About 520 people are in Alma on a workday afternoon, 32% 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.
About 24 minutes each way, quicker than most of New York
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Alma workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 226 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.
Most jobs in Alma are in services
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Alma, 2013 → 2023: 9 → 30. 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 Alma’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Alma goes to work
About 32% 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.
The towns next door employ 38% of Alma
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Alma workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alma | – | — | — | 24 min | $45,000 |
| Bolivar | 2% | D | B− | 27 min | $58,548 |
| Scio | 2% | D | C+ | 21 min | $62,426 |
| Willing | under 2% | C+ | C− | 23 min | $68,778 |
| Wellsville | 34% | C− | B− | 16 min | $63,227 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Wellsville. Darker towns draw more of Alma’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 Alma: questions
What is the median household income in Alma?
$45,000 (±$12,627) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Alma?
21.9%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Alma?
24 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 Alma work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Wellsville (34%, 8 mi), Olean (4%, 21 mi), Alfred (3%, 18 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Alma without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Alma, from the people who make the trip.
More of Alma
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.