Verbeck House · Photo: Daniel Case · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Ballston are higher than in 87% of U.S. towns
About one in ten work in Ballston; the top destination outside it is Colonie (10%, 15 miles). 4.9% of residents live below the poverty line, against 14.0% across New York. Jobs and income earn Ballston A; getting around on foot earns it B.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Ballston in brief
Jobs in Ballston have more than doubled in ten years
Jobs based in Ballston went from 2,643 in 2013 to 5,622 in 2023, +113%. The jobs ↓
Ballston trades workers with the towns around it
Ballston has about as many jobs (5,622) as working residents (5,662), but they are mostly different people: 5,083 residents leave for work each day while 5,043 people come in. Only 10% of the jobs in Ballston are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Ballston are quick
The average trip to work takes 27 minutes, against 33 across New York. That’s about 46 hours a year less on the road than the typical New York worker. Time on the road ↓
Most jobs in Ballston pay over $40,000 a year
74% of the jobs based in Ballston pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), the top earnings band in the Census data. The jobs ↓
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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
How Ballston earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Ballston is better than 92% of U.S. towns, #73 of 758 in New York. Household income is its strongest input ($116,161, U.S. $80,734); job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 65% of U.S. towns). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Ballston could be anywhere from A− to A+.
74% of the jobs in Ballston pay over $3,333 a month
5,622 jobs are based in Ballston.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ballston, 2013 → 2023: 2,643 → 5,622. 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 Ballston’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A workday in Ballston: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 5,083 residents head out to work, 579 work right here, and 5,043 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.99 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
How long Ballston spends getting to work: about 27 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Ballston workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,151 commuters (the 19% 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.
Commuting out of Ballston: the destinations
Where Ballston clocks in
10% of workers
10% of workers
8% 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 distance from Ballston to work
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.
In Ballston, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Ballston is more walkable than 60% of U.S. towns, #445 of 758 in New York. Both inputs place Ballston near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 6,386 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 19% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 63% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 1.7% of Ballston households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Ballston’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Ballston is 356th of 2,526 U.S. towns of 9,000 to 18,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 64 | Floral Park NY | 16,105 | $150K | 3.0% | 3.1% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 90 | East Rockaway NY | 10,096 | $125K | 2.6% | 3.2% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 93 | North Castle NY | 12,360 | $208K | 3.8% | 3.1% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 354 | Hooper UT | 9,741 | $113K | 4.4% | 2.0% | 4% | A |
| 355 | Grafton WI | 13,389 | $90K | 3.7% | 2.4% | 12% | A |
| 356 | Ballston NY | 13,547 | $116K | 4.9% | 1.9% | 10% | A |
| 357 | Gilberts IL | 9,082 | $146K | 5.5% | 3.7% | 2% | A |
| 358 | Southwick MA | 9,305 | $120K | 4.0% | 3.1% | 11% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,526 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Ballston, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
14% of Ballston works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Clifton Park (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Ballston workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballston | – | A | B | 27 min | $116,161 |
| Clifton Park | 6% | A+ | B− | 26 min | $133,359 |
| Charlton | under 4% | A | D | 31 min | $106,801 |
| Malta | 4% | A | C+ | 25 min | $110,425 |
| Milton | 4% | B+ | B | 25 min | $100,322 |
| Country Knolls | under 4% | — | — | 21 min | — |
| Glenville | under 4% | A− | B+ | 24 min | $98,423 |
Same-state neighbors only. Country Knolls: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Ballston’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 Ballston: questions
What is the median household income in Ballston?
$116,161 (±$13,733) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ballston?
4.9%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Ballston?
27 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 19% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Ballston work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Colonie (10%, 15 mi), Albany (10%, 20 mi), Saratoga Springs (8%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Ballston walkable?
Ballston is more walkable than 60% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.7 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Ballston without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Ballston, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ballston
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.