Photo: Igoldste · CC BY-SA 2.5Bethlehem’s household incomes are higher than in 90% of U.S. towns
About one in seven work in Bethlehem itself; outside it, Albany draws the most (35%, 6 miles). The poverty rate is 5.0%, next to 14.0% for New York as a whole. For jobs and income Bethlehem is better than 91% of U.S. towns (A); for walkability it is more walkable than 64% of U.S. towns (B).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Bethlehem
A lot of Bethlehem works one town over
41% of working residents work in a town that borders Bethlehem: Albany (35%), Guilderland (3%) and East Greenbush (3%). Next door ↓
Commutes from Bethlehem are quick
The average trip to work takes 22 minutes, against 33 across New York. That’s about 84 hours a year less on the road than the typical New York worker. Time on the road ↓
Most Bethlehem residents work close to home
65% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about two in three. How far ↓
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.
How Bethlehem earns its Jobs & income grade
Household income is its strongest input ($123,893, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.0%, U.S. 5.2%). 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, Bethlehem could be anywhere from A− to A+.
The daily trip from Bethlehem: about 22 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Bethlehem workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 13,790 commuters (the 20% 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.
The commute from Bethlehem, by distance
About 15% 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 daily commute in and out of Bethlehem
On a workday 14,209 residents head out to work, 2,154 work right here, and 7,896 people come in from elsewhere.
About 29,000 people are in Bethlehem on a workday afternoon, 18% fewer than live here.
0.61 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Out of Bethlehem to work: where people go
Where Bethlehem clocks in
35% of workers
11% of workers
4% 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 Bethlehem
10,050 jobs are based in Bethlehem.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Bethlehem, 2013 → 2023: 10,492 → 10,050. 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 Bethlehem’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Most of Bethlehem commutes by car
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 17,145 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 25% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 6% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 68% 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). 4.2% of Bethlehem households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Bethlehem’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 1,219 U.S. towns of 25,000 to 48,000, Bethlehem comes 197th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| 2 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | Eastchester NY | 34,015 | $156K | 4.8% | 2.6% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 42 | Clifton Park NY | 37,775 | $133K | 2.3% | 2.0% | 13% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 60 | Valley Stream NY | 40,379 | $133K | 5.5% | 2.8% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 195 | Pacifica CA | 36,890 | $161K | 5.8% | 3.9% | 8% | A |
| 196 | Chaska MN | 30,513 | $111K | 5.8% | 3.2% | 13% | A |
| 197 | Bethlehem NY | 35,684 | $124K | 5.0% | 3.0% | 13% | A |
| 198 | Bethlehem Township PA | 26,769 | $119K | 5.1% | 3.1% | 8% | A |
| 199 | Miami Lakes FL | 33,067 | $102K | 6.0% | 3.1% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,219 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Bethlehem, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
The towns next door employ 41% of Bethlehem
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Bethlehem workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bethlehem | – | A | B | 22 min | $123,893 |
| Albany | 35% | C | A+ | 20 min | $61,986 |
| New Scotland | under 2% | A− | C− | 24 min | $122,659 |
| Coeymans | under 2% | A− | C | 28 min | $95,403 |
| Schodack | under 2% | A− | C− | 25 min | $108,074 |
| Guilderland | 3% | A | A− | 21 min | $112,273 |
| East Greenbush | 3% | A | A | 21 min | $105,111 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Albany. Darker towns draw more of Bethlehem’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 Bethlehem: questions
What is the median household income in Bethlehem?
$123,893 (±$9,099) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Bethlehem?
5.0%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Bethlehem?
22 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 20% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Bethlehem work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Albany (35%, 6 mi), Colonie (11%, 11 mi), New York City (4%, 133 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Bethlehem walkable?
Bethlehem is more walkable than 64% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.9 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Bethlehem without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 6% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Bethlehem, from the people who make the trip.
More of Bethlehem
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.