Unemployment in Big Flats (2.8%) is lower than in 73% of U.S. towns
Working residents average 17 minutes each way, next to 33 for New York and 26 for the U.S. For jobs and income Big Flats is better than 74% of U.S. towns (B+); for walkability it is more walkable than 23% of U.S. towns (C−). About one in ten stay in Big Flats for work; outside it, Elmira is the main destination (16%, 6 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Big Flats apart on work
Commutes from Big Flats are quick
The average trip to work takes 17 minutes, against 33 across New York. That’s about 123 hours a year less on the road than the typical New York worker. Time on the road ↓
Most Big Flats residents work close to home
61% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. How far ↓
Big Flats gains people on a workday
About 8,900 people are in Big Flats on a workday afternoon, 20% more than the 7,400 who live here: 4,200 come in to work and 2,800 head out. Day and night ↓
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 the Jobs & income grade adds up in Big Flats
The poverty rate holds Big Flats’ grade up (5.1%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 46% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Big Flats could be anywhere from B− to A.
Each way, about 17 minutes from Big Flats
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Big Flats workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,866 commuters (the 14% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Big Flats
About 17% 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.
A workday in Big Flats: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 2,798 residents head out to work, 333 work right here, and 4,246 people come in from elsewhere.
About 8,900 people are in Big Flats on a workday afternoon, 20% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.46 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.
Out of Big Flats to work: where people go
Where Big Flats clocks in
16% of workers
15% of workers
12% 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.
What Big Flats’ employers do
4,579 jobs are based in Big Flats.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Big Flats, 2013 → 2023: 5,969 → 4,579. 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 Big Flats’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Few in Big Flats walk, bike or ride to work
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 32.9% across New York.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 3,346 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% 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 under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 1.9% of Big Flats households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Big Flats’ commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Big Flats is 998th of 3,083 U.S. towns of 5,200 to 10,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | Lawrence NY | 6,847 | $170K | 3.5% | 3.9% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 15 | Irvington NY | 6,533 | $173K | 1.6% | 2.1% | 6% | A+ |
| 16 | Kings Point NY | 5,710 | $211K | 0.9% | 2.4% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 996 | Elmwood LA | 6,077 | $89K | 7.7% | 4.8% | 13% | B+ |
| 997 | Mullica Township NJ | 5,853 | $93K | 8.7% | 2.3% | 6% | B+ |
| 998 | Big Flats NY | 7,406 | $87K | 5.1% | 2.8% | 11% | B+ |
| 999 | Brunswick MD | 9,380 | $118K | 6.2% | 4.8% | 4% | B+ |
| 1,000 | Stratford NJ | 7,200 | $98K | 9.8% | 4.7% | 4% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,083 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Big Flats, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
The towns next door employ 22% of Big Flats
The biggest share goes to Horseheads (15%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Big Flats workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Flats | – | B+ | C− | 17 min | $87,044 |
| Southport | under 2% | C− | C+ | 20 min | $62,813 |
| Corning | 5% | C+ | C+ | 20 min | $88,482 |
| Horseheads | 15% | C+ | B− | 19 min | $68,990 |
| Catlin | under 2% | C+ | D | 24 min | $80,956 |
| Elmira | 2% | A− | C− | 21 min | $105,351 |
| West Elmira | under 2% | — | — | 21 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. West Elmira: 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 Big Flats’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 Big Flats: questions
What is the median household income in Big Flats?
$87,044 (±$10,746) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Big Flats?
5.1%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Big Flats?
17 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Big Flats work?
11% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Elmira (16%, 6 mi), Horseheads (15%, 7 mi), Corning (12%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Big Flats walkable?
Big Flats is more walkable than 23% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 6.5 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Big Flats without a car?
0% 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 Big Flats, from the people who make the trip.
More of Big Flats
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.