Photo: Novis-M · Public domainAt 7.6%, unemployment in Bolton is higher than in 86% of U.S. towns
The two grades for Bolton are C+ for jobs and income and B for walkability. Household incomes here are higher than in 79% of U.S. towns. 7% of workers work from home (New York 15%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Bolton stands out on work
Bolton has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Bolton went from 397 in 2013 to 659 in 2023, +66%. The jobs ↓
A big share show a job far from home
32% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
Commutes from Bolton are quick
The average trip to work takes 25 minutes, against 33 across New York. That’s about 61 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 752 working residents, small shifts move the shares; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
How Bolton earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Bolton is better than 38% of U.S. towns. Household income holds Bolton’s grade up ($102,898, U.S. $80,734); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 8% of U.S. towns). It also does well on the poverty rate.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Bolton could be anywhere from C− to A−.
Mostly services: health care, schools and offices
659 jobs are based in Bolton.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Bolton, 2013 → 2023: 397 → 659. 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 Bolton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The commute from Bolton, by distance
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.
About 25 minutes each way, quicker than most of New York
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Bolton workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 914 commuters (the 7% 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.
How a workday changes Bolton
On a workday 571 residents head out to work, 181 work right here, and 478 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 (0.88 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.
10% of working residents work in Queensbury
Where Bolton clocks in
10% of workers
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.
In Bolton, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Bolton is more walkable than 62% of U.S. towns. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 10.9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 32.9% across New York, on an EPA index of 5.3.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 983 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). 3.8% of Bolton households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 4% of Bolton’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Bolton is 2,900th of 5,509 U.S. towns of 1,400 to 2,700
| # | 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 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 8 | Atlantic Beach NY | 1,723 | $166K | 1.8% | 3.1% | 3% | A+ |
| 9 | Village of the Branch NY | 1,764 | $174K | 1.5% | 3.1% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,898 | Concord VA | 1,462 | $71K | 13.3% | 0.0% | 1% | C+ |
| 2,899 | Athens NY | 1,581 | $84K | 11.1% | 5.6% | 4% | C+ |
| 2,900 | Bolton NY | 1,994 | $103K | 7.2% | 7.6% | 24% | C+ |
| 2,901 | Richland Township OH | 2,060 | $75K | 9.1% | 7.2% | 2% | C+ |
| 2,902 | North Buffalo Township PA | 2,611 | $76K | 9.1% | 7.5% | 1% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5,509 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Bolton, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
Bolton and its neighbors: 15% work next door
The biggest share goes to Queensbury (10%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Bolton workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bolton | – | C+ | B | 25 min | $102,898 |
| Fort Ann | under 2% | B | C− | 26 min | $85,902 |
| Warrensburg | 2% | C | C+ | 21 min | $60,907 |
| Dresden | under 2% | — | — | 31 min | — |
| Horicon | under 2% | C+ | C+ | 20 min | $80,750 |
| Lake George | 3% | A− | A− | 24 min | $103,857 |
| Hague | under 2% | — | — | 19 min | — |
| Queensbury | 10% | B | B | 21 min | $89,772 |
Same-state neighbors only. Dresden and Hague: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Bolton’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 Bolton: questions
What is the median household income in Bolton?
$102,898 (±$19,916) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Bolton?
7.2%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Bolton?
25 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Bolton work?
24% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Queensbury (10%, 15 mi), Glens Falls (6%, 18 mi), Albany (5%, 64 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Bolton walkable?
Bolton is more walkable than 62% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 5.3 out of 20, and 11% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Bolton without a car?
4% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Bolton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Bolton
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.