Where Cato earns its living
Only 5% stay in Cato for work; outside it, Ira is the main destination (10%, 4 miles). 7% of workers have no commute at all (New York 15%). The trip to work takes 26 minutes on average, where New York has 33 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Cato
Commutes from Cato are quick
The average trip to work takes 26 minutes, against 33 across New York. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical New York worker. Time on the road ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Cato
63% of Cato residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 45% of the jobs based in Cato pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 95% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Many jobs in Cato pay little
26% of the jobs based in Cato pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. 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; with 219 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The daily trip from Cato: about 26 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Cato workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 219 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.
In Cato, services account for most jobs
320 jobs are based in Cato.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Cato, 2013 → 2023: 74 → 320. 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 Cato’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In and out of Cato on a workday
On a workday 209 residents head out to work, 10 work right here, and 310 people come in from elsewhere.
About 620 people are in Cato 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.
The towns that employ Cato’s residents
Where Cato clocks in
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 Cato to work
About 22% 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.
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 Cato: questions
What is the median household income in Cato?
$82,292 (±$18,624) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Cato?
9.5%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Cato?
26 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 Cato work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Ira (10%, 4 mi), Syracuse (8%, 23 mi), DeWitt (8%, 26 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Cato without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Cato, from the people who make the trip.
More of Cato
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.