Dr. Hovey Everett House · Photo: Lvklock · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Chemung trail those of 66% of U.S. towns
Chemung grades C for jobs and income and C for walkability. Below the poverty line: 8.5% of residents, next to 14.0% across New York. 6% of workers work from home; New York has 15%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Chemung
Jobs in Chemung have more than doubled in ten years
Jobs based in Chemung went from 403 in 2013 to 956 in 2023, +137%. The jobs ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
58% of the jobs in Chemung are in trade, transport and utilities, against 16% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
Commutes from Chemung 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 935 working residents, small shifts move the shares; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Inside Chemung’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Chemung is better than 35% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds Chemung’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 22% of U.S. towns).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Chemung could be anywhere from C− to B.
Chemung makes things: 29% of its jobs are in goods
956 jobs are based in Chemung.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Chemung, 2013 → 2023: 403 → 956. 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 Chemung’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How long Chemung spends getting to work: about 25 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Chemung workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 891 commuters (the 6% 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 and out of Chemung on a workday
On a workday 881 residents head out to work, 54 work right here, and 902 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 (1.02 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.
19% of working residents work in Elmira
Where Chemung clocks in
19% of workers
9% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Chemung
About 19% 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.
Chemung is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Chemung is more walkable than 34% of U.S. towns. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 4.7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 32.9% across New York, on an EPA index of 3.0.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 951 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). 2.2% of Chemung households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Chemung’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Chemung is 3,150th of 5,328 U.S. towns of 1,600 to 3,100
| # | 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 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 7 | Atlantic Beach NY | 1,723 | $166K | 1.8% | 3.1% | 3% | A+ |
| 8 | Village of the Branch NY | 1,764 | $174K | 1.5% | 3.1% | 2% | A+ |
| 9 | Old Brookville NY | 2,098 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.2% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,148 | Conemaugh Township PA | 1,880 | $63K | 11.4% | 5.4% | 5% | C |
| 3,149 | Glade Township PA | 1,959 | $73K | 9.4% | 2.1% | 2% | C |
| 3,150 | Chemung NY | 2,267 | $65K | 8.5% | 4.6% | 6% | C |
| 3,151 | Jackson Township OH | 1,769 | $59K | 7.4% | 7.1% | 4% | C |
| 3,152 | North Key Largo FL | 1,808 | $150K | 28.1% | 2.6% | 17% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 5,328 | 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 Chemung, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
Chemung and its neighbors: 10% work next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Chemung workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chemung | – | C | C | 25 min | $64,837 |
| Ashland | under 2% | C− | D | 21 min | $56,154 |
| Baldwin | under 2% | — | — | 29 min | — |
| Barton | 10% | C− | C+ | 20 min | $54,799 |
| Waverly | under 2% | C− | B+ | 17 min | $54,274 |
Same-state neighbors only. Baldwin: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Barton. Darker towns draw more of Chemung’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 Chemung: questions
What is the median household income in Chemung?
$64,837 (±$6,870) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Chemung?
8.5%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Chemung?
25 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Chemung work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Elmira (19%, 11 mi), Barton (10%, 6 mi), Horseheads (9%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Chemung walkable?
Chemung is more walkable than 34% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 3.0 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Chemung 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 Chemung, from the people who make the trip.
More of Chemung
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.