Photo: Doug Kerr from now in Binghamton, NY · CC BY-SA 2.0More people are out of work in Chenango (8.4%) than in 90% of U.S. towns
About one in ten work in Chenango; the top destination outside it is Binghamton (17%, 8 miles). Chenango grades C+ for jobs and income and C− for walkability. Working residents average 24 minutes each way, 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
Work in Chenango: the figures worth knowing
Commutes from Chenango are quick
The average trip to work takes 24 minutes, against 33 across New York. That’s about 69 hours a year less on the road than the typical New York worker. Time on the road ↓
A lot of Chenango works one town over
27% of working residents work in a town that borders Chenango: Union (14%), Dickinson (9%) and Fenton (4%). Next door ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Chenango
63% of Chenango residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 45% of the jobs based in Chenango pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 91% leave town for their job. 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.
Inside Chenango’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Chenango is better than 44% of U.S. towns, #462 of 758 in New York. Household income holds Chenango’s grade up ($86,646, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Chenango could be anywhere from C to B+.
Each way, about 24 minutes from Chenango
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Chenango workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,041 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.
What the 3,109 jobs in Chenango are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Chenango, 2013 → 2023: 2,643 → 3,109. 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 Chenango’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A workday in Chenango: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 4,362 residents head out to work, 406 work right here, and 2,703 people come in from elsewhere.
About 8,900 people are in Chenango on a workday afternoon, 16% fewer than live here.
0.65 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.
The towns that employ Chenango’s residents
Where Chenango clocks in
17% of workers
14% 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.
How far Chenango goes to work
About 20% 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.
Getting around Chenango: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Chenango is more walkable than 21% of U.S. towns, #687 of 758 in New York. Both inputs place Chenango near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 4,686 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). 4.2% of Chenango households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Chenango’s commuters take a bus or train.
Chenango next to U.S. towns of 7,000 to 14,000: 1,864th of 2,878 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 98 | East Rockaway NY | 10,096 | $125K | 2.6% | 3.2% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 101 | North Castle NY | 12,360 | $208K | 3.8% | 3.1% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 131 | Hastings-on-Hudson NY | 8,440 | $194K | 2.3% | 4.1% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,862 | Richton Park IL | 12,483 | $65K | 8.8% | 11.9% | 2% | C+ |
| 1,863 | Ripon WI | 7,738 | $55K | 12.8% | 2.7% | 34% | C+ |
| 1,864 | Chenango NY | 10,594 | $87K | 9.1% | 8.4% | 9% | C+ |
| 1,865 | Leisure World MD | 8,882 | $62K | 9.3% | 9.3% | 1% | C+ |
| 1,866 | Red Bank SC | 11,314 | $68K | 11.5% | 5.7% | 3% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,878 | 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 Chenango, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
The towns next door employ 27% of Chenango
The biggest share goes to Union (14%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Chenango workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chenango | – | C+ | C− | 24 min | $86,646 |
| Fenton | 4% | C+ | C | 21 min | $73,162 |
| Maine | under 2% | C | D | 20 min | $69,115 |
| Dickinson | 9% | B | C+ | 17 min | $77,864 |
| Barker | under 2% | C− | D | 27 min | $64,348 |
| Union | 14% | C | A− | 18 min | $61,713 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Chenango’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 Chenango: questions
What is the median household income in Chenango?
$86,646 (±$8,733) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Chenango?
9.1%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Chenango?
24 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 Chenango work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Binghamton (17%, 8 mi), Union (14%, 9 mi), Dickinson (9%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Chenango walkable?
Chenango is more walkable than 21% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 5.6 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Chenango without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Chenango, from the people who make the trip.
More of Chenango
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.