Photo: Joegrimes at English Wikipedia · Public domainHouseholds in Clay have higher incomes than those in 68% of U.S. towns
The poverty rate is 8.4%, where New York as a whole has 14.0%. Jobs and income earn Clay B+; getting around on foot earns it B. About one in seven stay in Clay for work; outside it, Syracuse is the main destination (26%, 10 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Clay: the figures worth knowing
Commutes from Clay are quick
The average trip to work takes 21 minutes, against 33 across New York. That’s about 92 hours a year less on the road than the typical New York worker. Time on the road ↓
Clay and Syracuse trade workers both ways
Syracuse is the top workplace for Clay residents (26%) and also where the most people who work in Clay come from (14% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
47% of the jobs in Clay are in trade, transport and utilities, against 23% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
Most Clay residents work close to home
65% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about two in three. How far ↓
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 Clay
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Clay is better than 70% of U.S. towns, #254 of 758 in New York. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 75% of U.S. towns); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (4.2%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Clay could be anywhere from B to A−.
From Clay, about 21 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Clay workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 27,437 commuters (the 13% 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.
Out of Clay to work: where people go
Where Clay clocks in
26% 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.
Jobs in Clay: what the 21,808 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Clay, 2013 → 2023: 19,666 → 21,808. 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 Clay’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where in the region Clay works
About 16% 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.
Who works in Clay, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 24,372 residents head out to work, 3,780 work right here, and 18,028 people come in from elsewhere.
About 53,000 people are in Clay on a workday afternoon, 11% fewer than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.77 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.
For most of Clay, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Clay is more walkable than 63% of U.S. towns, #420 of 758 in New York. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.3% 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 31,586 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 74% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 24% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 4.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 81% 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). 6.5% of Clay households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Clay’s commuters take a bus or train.
Clay places 362nd of 760 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 41,000 to 80,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 118 | Perinton NY | 46,823 | $112K | 4.8% | 3.3% | 15% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 130 | Webster NY | 45,309 | $94K | 5.1% | 2.7% | 15% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 143 | Lancaster NY | 45,075 | $89K | 5.2% | 2.4% | 15% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 360 | White Plains NY | 62,871 | $111K | 11.2% | 5.9% | 14% | B+ |
| 361 | Pico Rivera CA | 58,915 | $88K | 10.3% | 4.9% | 6% | B+ |
| 362 | Clay NY | 59,285 | $91K | 8.4% | 4.2% | 13% | B+ |
| 363 | Tamiami FL | 49,752 | $78K | 11.6% | 3.4% | 5% | B+ |
| 364 | Euless TX | 60,008 | $82K | 7.8% | 5.5% | 4% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 760 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Clay, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
Bordering towns draw 16% of Clay’s workers
The biggest share goes to Salina (8%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Clay workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clay | – | B+ | B | 21 min | $90,707 |
| Schroeppel | under 2% | C+ | B | 23 min | $73,082 |
| Lysander | 2% | A− | C+ | 24 min | $107,984 |
| Hastings | under 2% | C+ | C+ | 31 min | $84,027 |
| Sand Ridge | under 2% | — | — | 20 min | — |
| Radisson | under 2% | — | — | 22 min | — |
| Cicero | 6% | B+ | B− | 20 min | $96,463 |
| Brewerton | under 2% | — | — | 21 min | — |
| Salina | 8% | B− | A− | 18 min | $72,474 |
Same-state neighbors only. Sand Ridge, Radisson and Brewerton: Census-designated places inside larger towns, graded as part of them. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Clay’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 Clay: questions
What is the median household income in Clay?
$90,707 (±$6,011) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Clay?
8.4%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Clay?
21 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Clay work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Syracuse (26%, 10 mi), DeWitt (12%, 10 mi), Salina (8%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Clay walkable?
Clay is more walkable than 63% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 10.2 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Clay without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 24% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Clay, from the people who make the trip.
More of Clay
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.