More people are out of work in Collins (6.2%) than in 76% of U.S. towns
About one in ten work in Collins itself; outside it, Buffalo draws the most (11%, 28 miles). Collins grades C for jobs and income and C for walkability. Household incomes here are lower than in 73% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Collins
Commutes from Collins 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 ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Collins than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Collins fell from 1,984 in 2013 to 1,277 in 2023, −36%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Collins’ biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Collins is Buffalo, 28 miles away as the crow flies. 11% of working residents (203) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. 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.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Collins
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Collins is better than 28% of U.S. towns, #600 of 758 in New York. The poverty rate holds Collins’ grade up (9.1%, U.S. 12.5%); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Collins could be anywhere from C− to B−.
About 24 minutes to work from Collins
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Collins workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,437 commuters (the 11% 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.
65% of the jobs in Collins pay over $3,333 a month
1,277 jobs are based in Collins.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Collins, 2013 → 2023: 1,984 → 1,277. 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 Collins’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Near or far: the trip to work from Collins
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.
A workday in Collins: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 1,622 residents head out to work, 170 work right here, and 1,107 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,000 people are in Collins on a workday afternoon, 11% fewer than live here.
0.71 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.
Where Collins goes to work
Where Collins clocks in
11% 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.
The commute in Collins is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Collins is more walkable than 33% of U.S. towns, #632 of 758 in New York. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 3.7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 32.9% across New York, on an EPA index of 3.9.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,614 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). 5.6% of Collins households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Collins’ commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Collins is 2,881st of 3,862 U.S. towns of 3,200 to 6,100
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | Lloyd Harbor NY | 3,587 | $250K | 2.1% | 0.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 18 | Kings Point NY | 5,710 | $211K | 0.9% | 2.4% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 21 | North Hills NY | 5,481 | $173K | 3.0% | 1.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,879 | Huntsville AR | 3,576 | $58K | 19.8% | 3.3% | 32% | C |
| 2,880 | Casey Township IL | 3,413 | $60K | 8.2% | 5.4% | 27% | C |
| 2,881 | Collins NY | 4,501 | $61K | 9.1% | 6.2% | 9% | C |
| 2,882 | Jenks Township PA | 3,662 | $52K | 4.6% | 2.3% | 12% | C |
| 2,883 | Glendive MT | 4,736 | $73K | 13.5% | 4.3% | 46% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 3,862 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Collins, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
Collins and its neighbors: 16% work next door
The biggest share goes to Persia (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Collins workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Collins | – | C | C | 24 min | $60,905 |
| Otto | under 3% | — | — | 33 min | — |
| Persia | 5% | D | B+ | 27 min | $54,495 |
| Perrysburg | 3% | C− | C+ | 25 min | $62,333 |
| East Otto | under 3% | — | — | 33 min | — |
| Gowanda | under 3% | C− | A | 21 min | $51,828 |
| North Collins | 3% | A− | C | 25 min | $100,270 |
| Concord | 5% | B | C+ | 27 min | $78,594 |
Same-state neighbors only. Otto and East Otto: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Collins’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 Collins: questions
What is the median household income in Collins?
$60,905 (±$4,850) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Collins?
9.1%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Collins?
24 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Collins work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Buffalo (11%, 28 mi), Hamburg (6%, 17 mi), Amherst (5%, 36 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Collins walkable?
Collins is more walkable than 33% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 3.9 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Collins without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Collins, from the people who make the trip.
More of Collins
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.