Photo: Tyler A. McNeil · CC BY-SA 4.0Fewer people are out of work in Colonie (1.2%) than in 93% of U.S. towns
Only 5% work in Colonie itself; outside it, Albany draws the most (31%, 4 miles). Colonie grades A for jobs and income and A− for walkability. Household incomes here are higher than in 80% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Colonie stands out on work
Commutes from Colonie are quick
The average trip to work takes 17 minutes, against 33 across New York. That’s about 123 hours a year less on the road than the typical New York worker. Time on the road ↓
Most Colonie residents work close to home
77% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about three in four. How far ↓
Colonie is where the jobs are
Colonie has 6,043 jobs, 1.5 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Colonie than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Colonie fell from 8,702 in 2013 to 6,043 in 2023, −31%. 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 ↓
31% of Colonie works in Albany
1,208 working residents, 31%, have their main job in Albany, 4.2 miles away. That’s 6 times as many as work in Colonie itself. The commute map ↓
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 Colonie
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Colonie is better than 92% of U.S. towns, #68 of 758 in New York. Unemployment is its strongest input; the poverty rate ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (7.5%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Colonie could be anywhere from A− to A+.
The daily trip from Colonie: about 17 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Colonie workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,252 commuters (the 16% 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.
Miles to work from Colonie
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.
Colonie by day and by night
On a workday 3,702 residents head out to work, 210 work right here, and 5,833 people come in from elsewhere.
About 9,800 people are in Colonie on a workday afternoon, 28% more than live here.
1.5 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
What work there is in Colonie: 6,043 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Colonie, 2013 → 2023: 8,702 → 6,043. 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 Colonie’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where the people who work in Colonie live
Where Colonie clocks in
31% of workers
26% of workers
4% 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.
Colonie is more walkable than 78% of U.S. towns
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.1% 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 3,858 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 18.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 97% 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). 6.0% of Colonie households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Colonie’s commuters take a bus or train.
345th of 3,051: where Colonie ranks among U.S. towns of 5,400 to 10,400
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 8 | Lawrence NY | 6,847 | $170K | 3.5% | 3.9% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 14 | Irvington NY | 6,533 | $173K | 1.6% | 2.1% | 6% | A+ |
| 15 | Kings Point NY | 5,710 | $211K | 0.9% | 2.4% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 343 | Moore Township PA | 9,508 | $103K | 5.9% | 0.6% | 5% | A |
| 344 | Williston Park NY | 7,524 | $156K | 3.2% | 5.4% | 4% | A |
| 345 | Colonie NY | 7,679 | $104K | 7.5% | 1.2% | 5% | A |
| 346 | Findlay Township PA | 7,541 | $111K | 2.1% | 3.8% | 11% | A |
| 347 | Sheboygan WI | 8,615 | $96K | 2.8% | 1.9% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,051 | 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 Colonie, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
How Colonie compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Guilderland (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Colonie workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colonie | – | A | A− | 17 min | $103,983 |
| Roessleville | under 2% | — | — | 19 min | — |
| Guilderland | 4% | A | A− | 21 min | $112,273 |
Same-state neighbors only. Roessleville: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Colonie’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 Colonie: questions
What is the median household income in Colonie?
$103,983 (±$5,902) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Colonie?
7.5%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Colonie?
17 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Colonie work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Albany (31%, 4 mi), Colonie (26%, 3 mi), New York City (4%, 142 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Colonie walkable?
Colonie is more walkable than 78% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 13.6 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Colonie without a car?
1% 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 Colonie, from the people who make the trip.
More of Colonie
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.