Photo: Idawriter · CC BY-SA 3.0Most of Colton commutes out: there are 0.4 jobs for every working resident
There are 240 jobs in Colton, and 568 of its residents work somewhere. For jobs and income Colton is better than 19% of U.S. towns (C−); for walkability it is more walkable than 32% of U.S. towns (C). Only 6% work in Colton; the top destination outside it is Potsdam (23%, 24 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Colton: the figures worth knowing
Colton’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Colton is Potsdam, 24 miles away as the crow flies. 23% of working residents (132) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Commutes from Colton are quick
The average trip to work takes 28 minutes, against 33 across New York. That’s about 38 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 568 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Colton
Household income holds Colton’s grade up ($69,156, U.S. $80,734); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 9% of U.S. towns).
Unemployment (0.9%) is left out: Colton’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Colton could be anywhere from D to C+.
How many miles Colton commutes
About 22% 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.
Colton’s commute takes about 28 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Colton workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 552 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.
Who leaves Colton for work, and who comes in
On a workday 533 residents head out to work, 35 work right here, and 205 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,200 people are in Colton on a workday afternoon, 22% fewer than live here.
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 Colton’s working residents head each day
Where Colton clocks in
17% 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.
What Colton’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Colton, 2013 → 2023: 250 → 240. 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 Colton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Driving is how Colton gets around
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 621 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 3.0% of Colton households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Colton’s commuters take a bus or train.
Colton next to U.S. towns of 1,000 to 2,000: 4,451st of 6,308 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 4 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 5 | Saddle Rock NY | 1,008 | $176K | 0.8% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,449 | Frederic Township MI | 1,195 | $65K | 11.0% | 11.3% | 2% | C− |
| 4,450 | Salisbury NY | 1,837 | $82K | 18.1% | 2.4% | 1% | C− |
| 4,451 | Colton NY | 1,483 | $69K | 13.3% | 0.9% | 6% | C− |
| 4,452 | Clayton Township OH | 1,566 | $45K | 10.3% | 0.0% | <1% | C− |
| 4,453 | South Centre Township PA | 1,929 | $65K | 19.5% | 7.5% | 8% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 6,308 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 0% | 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 Colton, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
How Colton compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Parishville (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Colton workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colton | – | C− | C | 28 min | $69,156 |
| Parishville | 7% | C− | D− | 23 min | $77,095 |
| Piercefield | under 2% | — | — | 22 min | — |
| Clifton | under 2% | — | — | 34 min | — |
| Hopkinton | under 2% | D | D− | 25 min | $61,125 |
| Clare | under 2% | — | — | 23 min | — |
| Long Lake | under 2% | — | — | 14 min | — |
| Cranberry Lake | under 2% | — | — | 24 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Piercefield, Clifton, Clare and Long Lake: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Cranberry Lake: 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 Colton’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 Colton: questions
What is the median household income in Colton?
$69,156 (±$6,809) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Colton?
13.3%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Colton?
28 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 Colton work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Potsdam (23%, 24 mi), Canton (17%, 24 mi), Parishville (7%, 13 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Colton walkable?
Colton is more walkable than 32% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 5.7 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Colton without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Colton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Colton
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.