Columbus Community Church · Photo: Doug Kerr from Albany, New York, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0With 0.5 jobs for every working resident, most of Columbus works elsewhere
197 jobs are based in Columbus for 378 working residents. Only 2% work in Columbus itself; outside it, Sherburne draws the most (13%, 6 miles). 22% of workers have no commute at all, where New York as a whole has 15%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Columbus
In Columbus, 91% of jobs are in factories, building or farming
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Columbus, 2013 → 2023: 1,253 → 197. 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 Columbus’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In and out of Columbus on a workday
On a workday 370 residents head out to work, 8 work right here, and 189 people come in from elsewhere.
About 710 people are in Columbus on a workday afternoon, 20% 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.
Commuting out of Columbus: the destinations
Where Columbus clocks in
Lines 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.
Getting to work from Columbus takes about 32 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Columbus workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 267 commuters (the 22% 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 Columbus
About 23% 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.
Columbus and its neighbors: 20% work next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Columbus workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbus | – | — | — | 32 min | $58,889 |
| Edmeston | 3% | D | C | 25 min | $67,639 |
| South Edmeston | under 2% | — | — | 32 min | — |
| Pittsfield | under 2% | D | D− | 24 min | $66,917 |
| Sherburne | 13% | C+ | B− | 22 min | $63,203 |
| Brookfield | under 2% | C− | D | 36 min | $69,205 |
| New Berlin | 4% | D | C− | 20 min | $62,159 |
Same-state neighbors only. South Edmeston: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Sherburne. Darker towns draw more of Columbus’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 Columbus: questions
What is the median household income in Columbus?
$58,889 (±$10,712) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Columbus?
9.6%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Columbus?
32 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 22% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Columbus work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Sherburne (13%, 6 mi), Norwich (11%, 13 mi), Norwich (10%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Columbus without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Columbus, from the people who make the trip.
More of Columbus
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.