Photo: Pete716 · CC BY-SA 4.0Unemployment in Corning (8.1%) is higher than in 88% of U.S. towns
About one in seven work in Corning; the top destination outside it is Corning (21%, 2 miles). For jobs and income Corning is better than 44% of U.S. towns (C+); for walkability it is more walkable than 36% of U.S. towns (C+). Home is the office for 8% of workers, next to 15% for New York as a whole.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Corning and work: the main findings
Commutes from Corning are quick
The average trip to work takes 20 minutes, against 33 across New York. That’s about 100 hours a year less on the road than the typical New York worker. Time on the road ↓
Corning and Corning trade workers both ways
Corning is the top workplace for Corning residents (21%) and also where the most people who work in Corning come from (13% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Corning than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Corning fell from 5,181 in 2013 to 3,431 in 2023, −34%. 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 ↓
Nearly all the work in Corning is services
88% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 7% are in factories, building or farms. The jobs ↓
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.
Why Corning gets the Jobs & income grade it does
Household income holds Corning’s grade up ($88,482, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Corning could be anywhere from C to B+.
About 20 minutes to work from Corning
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Corning workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,157 commuters (the 8% 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.
The places Corning commutes to
Where Corning clocks in
21% of workers
12% of workers
8% 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.
In Corning, services account for most jobs
3,431 jobs are based in Corning.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Corning, 2013 → 2023: 5,181 → 3,431. 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 Corning’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How a workday changes Corning
On a workday 2,268 residents head out to work, 312 work right here, and 3,119 people come in from elsewhere.
About 6,600 people are in Corning on a workday afternoon, 15% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.33 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Corning
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.
Most trips from Corning start in a car
How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 3.5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 32.9% across New York, on an EPA index of 4.6.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,351 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 Corning households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Corning’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Corning ranks: 2,106th of 3,476 U.S. towns of 4,000 to 7,700
| # | 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 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 8 | Lawrence NY | 6,847 | $170K | 3.5% | 3.9% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 15 | Irvington NY | 6,533 | $173K | 1.6% | 2.1% | 6% | A+ |
| 16 | Kings Point NY | 5,710 | $211K | 0.9% | 2.4% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,104 | Village of Oak Creek (Big Park) AZ | 6,356 | $81K | 11.9% | 2.6% | 11% | C+ |
| 2,105 | Jourdanton TX | 4,751 | $84K | 14.9% | 4.3% | 13% | C+ |
| 2,106 | Corning NY | 5,734 | $88K | 8.2% | 8.1% | 12% | C+ |
| 2,107 | Mount Vernon MO | 4,835 | $53K | 13.8% | 2.0% | 24% | C+ |
| 2,108 | Hollister MO | 4,690 | $54K | 10.2% | 2.4% | 6% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,476 | 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 Corning, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
18% of Corning works in a town next door
The biggest share goes to Erwin (12%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Corning workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corning | – | C+ | C+ | 20 min | $88,482 |
| Erwin | 12% | B | B+ | 15 min | $88,333 |
| Big Flats | 6% | B+ | C− | 17 min | $87,044 |
| Hornby | under 2% | B | D | 21 min | $88,281 |
| Caton | under 2% | B | D | 26 min | $110,536 |
| Painted Post | under 2% | C+ | A− | 17 min | $62,891 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Corning’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 Corning: questions
What is the median household income in Corning?
$88,482 (±$10,016) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Corning?
8.2%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Corning?
20 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Corning work?
12% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Corning (21%, 2 mi), Erwin (12%, 6 mi), Elmira (8%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Corning walkable?
Corning is more walkable than 36% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 4.6 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Corning 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 Corning, from the people who make the trip.
More of Corning
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.