Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author or not provided · Public domainWhere Dexter earns its living
The trip to work takes 16 minutes on average; New York averages 33, the U.S. 26. For 5% of workers, the job is at home, against 15% across New York. Only 4% stay in Dexter for work; outside it, Watertown is the main destination (31%, 7 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Dexter, in a few figures
Commutes from Dexter are quick
The average trip to work takes 16 minutes, against 33 across New York. That’s about 130 hours a year less on the road than the typical New York worker. Time on the road ↓
31% of Dexter works in Watertown
102 working residents, 31%, have their main job in Watertown, 7 miles away. That’s 8 times as many as work in Dexter 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; with 328 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
From Dexter, about 16 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Dexter workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 244 commuters (the 5% 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.
Out of Dexter to work: where people go
Where Dexter 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.
The daily commute in and out of Dexter
On a workday 315 residents head out to work, 13 work right here, and 184 people come in from elsewhere.
About 860 people are in Dexter on a workday afternoon, 13% fewer than live here.
0.60 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.
What Dexter’s employers do
197 jobs are based in Dexter.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Dexter, 2013 → 2023: 202 → 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 Dexter’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Half of Dexter commutes less than 7 miles
About 24% 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.
Work next door: 12% of Dexter’s workers
The biggest share goes to Brownville (10%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Dexter workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dexter | – | — | — | 16 min | $49,408 |
| Brownville | 10% | B− | D | 25 min | $88,071 |
| Hounsfield | 2% | B | C | 25 min | $82,981 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Dexter’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 Dexter: questions
What is the median household income in Dexter?
$49,408 (±$14,656) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Dexter?
20.8%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Dexter?
16 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Dexter work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Watertown (31%, 7 mi), Watertown (10%, 8 mi), Brownville (10%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Dexter without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 11% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Dexter, from the people who make the trip.
More of Dexter
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.