Rose Hill · Photo: Stilfehler · CC BY-SA 3.0Unemployment in Fayette (1.4%) is lower than in 91% of U.S. towns
Only 8% work in Fayette; the top destination outside it is Seneca Falls (15%, 6 miles). For jobs and income Fayette is better than 62% of U.S. towns (B); for walkability it is more walkable than 50% of U.S. towns (B−). Home is the office for 9% of workers; New York has 15%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Fayette, in a few figures
Fewer jobs are based in Fayette than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Fayette fell from 1,676 in 2013 to 748 in 2023, −55%. 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 ↓
Commutes from Fayette are quick
The average trip to work takes 21 minutes, against 33 across New York. That’s about 92 hours a year less on the road than the typical New York worker. Time on the road ↓
Fayette makes and builds things
47% of the jobs based in Fayette are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Fayette residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 22%. The jobs ↓
A lot of Fayette works one town over
29% of working residents work in a town that borders Fayette: Seneca Falls (15%), Waterloo (12%) and Geneva (2%). Next door ↓
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 Fayette
Unemployment holds Fayette’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 35% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Fayette could be anywhere from C to A.
Fayette makes things: 47% of its jobs are in goods
748 jobs are based in Fayette.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Fayette, 2013 → 2023: 1,676 → 748. 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 Fayette’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Fayette: about 21 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Fayette workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,422 commuters (the 9% 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.
Fayette quiets down on a workday
On a workday 1,236 residents head out to work, 107 work right here, and 641 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,000 people are in Fayette on a workday afternoon, 17% fewer than live here.
0.56 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.
Out of Fayette to work: where people go
Where Fayette clocks in
15% of workers
12% of workers
11% 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.
Where in the region Fayette works
About 19% 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 of Fayette commutes by car
How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 4.1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 32.9% across New York, on an EPA index of 5.7.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,558 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). 5.7% of Fayette households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Fayette’s commuters take a bus or train.
1,634th of 4,355: where Fayette ranks among U.S. towns of 2,500 to 4,800
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 7 | East Williston NY | 2,616 | $215K | 2.3% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 8 | Lloyd Harbor NY | 3,587 | $250K | 2.1% | 0.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 50 | Great Neck Estates NY | 3,139 | $238K | 5.7% | 1.7% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,632 | De Leon Springs FL | 2,687 | $57K | 8.0% | 0.0% | 2% | B |
| 1,633 | Lyman ME | 4,713 | $87K | 9.0% | 3.9% | 6% | B |
| 1,634 | Fayette NY | 3,583 | $78K | 9.8% | 1.4% | 8% | B |
| 1,635 | Roselawn IN | 3,417 | $76K | 7.0% | 2.9% | 4% | B |
| 1,636 | La Cienega NM | 3,543 | $85K | 10.0% | 1.5% | 3% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 4,355 | 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 Fayette, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
Fayette and its neighbors: 29% work next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Fayette workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fayette | – | B | B− | 21 min | $77,875 |
| Geneva | 2% | B− | D | 18 min | $82,589 |
| Waterloo | 12% | C | B− | 22 min | $63,226 |
| Varick | under 3% | C | B− | 23 min | $80,250 |
| Springport | under 3% | B+ | B | 23 min | $86,042 |
| Seneca Falls | 15% | C | B+ | 17 min | $62,487 |
| Waterloo | under 3% | C− | B+ | 21 min | $51,642 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Seneca Falls. Darker towns draw more of Fayette’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 Fayette: questions
What is the median household income in Fayette?
$77,875 (±$24,787) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Fayette?
9.8%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Fayette?
21 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Fayette work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Seneca Falls (15%, 6 mi), Waterloo (12%, 6 mi), Geneva (11%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Fayette walkable?
Fayette is more walkable than 50% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 5.7 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Fayette without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Fayette, from the people who make the trip.
More of Fayette
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.