Franklin Hinchey House · Photo: Ammodramus · CC0At 3.3%, unemployment in Gates is lower than in 65% of U.S. towns
The two grades for Gates are B+ for jobs and income and B for walkability. About one in ten work in Gates itself; outside it, Rochester draws the most (32%, 5 miles). Commuters spend 18 minutes getting to work on average, where New York has 33 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Gates
Commutes from Gates are quick
The average trip to work takes 18 minutes, against 33 across New York. That’s about 115 hours a year less on the road than the typical New York worker. Time on the road ↓
Much of Gates works one town over
46% of working residents work in a town that borders Gates: Rochester (32%), Greece (8%) and Chili (3%). Next door ↓
Most Gates residents work close to home
75% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about three in four. How far ↓
Gates gains people on a workday
About 36,000 people are in Gates on a workday afternoon, 22% more than the 29,000 who live here: 19,000 come in to work and 12,000 head out. Day and night ↓
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 Gates
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Gates is better than 69% of U.S. towns, #262 of 758 in New York. Job access by car holds Gates’ grade up (ahead of 88% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (11.0%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Gates could be anywhere from B to A−.
About 18 minutes to work from Gates
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Gates workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 12,006 commuters (the 17% 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.
How far it is to work from Gates
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.
Who leaves Gates for work, and who comes in
On a workday 12,338 residents head out to work, 1,419 work right here, and 18,860 people come in from elsewhere.
About 36,000 people are in Gates on a workday afternoon, 22% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.47 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.
Commuting out of Gates: the destinations
Where Gates clocks in
32% of workers
10% 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.
The 20,279 jobs based in Gates
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Gates, 2013 → 2023: 18,513 → 20,279. 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 Gates’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Most trips from Gates start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Gates is more walkable than 59% of U.S. towns, #449 of 758 in New York. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 32.9% across New York.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 14,460 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 77% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 29% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 4.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 81% 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). 5.4% of Gates households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Gates’ commuters take a bus or train.
Gates is 709th of 1,467 U.S. towns of 20,000 to 39,000 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 26 | Eastchester NY | 34,015 | $156K | 4.8% | 2.6% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 51 | Garden City NY | 23,043 | $244K | 3.0% | 3.9% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 53 | Clifton Park NY | 37,775 | $133K | 2.3% | 2.0% | 13% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 707 | Exeter Township PA | 26,069 | $100K | 7.6% | 5.5% | 8% | B+ |
| 708 | Randolph Town MA | 34,948 | $110K | 8.4% | 7.7% | 5% | B+ |
| 709 | Gates NY | 28,988 | $77K | 11.0% | 3.3% | 10% | B+ |
| 710 | Ludlow MA | 21,279 | $85K | 6.8% | 4.9% | 11% | B+ |
| 711 | Calabasas CA | 22,027 | $165K | 8.8% | 10.6% | 7% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,467 | Barstow CA | 24,804 | $53K | 23.1% | 11.9% | 17% | 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 Gates, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
46% of Gates works in a bordering town
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
The biggest share goes to Rochester. Darker towns draw more of Gates’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 Gates: questions
What is the median household income in Gates?
$77,080 (±$4,314) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Gates?
11.0%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Gates?
18 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 17% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Gates work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Rochester (32%, 5 mi), Henrietta (10%, 8 mi), Greece (8%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Gates walkable?
Gates is more walkable than 59% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 11.5 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Gates without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 29% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Gates, from the people who make the trip.
More of Gates
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.