Union Station · Photo: Doug Kerr · CC BY-SA 2.0Unemployment in Ghent (3.5%) is lower than in 61% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Ghent is better than 39% of U.S. towns (C+); for walkability it is more walkable than 67% of U.S. towns (B+). About one in seven work in Ghent itself; outside it, New York City draws the most (11%, 115 miles). The trip to work takes 27 minutes on average, next to 33 for New York and 26 for the U.S.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Ghent at work: what stands out
Ghent’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Ghent is New York City, 115 miles away as the crow flies. 11% of working residents (241) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Commutes from Ghent are quick
The average trip to work takes 27 minutes, against 33 across New York. That’s about 46 hours a year less on the road than the typical New York worker. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, 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 Ghent
Unemployment holds Ghent’s grade up; the poverty rate pulls it down (16.4%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Ghent could be anywhere from D to B+.
The distance from Ghent to work
About 25% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Time on the road from Ghent: about 27 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Ghent workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,909 commuters (the 19% 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.
Who works in Ghent, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 1,908 residents head out to work, 295 work right here, and 1,219 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,500 people are in Ghent on a workday afternoon, 13% fewer than live here.
0.69 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 2024, primary jobs.
Where Ghent goes to work
Where Ghent clocks in
11% of workers
8% of workers
7% 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.
What the 1,514 jobs in Ghent are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ghent, 2014 → 2024: 1,602 → 1,514. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Ghent’s own residents hold wherever they work.
For most of Ghent, work means a drive
How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 8.0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 32.9% across New York, on an EPA index of 6.1.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,347 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). 2.3% of Ghent households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Ghent’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Ghent ranks: 2,417th of 3,696 U.S. towns of 3,600 to 7,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 11 | Lawrence NY | 6,847 | $170K | 3.5% | 3.9% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 20 | Irvington NY | 6,533 | $173K | 1.6% | 2.1% | 5% | A+ |
| 21 | Kings Point NY | 5,710 | $211K | 0.9% | 2.4% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,415 | Clinton IL | 6,781 | $62K | 14.5% | 3.7% | 28% | C+ |
| 2,416 | Fort Gibson OK | 3,814 | $68K | 11.9% | 4.0% | 18% | C+ |
| 2,417 | Ghent NY | 5,210 | $82K | 16.4% | 3.5% | 13% | C+ |
| 2,418 | Lemmon Valley NV | 4,412 | $76K | 9.0% | 10.9% | 1% | C+ |
| 2,419 | Swanton VT | 6,894 | $81K | 13.0% | 3.8% | 15% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,696 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 19% | 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 Ghent, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
Bordering towns draw 17% of Ghent’s workers
The biggest share goes to Claverack (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Ghent workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ghent | – | C+ | B+ | 27 min | $82,092 |
| Claverack | 7% | B− | B | 28 min | $74,111 |
| Kinderhook | 5% | C+ | B− | 26 min | $81,989 |
| Austerlitz | under 2% | B+ | B− | 21 min | $113,021 |
| Chatham | 5% | B | B | 28 min | $107,270 |
| Stockport | under 2% | B− | C | 28 min | $98,958 |
| Hillsdale | under 2% | C | B | 19 min | $76,700 |
| Stottville | under 2% | — | — | 25 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Stottville: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Ghent’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 2024, 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 Ghent: questions
What is the median household income in Ghent?
$82,092 (±$30,274) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ghent?
16.4%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Ghent?
27 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 19% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Ghent work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New York City (11%, 115 mi), Hudson (8%, 8 mi), Albany (7%, 25 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Ghent walkable?
Ghent is more walkable than 67% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 6.1 out of 20, and 8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Ghent without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Ghent, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ghent
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.