Great Bend has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.1 for each
A typical one-way commute from Great Bend lasts 19 minutes (New York 33, U.S. 26). 22 jobs are based in Great Bend; 246 of its residents have a job. Hardly any work in Great Bend; the top destination outside it is Watertown (16%, 11 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Great Bend and work: the main findings
Great Bend is a place people come home to
There are 22 jobs based in Great Bend, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Great Bend are quick
The average trip to work takes 19 minutes, against 33 across New York. That’s about 107 hours a year less on the road than the typical New York worker. Time on the road ↓
Few Great Bend workers work from home
Only 0% of workers work from home, against 15% across New York. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
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 246 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
A workday in Great Bend: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 244 residents head out to work, 2 work right here, and 20 people come in from elsewhere.
About 710 people are in Great Bend on a workday afternoon, 24% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
About 19 minutes each way for Great Bend’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Great Bend workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 364 commuters (the 0% 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.
Where Great Bend goes to work
Where Great Bend clocks in
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.
What Great Bend’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Great Bend, 2013 → 2023: 32 → 22. 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 Great Bend’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where in the region Great Bend works
About 26% 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.
The towns next door employ 15% of Great Bend
The biggest share goes to Wilna (11%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Great Bend workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great Bend | – | — | — | 19 min | — |
| Wilna | 11% | D | B− | 24 min | $60,213 |
| Deferiet | under 2% | — | — | 25 min | — |
| Fort Drum | under 2% | — | — | 11 min | — |
| Le Ray | 4% | C− | B− | 13 min | $63,073 |
Same-state neighbors only. Deferiet: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Fort Drum: 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 Great Bend’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 Great Bend: questions
What is the poverty rate in Great Bend?
31.3%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Great Bend?
19 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 0% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Great Bend work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Watertown (16%, 11 mi), Champion (14%, 3 mi), Wilna (11%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Great Bend without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Great Bend, from the people who make the trip.
More of Great Bend
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.