Hamilton draws about half of Hamilton’s working residents
The average commute takes 15 minutes each way, next to 33 for New York and 26 for the U.S. Hamilton grades C+ for jobs and income and A for walkability. About half stay in Hamilton for work; outside it, Hamilton is the main destination (48%, 4 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Hamilton: the figures worth knowing
Commutes from Hamilton are quick
The average trip to work takes 15 minutes, against 33 across New York. That’s about 138 hours a year less on the road than the typical New York worker. Time on the road ↓
Hamilton has far more jobs than workers
Hamilton has 3,494 jobs, 3.3 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 6,500 people are in town, 60% more than the 4,100 who live here. Day and night ↓
Nearly all the work in Hamilton is services
97% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 1% are in factories, building or farms. The jobs ↓
Many jobs in Hamilton pay little
35% of the jobs based in Hamilton pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. Young workers hold many of them: 37% of all the jobs here go to people 29 or younger. The jobs ↓
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 Hamilton
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Hamilton is better than 43% of U.S. towns, #474 of 758 in New York. Unemployment holds Hamilton’s grade up (2.4%, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 29% of U.S. towns).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Hamilton could be anywhere from C− to B+.
Hamilton’s commute takes about 15 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Hamilton workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,337 commuters (the 14% 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 leaves Hamilton for work, and who comes in
On a workday 549 residents head out to work, 512 work right here, and 2,982 people come in from elsewhere.
About 6,500 people are in Hamilton on a workday afternoon, 60% more than live here.
3.3 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
Mostly services: health care, schools and offices
3,494 jobs are based in Hamilton.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Hamilton, 2013 → 2023: 2,806 → 3,494. 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 Hamilton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The towns that send workers to Hamilton
Where Hamilton clocks in
4% of workers
2% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Hamilton
About 31% 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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Hamilton
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Hamilton is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns, #177 of 758 in New York. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 67.9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 32.9% across New York, on an EPA index of 8.1.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,548 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). 13.9% of Hamilton households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 5% of Hamilton’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 4,023 U.S. towns of 2,900 to 5,500, Hamilton comes 2,377th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 7 | Lloyd Harbor NY | 3,587 | $250K | 2.1% | 0.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 20 | North Hills NY | 5,481 | $173K | 3.0% | 1.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 52 | Great Neck Estates NY | 3,139 | $238K | 5.7% | 1.7% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,375 | Burlington CO | 3,164 | $74K | 9.2% | 2.8% | 49% | C+ |
| 2,376 | Ely NV | 3,946 | $78K | 7.6% | 3.9% | 61% | C+ |
| 2,377 | Hamilton NY | 4,078 | $67K | 13.0% | 2.4% | 48% | C+ |
| 2,378 | Mead Township OH | 5,245 | $55K | 10.2% | 1.7% | 8% | C+ |
| 2,379 | Hartland VT | 3,398 | $86K | 8.5% | 5.9% | 11% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,023 | 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 Hamilton, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
Hamilton and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Madison (1%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Hamilton’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 Hamilton: questions
What is the median household income in Hamilton?
$66,750 (±$26,073) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Hamilton?
13.0%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Hamilton?
15 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Hamilton work?
48% work in town.
Is Hamilton walkable?
Hamilton is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 8.1 out of 20, and 68% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Hamilton without a car?
5% of commuters take transit and 14% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Hamilton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Hamilton
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.