Photo: Alexbuilerman · CC BY-SA 4.0Harriman has higher unemployment (5.8%) than 72% of U.S. towns
Only 1% work in Harriman itself; outside it, New York City draws the most (25%, 46 miles). Jobs and income earn Harriman B; getting around on foot earns it A+. Working residents average 32 minutes each way, about the same as across New York.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Harriman: the figures worth knowing
Harriman’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Harriman is New York City, 46 miles away as the crow flies. 25% of working residents (296) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
57% of the jobs in Harriman are in trade, transport and utilities, against 23% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
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.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Harriman
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Harriman is better than 58% of U.S. towns, #353 of 758 in New York. Job access by car holds Harriman’s grade up; unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Harriman could be anywhere from C to A+.
How far Harriman’s workers travel
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.
71% of the jobs in Harriman pay over $3,333 a month
828 jobs are based in Harriman.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Harriman, 2014 → 2024: 783 → 828. 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 Harriman’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Harriman by day and by night
On a workday 1,163 residents head out to work, 17 work right here, and 811 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,200 people are in Harriman on a workday afternoon, 14% fewer than live here.
0.70 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.
Out of Harriman to work: where people go
Where Harriman clocks in
25% of workers
7% 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.
Commuting from Harriman: about 32 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Harriman workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,273 commuters (the 15% 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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Harriman
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Harriman is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns, #65 of 758 in New York. Both inputs place Harriman near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,495 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 10.3% of Harriman households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 6% of Harriman’s commuters take a bus or train.
Harriman places 1,880th of 5,083 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 1,800 to 3,500
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 6 | Old Brookville NY | 2,098 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.2% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | East Williston NY | 2,616 | $215K | 2.3% | 1.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 10 | Laurel Hollow NY | 1,949 | $250K | 3.5% | 2.2% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,878 | Parkersburg IA | 1,969 | $76K | 4.9% | 4.9% | 9% | B |
| 1,879 | Osage City KS | 2,784 | $71K | 8.9% | 1.3% | 21% | B |
| 1,880 | Harriman NY | 2,596 | $83K | 8.3% | 5.8% | 1% | B |
| 1,881 | Jackson Township IN | 1,844 | $67K | 4.4% | 2.4% | <1% | B |
| 1,882 | Gnesen Township MN | 1,940 | $113K | 7.0% | 5.7% | 2% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 5,083 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 61% | 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 Harriman, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
How Harriman compares with the towns next door
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Harriman’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 Harriman: questions
What is the median household income in Harriman?
$83,488 (±$16,516) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Harriman?
8.3%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Harriman?
32 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Harriman work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New York City (25%, 46 mi), Woodbury (7%, 2 mi), Ramapo (7%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Harriman walkable?
Harriman is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 13.5 out of 20, and 18% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Harriman without a car?
6% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Harriman, from the people who make the trip.
More of Harriman
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.