Photo: Kenneth C. Zirkel · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in Herkimer trail those of 90% of U.S. towns
Poverty touches 26.4% of residents, where New York as a whole has 14.0%. The two grades for Herkimer are C− for jobs and income and A for walkability. About one in seven work in Herkimer itself; outside it, Herkimer draws the most (20%, 2 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Herkimer, in brief
Commutes from Herkimer are quick
The average trip to work takes 20 minutes, against 33 across New York. That’s about 100 hours a year less on the road than the typical New York worker. Time on the road ↓
Herkimer and Herkimer trade workers both ways
Herkimer is the top workplace for Herkimer residents (20%) and also where the most people who work in Herkimer come from (18% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
A big share show a job far from home
30% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
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.
What’s behind Herkimer’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Herkimer is better than 16% of U.S. towns, #681 of 758 in New York. Job access by car holds Herkimer’s grade up (ahead of 53% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Herkimer could be anywhere from D to B−.
The daily trip from Herkimer: about 20 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Herkimer workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,082 commuters (the 8% 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 the trip to work from Herkimer ends
Where Herkimer clocks in
20% of workers
13% 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.
How far Herkimer goes to work
About 30% 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 daily flow of workers through Herkimer
On a workday 2,216 residents head out to work, 444 work right here, and 2,966 people come in from elsewhere.
About 7,900 people are in Herkimer on a workday afternoon, 10% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.28 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.
What work there is in Herkimer: 3,410 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Herkimer, 2013 → 2023: 3,891 → 3,410. 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 Herkimer’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Good to walk, short on transit: Herkimer
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Herkimer is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns, #190 of 758 in New York. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 11.6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 32.9% across New York, on an EPA index of 8.4.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 3,366 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). 20.3% of Herkimer households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Herkimer’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Herkimer ranks: 2,820th of 3,205 U.S. towns of 5,000 to 9,700
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | Lawrence NY | 6,847 | $170K | 3.5% | 3.9% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 15 | Irvington NY | 6,533 | $173K | 1.6% | 2.1% | 6% | A+ |
| 16 | Kings Point NY | 5,710 | $211K | 0.9% | 2.4% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,818 | West Clarkston-Highland WA | 5,444 | $52K | 18.1% | 4.2% | 4% | C− |
| 2,819 | Forest MS | 5,433 | $50K | 33.8% | 4.1% | 32% | C− |
| 2,820 | Herkimer NY | 7,195 | $49K | 26.4% | 5.5% | 17% | C− |
| 2,821 | Center Township IN | 8,149 | $51K | 15.9% | 6.0% | 23% | C− |
| 2,822 | Notre Dame IN | 6,890 | $20K | 49.2% | 2.6% | 7% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,205 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Herkimer, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
Work in the towns next to Herkimer
The biggest share goes to German Flatts (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Herkimer workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Herkimer | – | C− | A | 20 min | $48,529 |
| East Herkimer | under 2% | — | — | 28 min | — |
| German Flatts | 7% | B− | B | 21 min | $67,791 |
| Mohawk | under 2% | B | A− | 23 min | $72,813 |
Same-state neighbors only. East Herkimer: 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 Herkimer’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 Herkimer: questions
What is the median household income in Herkimer?
$48,529 (±$16,198) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Herkimer?
26.4%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Herkimer?
20 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Herkimer work?
17% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Herkimer (20%, 2 mi), Utica (13%, 13 mi), German Flatts (7%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Herkimer walkable?
Herkimer is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 8.4 out of 20, and 12% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Herkimer without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 20% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Herkimer, from the people who make the trip.
More of Herkimer
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.