Photo: LINYperson615 · CC BY-SA 4.0Kensington’s household incomes are among the highest in the country
Jobs & income A: better than 91% of U.S. towns on income, poverty and job access.
Walkability A+: among the most walkable U.S. towns.
Working residents average 42 minutes each way (New York 33, U.S. 26). Only 0% work in Kensington; the top destination outside it is New York City (56%, 14 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Kensington
More than half of Kensington works in New York City
278 working residents, 56%, have their main job in New York City, 15 miles away. That’s far more as work in Kensington itself. The commute map ↓
A lot of Kensington works from home
34% of Kensington workers work from home, against 15% across New York. Time on the road ↓
Kensington workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 42 minutes each way, against 33 across New York. Over a year that’s about 322 hours of commuting, 69 more than the state’s typical worker. 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 497 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
What’s behind Kensington’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty and job access, Kensington is better than 91% of U.S. towns. Job access by car holds Kensington’s grade up (among the top U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (11.9%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income.
Unemployment (4.4%) is left out: Kensington’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Kensington could be anywhere from A− to A+.
56% of working residents work in New York City
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Kensington clocks in
56% of workers
6% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
About 42 minutes each way, longer than most of New York
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 13.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Kensington workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 356 commuters (the 34% 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.
Kensington quiets down on a workday
On a workday 495 residents head out to work, 2 work right here, and 150 people come in from elsewhere.
About 930 people are in Kensington on a workday afternoon, 27% fewer than live here.
0.31 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 2023, primary jobs.
What the 152 jobs in Kensington are
152 jobs are based in Kensington. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Kensington’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Kensington, 2013 → 2023: 230 → 152. 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.
Half of Kensington commutes less than 13 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Kensington is among the most walkable U.S. towns
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Kensington is among the most walkable U.S. towns. Both inputs place Kensington 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 540 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, 84% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 64.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, among the most 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). 6.8% of Kensington households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 40% of Kensington’s commuters take a bus or train.
Kensington is 194th of 4,866 U.S. towns of 900 to 1,700 on jobs and income
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Kensington, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 4 | Saddle Rock NY | 1,008 | $176K | 0.8% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 192 | Eureka Township MN | 1,358 | $100K | 5.0% | 0.5% | 3% | A |
| 193 | Kincora VA | 1,008 | $134K | 8.8% | 6.3% | 0% | A |
| 194 | Kensington NY | 1,278 | $221K | 11.9% | 4.4% | <1% | A |
| 195 | Oxford Township OH | 1,100 | $126K | 0.0% | 4.6% | 0% | A |
| 196 | Bradford WI | 1,002 | $116K | 2.8% | 5.6% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 4,866 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 0% | 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.
Kensington and the towns next door
Darker towns draw more of Kensington’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Kensington workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kensington | – | A | A+ | 42 min | $220,625 |
| Great Neck Gardens | under 1% | — | — | 36 min | — |
| Thomaston | under 1% | A | A+ | 40 min | $157,917 |
| Great Neck Plaza | under 1% | B+ | A+ | 36 min | $92,474 |
| Great Neck | under 1% | A− | A+ | 39 min | $137,981 |
| Manhasset | under 1% | — | — | 34 min | — |
| Great Neck Estates | under 1% | A+ | A+ | 34 min | $237,788 |
Same-state neighbors only. Great Neck Gardens and Manhasset: Census-designated places inside larger towns, graded as part of them. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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 Kensington: questions
What is the median household income in Kensington?
$220,625 (±$45,472) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Kensington?
11.9%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Kensington?
42 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 34% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Kensington work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New York City (56%, 14 mi), North Hempstead (21%, 2 mi), Hempstead (6%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Kensington walkable?
Kensington is among the most walkable U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 15.1 out of 20, and 46% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Kensington without a car?
40% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 84% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Kensington, from the people who make the trip.
More of Kensington
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.