Photo: Tim1337 · CC BY-SA 3.0Kent’s household incomes are higher than in 91% of U.S. towns
Only 6% stay in Kent for work; outside it, New York City is the main destination (24%, 56 miles). Below the poverty line: 6.6% of residents, where New York as a whole has 14.0%. For jobs and income Kent is better than 78% of U.S. towns (A−); for walkability it is more walkable than 70% of U.S. towns (B+).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Kent
Kent’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Kent is New York City, 56 miles away as the crow flies. 24% of working residents (1,465) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Kent is a place people come home to
There are 1,564 jobs based in Kent, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Kent has about 8,400 people in it, 35% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Kent workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 39 minutes each way, against 33 across New York. Over a year that’s about 299 hours of commuting, 46 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.
Why Kent gets the Jobs & income grade it does
Household income holds Kent’s grade up ($129,012, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (4.4%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Kent could be anywhere from B to A.
Kent’s commute, mile by mile
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.
Kent by day and by night
On a workday 5,670 residents head out to work, 370 work right here, and 1,194 people come in from elsewhere.
About 8,400 people are in Kent on a workday afternoon, 35% fewer than live here.
0.26 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.
Each way, about 39 minutes from Kent
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 12.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Kent workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,702 commuters (the 11% 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.
Commuting out of Kent: the destinations
Where Kent clocks in
24% of workers
9% 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.
Inside Kent’s 1,564 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Kent, 2013 → 2023: 1,765 → 1,564. 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 Kent’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In Kent, the car does most of the work
How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 6.1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 32.9% across New York, on an EPA index of 6.8.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 6,393 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of 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). 4.0% of Kent households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 5% of Kent’s commuters take a bus or train.
Kent next to U.S. towns of 9,000 to 17,000: 778th of 2,354 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 62 | Floral Park NY | 16,105 | $150K | 3.0% | 3.1% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 87 | East Rockaway NY | 10,096 | $125K | 2.6% | 3.2% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 90 | North Castle NY | 12,360 | $208K | 3.8% | 3.1% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 776 | Middlebury Township IN | 9,003 | $89K | 7.7% | 2.1% | 27% | A− |
| 777 | Aurora NY | 13,830 | $102K | 3.0% | 5.4% | 18% | A− |
| 778 | Kent NY | 12,895 | $129K | 6.6% | 4.4% | 6% | A− |
| 779 | East Windsor CT | 11,342 | $96K | 7.2% | 4.0% | 8% | A− |
| 780 | Chester Township OH | 9,995 | $111K | 7.7% | 4.3% | 9% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,354 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Kent, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
Kent and its neighbors: 11% work next door
The biggest share goes to Carmel (9%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Kent workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kent | – | A− | B+ | 39 min | $129,012 |
| Putnam Valley | under 3% | A | B | 45 min | $137,656 |
| Carmel | 9% | A− | A− | 41 min | $131,835 |
| Patterson | 2% | C+ | A− | 37 min | $102,149 |
| East Fishkill | under 3% | A− | B− | 36 min | $138,543 |
| Philipstown | under 3% | A− | A | 40 min | $140,557 |
| Pawling | under 3% | A− | B+ | 37 min | $120,592 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Kent’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 Kent: questions
What is the median household income in Kent?
$129,012 (±$13,388) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Kent?
6.6%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Kent?
39 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Kent work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New York City (24%, 56 mi), Carmel (9%, 5 mi), Southeast (5%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Kent walkable?
Kent is more walkable than 70% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 6.8 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Kent without a car?
5% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Kent, from the people who make the trip.
More of Kent
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.