Photo: Pubdog · Public domainAt 1.3%, unemployment in Lancaster is lower than in 92% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 1.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 12.2 in Buffalo. The two grades for Lancaster are A− for jobs and income and A− for walkability. For 7% of workers, the job is at home, next to 15% for New York as a whole.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Lancaster apart
Commutes from Lancaster are quick
The average trip to work takes 19 minutes, against 33 across New York. That’s about 107 hours a year less on the road than the typical New York worker. Time on the road ↓
Most Lancaster residents work close to home
65% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about two in three. 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.
Jobs & income in Lancaster: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Lancaster is better than 79% of U.S. towns, #165 of 758 in New York. Unemployment holds Lancaster’s grade up; household income pulls it down ($66,148, U.S. $80,734). 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, Lancaster could be anywhere from B to A.
Lancaster’s commute takes about 19 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lancaster workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,472 commuters (the 7% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Lancaster
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.
Lancaster quiets down on a workday
On a workday 4,575 residents head out to work, 366 work right here, and 3,440 people come in from elsewhere.
About 8,900 people are in Lancaster on a workday afternoon, 11% fewer than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.77 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.
19% of working residents work in Buffalo
Where Lancaster clocks in
19% of workers
18% of workers
15% 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.
31% of the jobs in Lancaster make or build things
3,806 jobs are based in Lancaster.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lancaster, 2013 → 2023: 3,682 → 3,806. 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 Lancaster’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Lancaster
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Lancaster is more walkable than 78% of U.S. towns, #305 of 758 in New York. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 32.9% across New York.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 5,887 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 75% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 22% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 60% 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). 6.3% of Lancaster households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Lancaster’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Lancaster is 805th of 2,744 U.S. towns of 7,000 to 13,500
| # | 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 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 94 | East Rockaway NY | 10,096 | $125K | 2.6% | 3.2% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 97 | North Castle NY | 12,360 | $208K | 3.8% | 3.1% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 127 | Hastings-on-Hudson NY | 8,440 | $194K | 2.3% | 4.1% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 803 | San Diego Country Estates CA | 10,223 | $145K | 2.6% | 4.1% | 4% | A− |
| 804 | Riverview MI | 11,947 | $73K | 7.3% | 2.3% | 6% | A− |
| 805 | Lancaster NY | 9,995 | $66K | 6.7% | 1.3% | 7% | A− |
| 806 | Shrewsbury Township PA | 7,158 | $117K | 4.9% | 3.8% | 4% | A− |
| 807 | Mont Belvieu TX | 10,673 | $133K | 9.3% | 4.0% | 10% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,744 | 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 Lancaster, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
Next door to Lancaster
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Lancaster’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 Lancaster: questions
What is the median household income in Lancaster?
$66,148 (±$7,046) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lancaster?
6.7%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lancaster?
19 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lancaster work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Buffalo (19%, 10 mi), Lancaster (18%, 2 mi), Amherst (15%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Lancaster walkable?
Lancaster is more walkable than 78% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 12.2 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Lancaster without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 22% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Lancaster, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lancaster
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.