Photo: Tyler A. McNeil · CC BY-SA 4.0Jobs and earnings in Latham, and the trip to work
Only 7% stay in Latham for work; outside it, Albany is the main destination (28%, 6 miles). Working residents average 21 minutes each way, next to 33 for New York and 26 for the U.S. There are 7,861 jobs in Latham, against 6,579 working residents.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Latham: the figures worth knowing
Latham trades workers with the towns around it
Latham has about as many jobs (7,861) as working residents (6,579), but they are mostly different people: 6,111 residents leave for work each day while 7,393 people come in. Only 6% of the jobs in Latham are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Latham are quick
The average trip to work takes 21 minutes, against 33 across New York. That’s about 92 hours a year less on the road than the typical New York worker. Time on the road ↓
Most Latham residents work close to home
73% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about three in four. How far ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Latham
69% of Latham residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 46% of the jobs based in Latham pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 93% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
28% of Latham works in Albany
1,869 working residents, 28%, have their main job in Albany, 5.8 miles away. That’s 4 times as many as work in Latham itself. The commute map ↓
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.
Who commutes out of Latham, and who commutes in
On a workday 6,111 residents head out to work, 468 work right here, and 7,393 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.19 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.
Getting to work from Latham takes about 21 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Latham workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,309 commuters (the 17% 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.
The commute from Latham, by distance
About 15% 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.
What Latham’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Latham, 2013 → 2023: 7,427 → 7,861. 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 Latham’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where Latham goes to work
Where Latham clocks in
28% of workers
26% of workers
5% 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 Latham compares with the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Latham workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Latham | – | — | — | 21 min | $104,899 |
| Watervliet | under 2% | C+ | A+ | 20 min | $57,919 |
| Loudonville | under 2% | — | — | 22 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Loudonville: 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 Latham’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 Latham: questions
What is the median household income in Latham?
$104,899 (±$10,530) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Latham?
9.0%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Latham?
21 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 17% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Latham work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Albany (28%, 6 mi), Colonie (26%, 2 mi), New York City (5%, 144 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Latham without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Latham, from the people who make the trip.
More of Latham
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.