Frontier House · Photo: Kdm85 · CC BY-SA 3.0Earning a living in Lewiston
A typical one-way commute lasts 21 minutes, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. The two grades for Lewiston are B for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. About one in seven stay in Lewiston for work; outside it, Niagara Falls is the main destination (13%, 7 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Lewiston at work: what stands out
Commutes from Lewiston 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 ↓
Nearly all the work in Lewiston is services
85% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 2% are in factories, building or farms. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Inside Lewiston’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Lewiston is better than 58% of U.S. towns, #354 of 758 in New York. Job access by car holds Lewiston’s grade up (ahead of 67% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (11.6%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income and unemployment.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Lewiston could be anywhere from C+ to A−.
About 21 minutes each way, quicker than most of New York
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lewiston workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,062 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.
In Lewiston, services account for most jobs
5,468 jobs are based in Lewiston.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lewiston, 2014 → 2024: 5,668 → 5,468. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Lewiston’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Lewiston on a workday afternoon
On a workday 5,617 residents head out to work, 1,087 work right here, and 4,381 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 (0.82 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
The places Lewiston commutes to
Where Lewiston clocks in
13% of workers
12% 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.
How far it is to work from Lewiston
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
The commute in Lewiston is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Lewiston is more walkable than 74% of U.S. towns, #336 of 758 in New York. Both inputs place Lewiston 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 6,817 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 37% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 4% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 54% 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). 6.1% of Lewiston households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Lewiston’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Lewiston is 1,194th of 2,109 U.S. towns of 11,000 to 21,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 47 | Floral Park NY | 16,105 | $150K | 3.0% | 3.1% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 69 | North Castle NY | 12,360 | $208K | 3.8% | 3.1% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 99 | Victor NY | 16,422 | $116K | 2.8% | 1.6% | 16% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,192 | Easthampton MA | 15,851 | $72K | 8.0% | 4.7% | 16% | B |
| 1,193 | Baraboo WI | 13,224 | $70K | 8.4% | 2.9% | 23% | B |
| 1,194 | Lewiston NY | 15,676 | $78K | 11.6% | 3.8% | 16% | B |
| 1,195 | Guilford Township PA | 15,371 | $78K | 9.8% | 3.4% | 13% | B |
| 1,196 | Hillcrest Heights MD | 16,063 | $83K | 10.7% | 7.1% | 1% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 2,109 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 28% | 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 Lewiston, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
Work next door: 21% of Lewiston’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Lewiston workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lewiston | – | B | B+ | 21 min | $78,400 |
| Niagara | 4% | C− | B+ | 19 min | $56,645 |
| Porter | under 2% | B+ | C+ | 28 min | $77,931 |
| Cambria | under 2% | A− | C | 26 min | $111,563 |
| Niagara Falls | 13% | C− | A+ | 19 min | $49,101 |
| Wheatfield | 4% | A− | C+ | 23 min | $93,682 |
| Ransomville | under 2% | — | — | 26 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Ransomville: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Niagara Falls. Darker towns draw more of Lewiston’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 2024, 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 Lewiston: questions
What is the median household income in Lewiston?
$78,400 (±$11,093) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lewiston?
11.6%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lewiston?
21 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 Lewiston work?
16% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Niagara Falls (13%, 7 mi), Buffalo (12%, 21 mi), Amherst (9%, 15 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Lewiston walkable?
Lewiston is more walkable than 74% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 7.7 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Lewiston without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 4% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Lewiston, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lewiston
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.