Unemployment in Lewiston (1.2%) is lower than in 93% of U.S. towns
About one in ten work in Lewiston itself; outside it, Lewiston draws the most (21%, 5 miles). Lewiston grades A− for jobs and income and A+ for walkability. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 0.4 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 12.2 in Buffalo.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Lewiston at work: what stands out
Lewiston trades workers with the towns around it
Lewiston has about as many jobs (1,086) as working residents (1,165), but they are mostly different people: 1,047 residents leave for work each day while 968 people come in. Only 11% of the jobs in Lewiston are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
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 ↓
Lewiston and Lewiston trade workers both ways
Lewiston is the top workplace for Lewiston residents (21%) and also where the most people who work in Lewiston come from (32% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Lewiston
63% of Lewiston residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 35% of the jobs based in Lewiston pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 90% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Many jobs in Lewiston pay little
28% of the jobs based in Lewiston pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. Young workers hold many of them: 37% of all the jobs here go to people 29 or younger. The jobs ↓
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.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Lewiston
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Lewiston is better than 81% of U.S. towns. Unemployment holds Lewiston’s grade up; household income pulls it down ($73,821, 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, Lewiston could be anywhere from B to A.
How a workday changes Lewiston
On a workday 1,047 residents head out to work, 118 work right here, and 968 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 (0.93 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.
A commute of about 21 minutes in Lewiston
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.7 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 1,298 commuters (the 10% 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 towns that employ Lewiston’s residents
Where Lewiston clocks in
13% of workers
12% 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.
What Lewiston’s employers do
1,086 jobs are based in Lewiston.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lewiston, 2013 → 2023: 1,019 → 1,086. 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 Lewiston’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Lewiston’s commute, mile by mile
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.
Lewiston is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Lewiston is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 6.6% 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 1,442 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, 25% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 49% 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). 7.7% of Lewiston households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Lewiston’s commuters take a bus or train.
Lewiston places 766th of 5,401 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 1,700 to 3,400
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 6 | Atlantic Beach NY | 1,723 | $166K | 1.8% | 3.1% | 3% | A+ |
| 7 | Village of the Branch NY | 1,764 | $174K | 1.5% | 3.1% | 2% | A+ |
| 8 | Old Brookville NY | 2,098 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.2% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 764 | Washington Township OH | 2,264 | $86K | 6.2% | 1.5% | 1% | A− |
| 765 | La Selva Beach CA | 2,302 | $161K | 9.2% | 2.5% | 1% | A− |
| 766 | Lewiston NY | 2,492 | $74K | 5.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A− |
| 767 | Lithopolis OH | 2,969 | $115K | 7.5% | 4.3% | 2% | A− |
| 768 | Polk Township IN | 2,720 | $91K | 5.7% | 0.5% | 4% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,401 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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.
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 Lewiston: questions
What is the median household income in Lewiston?
$73,821 (±$20,531) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lewiston?
5.9%, 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. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lewiston work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lewiston (21%, 5 mi), Niagara Falls (13%, 6 mi), Buffalo (12%, 21 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Lewiston walkable?
Lewiston is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 15.9 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Lewiston without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 25% 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), 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.