Photo: ajay_suresh · CC BY 2.0New Castle ranks among the highest-earning U.S. towns by household income
Below the poverty line: 2.5% of residents, against 14.0% across New York. Measured by household income, New Castle is among the highest-earning towns in the country. New Castle grades A+ for jobs and income and A for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from New Castle, in brief
Home offices are common in New Castle
35% of New Castle workers work from home, against 15% across New York. Time on the road ↓
New Castle workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 45 minutes each way, against 33 across New York. Over a year that’s about 345 hours of commuting, 92 more than the state’s typical worker. Every town next door averages less (31 to 41 minutes). Time on the road ↓
38% of New Castle works in New York City
2,530 working residents, 38%, have their main job in New York City, 37 miles away. That’s 8 times as many as work in New Castle itself. The commute map ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
42% of the jobs in New Castle are in trade, transport and utilities, against 13% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
Three in four New Castle workers earn over $40,000 a year
77% of New Castle’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, the top earnings band in the Census data. 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.
Income, poverty and work: New Castle’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, New Castle is better than 96% of U.S. towns, #29 of 758 in New York. Household income is its strongest input ($250,000+, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (4.2%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
The Census reports New Castle’s median household income as $250,000+, the top of its scale; the grade ranks it as tied with the 111 other graded places at that ceiling.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, New Castle could be anywhere from A to A+.
Commuting from New Castle: about 45 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 14.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of New Castle workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,617 commuters (the 35% 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.
38% of working residents work in New York City
Where New Castle clocks in
38% of workers
5% of workers
4% 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.
Jobs in New Castle: what the 5,368 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in New Castle, 2013 → 2023: 4,564 → 5,368. 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 New Castle’s own residents hold wherever they work.
New Castle by day and by night
On a workday 6,251 residents head out to work, 340 work right here, and 5,028 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 (0.81 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from New Castle
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.
In New Castle, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, New Castle is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns, #192 of 758 in New York. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 21.3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 32.9% across New York, on an EPA index of 8.0.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 8,685 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 28% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 8% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 74% 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). 1.9% of New Castle households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 21% of New Castle’s commuters take a bus or train.
New Castle places 127th of 1,915 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 13,000 to 25,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 36 | Floral Park NY | 16,105 | $150K | 3.0% | 3.1% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 77 | Garden City NY | 23,043 | $244K | 3.0% | 3.9% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 86 | Victor NY | 16,422 | $116K | 2.8% | 1.6% | 16% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 125 | Hampton Township PA | 17,808 | $134K | 3.9% | 2.6% | 8% | A+ |
| 126 | Newington VA | 13,478 | $155K | 2.2% | 4.1% | 4% | A+ |
| 127 | New Castle NY | 18,259 | $250K | 2.5% | 4.2% | 5% | A+ |
| 128 | Upper Saucon Township PA | 18,217 | $146K | 4.5% | 2.5% | 10% | A+ |
| 129 | West Goshen Township PA | 24,224 | $132K | 5.4% | 2.4% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,915 | 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 New Castle, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
Bordering towns draw 10% of New Castle’s workers
The biggest share goes to Mount Pleasant (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | New Castle workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Castle | – | A+ | A | 45 min | $250,000+ |
| Mount Kisco | 3% | B+ | A+ | 33 min | $96,534 |
| Mount Pleasant | 5% | A− | A+ | 31 min | $142,857 |
| Yorktown | under 2% | A | A | 38 min | $167,091 |
| Somers | under 2% | A | A− | 36 min | $169,894 |
| North Castle | 2% | A+ | A | 37 min | $208,156 |
| Bedford | under 2% | A− | A | 41 min | $196,034 |
| Ossining | under 2% | A− | A+ | 37 min | $125,539 |
| Armonk | under 2% | — | — | 34 min | — |
| Cortlandt | under 2% | B+ | A+ | 38 min | $140,030 |
Same-state neighbors only. Armonk: 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 New Castle’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.
- A ceiling on income. The Census stops at $250,000+, so the true median may be higher.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in New Castle: questions
What is the median household income in New Castle?
$250,000+ (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in New Castle?
2.5%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from New Castle?
45 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 35% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in New Castle work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New York City (38%, 37 mi), Mount Pleasant (5%, 5 mi), Greenburgh (4%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is New Castle walkable?
New Castle is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 8.0 out of 20, and 21% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around New Castle without a car?
21% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 8% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from New Castle, from the people who make the trip.
More of New Castle
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.