Photo: UpstateNYer · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Niskayuna are higher than in 93% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 2.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 21.9 in Albany. 4.3% of residents live below the poverty line (New York 14.0%). For jobs and income Niskayuna is better than 93% of U.S. towns (A); for walkability it is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns (A−).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Niskayuna, in a few figures
Niskayuna trades workers with the towns around it
Niskayuna has about as many jobs (10,474) as working residents (10,583), but they are mostly different people: 9,345 residents leave for work each day while 9,236 people come in. Only 12% of the jobs in Niskayuna are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Niskayuna 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 ↓
A lot of Niskayuna works one town over
33% of working residents work in a town that borders Niskayuna: Colonie (15%), Schenectady (14%) and Clifton Park (2%). Next door ↓
Most jobs in Niskayuna pay over $40,000 a year
73% of the jobs based in Niskayuna pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), 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.
The four measures behind Niskayuna’s grade
Household income is its strongest input ($137,349, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.0%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Niskayuna could be anywhere from A− to A+.
The workday shuffle in and out of Niskayuna
On a workday 9,345 residents head out to work, 1,238 work right here, and 9,236 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 (0.99 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 Niskayuna
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Niskayuna workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 8,938 commuters (the 21% 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.
73% of the jobs in Niskayuna pay over $3,333 a month
10,474 jobs are based in Niskayuna.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Niskayuna, 2013 → 2023: 12,322 → 10,474. 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 Niskayuna’s own residents hold wherever they work.
20% of working residents work in Albany
Where Niskayuna clocks in
20% of workers
15% of workers
14% 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 many miles Niskayuna commutes
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.
In Niskayuna, walking beats the bus
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.0% 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 11,270 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 83% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 24% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 73% 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). 5.1% of Niskayuna households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Niskayuna’s commuters take a bus or train.
195th of 1,642: where Niskayuna ranks among U.S. towns of 17,000 to 33,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 57 | Garden City NY | 23,043 | $244K | 3.0% | 3.9% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 96 | New Castle NY | 18,259 | $250K | 2.5% | 4.2% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 101 | Mineola NY | 21,376 | $138K | 5.3% | 3.2% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 193 | Pembroke MA | 18,492 | $146K | 4.0% | 3.4% | 9% | A |
| 194 | Hamburg Township MI | 20,901 | $114K | 4.0% | 2.8% | 5% | A |
| 195 | Niskayuna NY | 24,211 | $137K | 4.3% | 3.0% | 12% | A |
| 196 | Parole MD | 17,229 | $120K | 5.7% | 3.0% | 14% | A |
| 197 | Rocky Hill CT | 21,575 | $100K | 4.8% | 2.8% | 11% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,642 | Nogales AZ | 19,495 | $43K | 28.0% | 15.7% | 37% | 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 Niskayuna, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
Bordering towns draw 33% of Niskayuna’s workers
The biggest share goes to Colonie (15%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Niskayuna workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Niskayuna | – | A | A− | 21 min | $137,349 |
| Schenectady | 14% | C− | A+ | 22 min | $58,399 |
| Clifton Park | 2% | A+ | B− | 26 min | $133,359 |
| East Glenville | under 2% | — | — | 25 min | — |
| Glenville | 2% | A− | B+ | 24 min | $98,423 |
| Colonie | 15% | A− | A− | 20 min | $101,676 |
Same-state neighbors only. East Glenville: 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 Niskayuna’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 Niskayuna: questions
What is the median household income in Niskayuna?
$137,349 (±$11,187) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Niskayuna?
4.3%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Niskayuna?
21 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 21% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Niskayuna work?
12% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Albany (20%, 10 mi), Colonie (15%, 6 mi), Schenectady (14%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Niskayuna walkable?
Niskayuna is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 10.8 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Niskayuna without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 24% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Niskayuna, from the people who make the trip.
More of Niskayuna
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.