Hepburn Library · Photo: Doug Kerr from Albany, New York, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0Most of Norfolk commutes out: there are 0.3 jobs for every working resident
There are 413 jobs in Norfolk; 1,499 of its residents have a job. Norfolk grades C for jobs and income and C for walkability. For 1% of workers, the job is at home; New York has 15%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Norfolk, in a few figures
A lot of Norfolk works one town over
39% of working residents work in a town that borders Norfolk: Massena (21%) and Potsdam (18%). Next door ↓
Commutes from Norfolk are quick
The average trip to work takes 25 minutes, against 33 across New York. That’s about 61 hours a year less on the road than the typical New York worker. Time on the road ↓
Few Norfolk workers work from home
Only 1% of workers work from home, against 15% across New York. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
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.
Inside Norfolk’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Norfolk is better than 27% of U.S. towns, #607 of 758 in New York. Unemployment holds Norfolk’s grade up (3.8%, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 8% of U.S. towns).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Norfolk could be anywhere from D− to B+.
Norfolk’s commute takes about 25 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Norfolk workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,877 commuters (the 1% 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.
How a workday changes Norfolk
On a workday 1,370 residents head out to work, 129 work right here, and 284 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,200 people are in Norfolk on a workday afternoon, 25% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
21% of working residents work in Massena
Where Norfolk clocks in
21% of workers
7% 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.
Making and building: 31% of jobs based in Norfolk
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Norfolk, 2013 → 2023: 534 → 413. 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 Norfolk’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far it is to work from Norfolk
About 25% 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.
Most of Norfolk commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Norfolk is more walkable than 26% of U.S. towns, #664 of 758 in New York. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 2.7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 32.9% across New York, on an EPA index of 3.9.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,897 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 4.4% of Norfolk households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Norfolk’s commuters take a bus or train.
Norfolk next to U.S. towns of 3,000 to 5,800: 3,034th of 4,039 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 7 | Lloyd Harbor NY | 3,587 | $250K | 2.1% | 0.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | Kings Point NY | 5,710 | $211K | 0.9% | 2.4% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 20 | North Hills NY | 5,481 | $173K | 3.0% | 1.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,032 | Denver City TX | 4,311 | $85K | 13.4% | 6.5% | 32% | C |
| 3,033 | Windsor NY | 5,648 | $73K | 11.1% | 8.9% | 10% | C |
| 3,034 | Norfolk NY | 4,313 | $68K | 13.4% | 3.8% | 9% | C |
| 3,035 | Esparto CA | 3,713 | $103K | 20.2% | 7.4% | 4% | C |
| 3,036 | Garden City Township KS | 5,667 | $84K | 12.9% | 9.5% | 10% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 4,039 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Norfolk, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
Norfolk and its neighbors: 39% work next door
The biggest share goes to Massena (21%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Norfolk workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norfolk | – | C | C | 25 min | $67,500 |
| Louisville | under 2% | C+ | D− | 21 min | $91,429 |
| Potsdam | 18% | D | A− | 18 min | $53,302 |
| Stockholm | under 2% | C+ | D− | 23 min | $77,097 |
| Massena | 21% | D | B+ | 19 min | $54,595 |
| Madrid | under 2% | D | C | 24 min | $64,083 |
| Brasher | under 2% | D | B− | 20 min | $53,911 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Norfolk’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 Norfolk: questions
What is the median household income in Norfolk?
$67,500 (±$13,395) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Norfolk?
13.4%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Norfolk?
25 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 1% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Norfolk work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Massena (21%, 10 mi), Potsdam (18%, 12 mi), Canton (7%, 23 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Norfolk walkable?
Norfolk is more walkable than 26% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 3.9 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Norfolk without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Norfolk, from the people who make the trip.
More of Norfolk
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.