Photo: Joshua Karn · CC BY-SA 3.0Most of North Tonawanda commutes out: there are 0.5 jobs for every working resident
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 1.1 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 12.2 in Buffalo. 6,601 jobs are based in North Tonawanda, against 12,553 working residents. North Tonawanda grades B− for jobs and income and A− for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from North Tonawanda, in brief
Commutes from North Tonawanda are quick
The average trip to work takes 20 minutes, against 33 across New York. That’s about 100 hours a year less on the road than the typical New York worker. Time on the road ↓
A lot of North Tonawanda works one town over
38% of working residents work in a town that borders North Tonawanda: Amherst (20%), Tonawanda (9%) and Wheatfield (4%). Next door ↓
Most North Tonawanda residents work close to home
66% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about two in three. How far ↓
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.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in North Tonawanda
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, North Tonawanda is better than 45% of U.S. towns, #456 of 758 in New York. Job access by car holds North Tonawanda’s grade up (ahead of 82% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (5.8%, U.S. 5.2%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, North Tonawanda could be anywhere from C to B.
The daily trip from North Tonawanda: about 20 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of North Tonawanda workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 12,565 commuters (the 15% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from North Tonawanda
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.
North Tonawanda by day and by night
On a workday 10,933 residents head out to work, 1,620 work right here, and 4,981 people come in from elsewhere.
About 24,000 people are in North Tonawanda on a workday afternoon, 20% 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 2024, primary jobs.
20% of working residents work in Amherst
Where North Tonawanda clocks in
20% of workers
15% 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.
A place that makes things: 29% of North Tonawanda’s jobs are in goods
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in North Tonawanda, 2014 → 2024: 7,393 → 6,601. 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 North Tonawanda’s own residents hold wherever they work.
North Tonawanda is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, North Tonawanda is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns, #284 of 758 in New York. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.6% 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 14,699 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, 16% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 59% 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). 9.0% of North Tonawanda households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of North Tonawanda’s commuters take a bus or train.
How North Tonawanda ranks: 994th of 1,366 U.S. towns of 21,000 to 40,000
| # | 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 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | Eastchester NY | 34,015 | $156K | 4.8% | 2.6% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 49 | Garden City NY | 23,043 | $244K | 3.0% | 3.9% | 9% | A+ |
| 50 | Clifton Park NY | 37,775 | $133K | 2.3% | 2.0% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 992 | Garden City MI | 26,280 | $67K | 10.7% | 8.0% | 5% | B− |
| 993 | Romulus MI | 24,547 | $69K | 13.5% | 6.7% | 13% | B− |
| 994 | North Tonawanda NY | 29,806 | $67K | 12.4% | 5.8% | 13% | B− |
| 995 | Piqua OH | 21,064 | $68K | 17.6% | 3.7% | 21% | B− |
| 996 | Elkhart Township IN | 38,435 | $64K | 16.2% | 3.6% | 36% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,366 | Barstow CA | 24,804 | $53K | 23.1% | 11.9% | 16% | 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 North Tonawanda, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
The towns next door employ 38% of North Tonawanda
The biggest share goes to Amherst (20%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | North Tonawanda workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Tonawanda | – | B− | A− | 20 min | $66,961 |
| Wheatfield | 4% | A− | C+ | 23 min | $93,682 |
| Amherst | 20% | A− | A− | 20 min | $93,483 |
| Tonawanda | 3% | C+ | A− | 23 min | $58,326 |
| Tonawanda Town | under 3% | — | — | 21 min | — |
| Tonawanda | 9% | B+ | A | 21 min | $77,673 |
| Grand Island | 2% | A | C+ | 19 min | $115,991 |
Same-state neighbors only. Tonawanda Town: 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 North Tonawanda’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 North Tonawanda: questions
What is the median household income in North Tonawanda?
$66,961 (±$5,202) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in North Tonawanda?
12.4%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from North Tonawanda?
20 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in North Tonawanda work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Amherst (20%, 6 mi), Buffalo (15%, 11 mi), Tonawanda (9%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is North Tonawanda walkable?
North Tonawanda is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 9.6 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around North Tonawanda without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. 16% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from North Tonawanda, from the people who make the trip.
More of North Tonawanda
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.