Photo: Lvklock · CC BY-SA 3.0Fewer people are out of work in Ontario (1.6%) than in 89% of U.S. towns
About one in seven stay in Ontario for work; outside it, Rochester is the main destination (19%, 16 miles). Ontario grades A− for jobs and income and C for walkability. Commuters spend 23 minutes getting to work on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Ontario and work: the main findings
Commutes from Ontario are quick
The average trip to work takes 23 minutes, against 33 across New York. That’s about 77 hours a year less on the road than the typical New York worker. Time on the road ↓
Ontario makes and builds things
44% of the jobs based in Ontario are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Ontario residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 21%. 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.
Why Ontario gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Ontario is better than 84% of U.S. towns, #126 of 758 in New York. Unemployment is its strongest input; household income ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns ($82,608, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Ontario could be anywhere from B+ to A.
Getting to work from Ontario takes about 23 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Ontario workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,475 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.
Ontario works in goods: 44% of its jobs
3,930 jobs are based in Ontario.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ontario, 2013 → 2023: 3,200 → 3,930. 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 Ontario’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Ontario by day and by night
On a workday 4,218 residents head out to work, 708 work right here, and 3,222 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 (0.80 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.
Out of Ontario to work: where people go
Where Ontario clocks in
19% of workers
5% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Ontario
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 Ontario, the car does most of the work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Ontario is more walkable than 26% of U.S. towns, #662 of 758 in New York. Both inputs place Ontario near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 4,999 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 7.8% of Ontario households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Ontario’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ontario is 697th of 2,878 U.S. towns of 7,000 to 14,000 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 98 | East Rockaway NY | 10,096 | $125K | 2.6% | 3.2% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 101 | North Castle NY | 12,360 | $208K | 3.8% | 3.1% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 131 | Hastings-on-Hudson NY | 8,440 | $194K | 2.3% | 4.1% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 695 | Morrisville PA | 9,665 | $100K | 8.6% | 3.3% | 3% | A− |
| 696 | Cedar Grove Township NJ | 13,916 | $151K | 4.1% | 8.3% | 4% | A− |
| 697 | Ontario NY | 10,701 | $83K | 5.7% | 1.6% | 14% | A− |
| 698 | Highlands NY | 12,678 | $116K | 4.5% | 4.2% | 15% | A− |
| 699 | Plaistow NH | 7,848 | $108K | 4.5% | 4.4% | 9% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,878 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Ontario, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
12% of Ontario works in a town next door
The biggest share goes to Webster (10%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Ontario workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ontario | – | A− | C | 23 min | $82,608 |
| Williamson | 2% | B+ | C+ | 25 min | $90,515 |
| Walworth | under 3% | A | D | 24 min | $94,286 |
| Webster | 10% | A | B− | 21 min | $94,313 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Ontario’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 Ontario: questions
What is the median household income in Ontario?
$82,608 (±$6,833) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ontario?
5.7%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Ontario?
23 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 Ontario work?
14% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Rochester (19%, 16 mi), Webster (10%, 7 mi), Henrietta (5%, 21 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Ontario walkable?
Ontario is more walkable than 26% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 5.6 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Ontario without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Ontario, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ontario
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.