Stillwater Bridge · Photo: Antepenultimate · CC BY-SA 4.0Orwell has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.0 for each
Hardly any stay in Orwell for work; outside it, Syracuse is the main destination (12%, 37 miles). Employers in Orwell report 18 jobs; 389 of its residents have a job. Jobs and income earn Orwell D; getting around on foot earns it D−.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Orwell apart
Orwell is a place people come home to
There are 18 jobs based in Orwell, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Orwell has about 710 people in it, 34% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Orwell’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Orwell is Syracuse, 37 miles away as the crow flies. 12% of working residents (45) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
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; with 389 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Inside Orwell’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty and job access, Orwell is better than 14% of U.S. towns. Household income holds Orwell’s grade up ($69,375, U.S. $80,734); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 8% of U.S. towns).
Unemployment (5.9%) is left out: Orwell’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Orwell could be anywhere from D to C.
Orwell quiets down on a workday
On a workday 388 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 17 people come in from elsewhere.
About 710 people are in Orwell on a workday afternoon, 34% 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.
How far it is to work from Orwell
About 23% 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.
Where Orwell goes to work
Where Orwell clocks in
12% of workers
6% 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.
78% of the jobs in Orwell pay over $3,333 a month
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Orwell, 2013 → 2023: 21 → 18. 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 Orwell’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From Orwell, about 33 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Orwell workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 322 commuters (the 11% 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.
The commute in Orwell is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Orwell is near the bottom of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Orwell 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 360 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). 1.6% of Orwell households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Orwell’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 3,771 U.S. towns of 800 to 1,500, Orwell comes 2,853rd on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 4 | Saddle Rock NY | 1,008 | $176K | 0.8% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,851 | St. David AZ | 1,098 | $53K | 9.1% | 0.0% | 3% | D |
| 2,852 | Goodman MO | 1,320 | $54K | 16.5% | 3.7% | 2% | D |
| 2,853 | Orwell NY | 1,081 | $69K | 16.7% | 5.9% | <1% | D |
| 2,854 | Fairfield Township OH | 1,500 | $49K | 19.4% | 1.6% | 0% | D |
| 2,855 | St. Clair Township PA | 1,302 | $55K | 16.6% | 10.7% | 2% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 3,771 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 0% | 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 Orwell, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
Bordering towns draw 13% of Orwell’s workers
The biggest share goes to Richland (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Orwell workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orwell | – | D | D− | 33 min | $69,375 |
| Redfield | under 3% | — | — | 33 min | — |
| Boylston | under 3% | — | — | 33 min | — |
| Albion | under 3% | C− | D− | 27 min | $60,313 |
| Williamstown | under 3% | D | C | 36 min | $62,170 |
| Sandy Creek | 6% | D | C | 27 min | $66,583 |
| Richland | 7% | C− | C+ | 30 min | $67,904 |
Same-state neighbors only. Redfield and Boylston: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Orwell’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 Orwell: questions
What is the median household income in Orwell?
$69,375 (±$9,445) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Orwell?
16.7%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Orwell?
33 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Orwell work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Syracuse (12%, 37 mi), Richland (7%, 11 mi), Oswego (6%, 28 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Orwell walkable?
Orwell is near the bottom of U.S. towns (Walkability D−): an EPA walkability index of 3.3 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Orwell without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Orwell, from the people who make the trip.
More of Orwell
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.