Caspar Getman Farmstead · Photo: Mkratzschmar · CC BY-SA 4.0Most of Palatine commutes out: there are 0.5 jobs for every working resident
There are 529 jobs in Palatine, against 1,018 working residents. Palatine grades C+ for jobs and income and C− for walkability. Only 7% stay in Palatine for work; outside it, Canajoharie is the main destination (7%, 7 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Palatine: the figures worth knowing
The better-paid jobs are outside Palatine
60% of Palatine residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 34% of the jobs based in Palatine pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 93% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Commutes from Palatine 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 ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
46% of the jobs in Palatine are in trade, transport and utilities, against 23% of the jobs its residents hold. 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.
Inside Palatine’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Palatine is better than 39% of U.S. towns, #503 of 758 in New York. Unemployment holds Palatine’s grade up (2.4%, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 17% of U.S. towns).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Palatine could be anywhere from C− to B.
Jobs in Palatine: what the 529 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Palatine, 2013 → 2023: 597 → 529. 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 Palatine’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 25 minutes to work from Palatine
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Palatine workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,352 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.
The daily commute in and out of Palatine
On a workday 948 residents head out to work, 70 work right here, and 459 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,700 people are in Palatine on a workday afternoon, 15% 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.
The towns that employ Palatine’s residents
Where Palatine clocks in
7% of workers
6% 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.
The commute from Palatine, by distance
About 21% 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 Palatine, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Palatine is more walkable than 17% of U.S. towns, #696 of 758 in New York. Both inputs place Palatine 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 1,498 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). 10.9% of Palatine households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Palatine’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 4,453 U.S. towns of 2,300 to 4,400, Palatine comes 2,727th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | East Williston NY | 2,616 | $215K | 2.3% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 10 | Lloyd Harbor NY | 3,587 | $250K | 2.1% | 0.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 47 | Great Neck Estates NY | 3,139 | $238K | 5.7% | 1.7% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,725 | Byrnes Mill MO | 3,183 | $99K | 21.1% | 9.8% | <1% | C+ |
| 2,726 | Vinton TX | 2,446 | $66K | 18.3% | 2.2% | 4% | C+ |
| 2,727 | Palatine NY | 3,227 | $70K | 13.7% | 2.4% | 7% | C+ |
| 2,728 | Forty Fort PA | 4,280 | $74K | 11.6% | 8.6% | 5% | C+ |
| 2,729 | Hawaiian Acres HI | 3,872 | $91K | 23.6% | 2.0% | <1% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,453 | 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 Palatine, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
17% of Palatine works in a town next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Palatine workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palatine | – | C+ | C− | 25 min | $69,722 |
| Canajoharie | 7% | B | B− | 25 min | $78,281 |
| Minden | 5% | C | B− | 28 min | $44,195 |
| Nelliston | under 3% | — | — | 25 min | — |
| Root | under 3% | C+ | C+ | 29 min | $75,771 |
| Fort Plain | under 3% | C− | B+ | 25 min | $34,738 |
| Palatine Bridge | under 3% | — | — | 30 min | — |
| Ephratah | under 3% | C | D | 32 min | $80,625 |
| Mohawk | 5% | B+ | C+ | 20 min | $81,473 |
| St. Johnsville | under 3% | D | B+ | 22 min | $54,837 |
| Canajoharie | under 3% | C | C+ | 25 min | $80,139 |
Same-state neighbors only. Nelliston and Palatine Bridge: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Canajoharie. Darker towns draw more of Palatine’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 Palatine: questions
What is the median household income in Palatine?
$69,722 (±$12,339) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Palatine?
13.7%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Palatine?
25 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 Palatine work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Canajoharie (7%, 7 mi), Johnstown (6%, 9 mi), Albany (5%, 42 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Palatine walkable?
Palatine is more walkable than 17% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 5.7 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Palatine without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 11% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Palatine, from the people who make the trip.
More of Palatine
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.