Photo: Cliffy from Pelham, USA · CC BY 2.0Households in Pelham have higher incomes than those in 98% of U.S. towns
Pelham grades A for jobs and income and A+ for walkability. The poverty rate is 2.9%, against 14.0% across New York. Working from home is the commute for 25% of workers; New York has 15%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Pelham in brief
Pelham trades workers with the towns around it
Pelham has about as many jobs (2,928) as working residents (2,731), but they are mostly different people: 2,579 residents leave for work each day while 2,776 people come in. Only 5% of the jobs in Pelham are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
More than half of Pelham works in New York City
1,368 working residents, 50%, have their main job in New York City, 19 miles away. That’s 8 times as many as work in Pelham itself. The commute map ↓
Pelham makes and builds things
45% of the jobs based in Pelham are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Pelham residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 8%. The jobs ↓
Most jobs here, and most residents’ jobs, pay over $40,000
76% of Pelham’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, the top earnings band in the Census data, and so do 73% of the jobs based in Pelham. The jobs ↓
Home offices are common in Pelham
25% of Pelham workers work from home, against 15% across New York. 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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Pelham
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Pelham is better than 93% of U.S. towns, #53 of 758 in New York. Job access by car holds Pelham’s grade up (among the top U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (5.3%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Pelham could be anywhere from A− to A+.
Who leaves Pelham for work, and who comes in
On a workday 2,579 residents head out to work, 152 work right here, and 2,776 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 (1.07 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.
50% of working residents work in New York City
Where Pelham clocks in
50% of workers
8% of workers
4% 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.
Pelham works in goods: 45% of its jobs
2,928 jobs are based in Pelham.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Pelham, 2013 → 2023: 2,913 → 2,928. 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 Pelham’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The trip to work from Pelham: about 38 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 12 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Pelham workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,624 commuters (the 25% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Pelham
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.
Pelham is among the most walkable U.S. towns
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Pelham is among the most walkable U.S. towns, #4 of 758 in New York. Both inputs place Pelham 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 3,501 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 87% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 15.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 96% 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). 5.9% of Pelham households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 30% of Pelham’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 5,300 to 10,300, Pelham ranks 306th of 3,111 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 8 | Lawrence NY | 6,847 | $170K | 3.5% | 3.9% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 15 | Irvington NY | 6,533 | $173K | 1.6% | 2.1% | 6% | A+ |
| 16 | Kings Point NY | 5,710 | $211K | 0.9% | 2.4% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 304 | North Londonderry Township PA | 9,109 | $109K | 4.2% | 2.1% | 5% | A |
| 305 | Leacock Township PA | 5,672 | $83K | 2.4% | 0.3% | 24% | A |
| 306 | Pelham NY | 7,608 | $184K | 2.9% | 5.3% | 6% | A |
| 307 | Farmingdale NY | 8,584 | $123K | 5.2% | 3.7% | 5% | A |
| 308 | Durham CT | 7,209 | $159K | 3.4% | 3.6% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,111 | 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 Pelham, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
Work in the towns next to Pelham
The biggest share goes to New Rochelle (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Pelham workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pelham | – | A | A+ | 38 min | $184,375 |
| Mount Vernon | 2% | B− | A+ | 35 min | $78,779 |
| New Rochelle | 4% | B+ | A+ | 33 min | $109,167 |
| Pelham Manor | under 2% | A | A+ | 39 min | $250,000+ |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Pelham’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 Pelham: questions
What is the median household income in Pelham?
$184,375 (±$10,567) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Pelham?
2.9%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Pelham?
38 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 25% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Pelham work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New York City (50%, 18 mi), Pelham (8%, 1 mi), New Rochelle (4%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Pelham walkable?
Pelham is among the most walkable U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 16.3 out of 20, and 31% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Pelham without a car?
30% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 87% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Pelham, from the people who make the trip.
More of Pelham
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.