Perth has lower unemployment (0.9%) than 95% of U.S. towns
Working residents average 28 minutes each way, where New York has 33 and the U.S. 26. Jobs and income earn Perth B; getting around on foot earns it D. Only 5% stay in Perth for work; outside it, Amsterdam is the main destination (12%, 4 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Perth apart
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Perth
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Perth is better than 65% of U.S. towns, #297 of 758 in New York. Unemployment holds Perth’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 36% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Perth could be anywhere from C+ to A.
How long Perth spends getting to work: about 28 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Perth workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,421 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.
Perth on a workday afternoon
On a workday 1,434 residents head out to work, 78 work right here, and 476 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,500 people are in Perth on a workday afternoon, 27% fewer than live here.
0.37 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
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 places Perth commutes to
Where Perth clocks in
12% of workers
7% 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.
Jobs in Perth: what the 554 are
554 jobs are based in Perth.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Perth, 2013 → 2023: 544 → 554. 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 Perth’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Near or far: the trip to work from Perth
About 16% 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.
Most of Perth commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Perth is more walkable than 9% of U.S. towns, #722 of 758 in New York. Both inputs place Perth 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 1,596 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). 1.3% of Perth households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Perth’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Perth ranks: 1,428th of 4,221 U.S. towns of 2,500 to 4,700
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 7 | East Williston NY | 2,616 | $215K | 2.3% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 8 | Lloyd Harbor NY | 3,587 | $250K | 2.1% | 0.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 48 | Great Neck Estates NY | 3,139 | $238K | 5.7% | 1.7% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,426 | Spring City PA | 3,878 | $76K | 12.0% | 3.6% | 3% | B |
| 1,427 | Spencer Township MI | 4,288 | $83K | 6.9% | 2.9% | 2% | B |
| 1,428 | Perth NY | 3,506 | $92K | 12.4% | 0.9% | 5% | B |
| 1,429 | Crest CA | 2,775 | $110K | 6.4% | 12.1% | 1% | B |
| 1,430 | Shawnee Hills OH | 2,534 | $109K | 2.5% | 10.7% | <1% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 4,221 | 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 Perth, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
Around Perth: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Amsterdam (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Perth workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Perth | – | B | D | 28 min | $91,914 |
| Amsterdam | 7% | C+ | C− | 25 min | $83,989 |
| Johnstown | under 4% | B+ | C+ | 22 min | $97,283 |
| Broadalbin | under 4% | C+ | C− | 32 min | $74,591 |
| Mayfield | under 4% | C | C− | 26 min | $72,074 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Perth’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 Perth: questions
What is the median household income in Perth?
$91,914 (±$18,338) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Perth?
12.4%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Perth?
28 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 Perth work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Amsterdam (12%, 4 mi), Amsterdam (7%, 4 mi), Johnstown (6%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Perth walkable?
Perth is more walkable than 9% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 4.7 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Perth without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Perth, from the people who make the trip.
More of Perth
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.