Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Plattsburgh draws 7,563 commuters a day, with 1.8 jobs for every working resident
About one in four stay in Plattsburgh for work; outside it, Plattsburgh is the main destination (31%, 3 miles). Employers in Plattsburgh report 8,894 jobs, and 5,078 of its residents work somewhere. For jobs and income Plattsburgh is better than 46% of U.S. towns (B−); for walkability it is more walkable than 48% of U.S. towns (B−).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Plattsburgh
Commutes from Plattsburgh are quick
The average trip to work takes 19 minutes, against 33 across New York. That’s about 107 hours a year less on the road than the typical New York worker. Time on the road ↓
Plattsburgh is the work center of its corner
Every town that borders Plattsburgh (Schuyler Falls, Grand Isle, South Hero, Beekmantown, Peru and others) has fewer jobs than working residents, while Plattsburgh has 1.8 per resident. Next door ↓
Plattsburgh and Plattsburgh trade workers both ways
Plattsburgh is the top workplace for Plattsburgh residents (31%) and also where the most people who work in Plattsburgh come from (19% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Most Plattsburgh residents work close to home
63% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. 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.
Income, poverty and work: Plattsburgh’s grade explained
Unemployment holds Plattsburgh’s grade up (3.7%, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 39% of U.S. towns).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Plattsburgh could be anywhere from C to B.
About 19 minutes to work from Plattsburgh
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Plattsburgh workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,958 commuters (the 8% 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.
Where the people who work in Plattsburgh live
Where Plattsburgh clocks in
31% of workers
4% of workers
2% 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 Plattsburgh, 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.
The daily commute in and out of Plattsburgh
On a workday 3,747 residents head out to work and 1,331 work right here.
About 16,000 people are in Plattsburgh on a workday afternoon, 32% more 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 kinds of work in Plattsburgh
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Plattsburgh, 2013 → 2023: 8,040 → 8,894. 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 Plattsburgh’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Driving is how Plattsburgh gets around
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 5,363 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). 9.7% of Plattsburgh households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Plattsburgh’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 2,695 U.S. towns of 8,000 to 16,000, Plattsburgh comes 1,719th 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 99 | East Rockaway NY | 10,096 | $125K | 2.6% | 3.2% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 102 | North Castle NY | 12,360 | $208K | 3.8% | 3.1% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 140 | Hastings-on-Hudson NY | 8,440 | $194K | 2.3% | 4.1% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,717 | Box Elder SD | 13,936 | $73K | 7.5% | 4.9% | 7% | B− |
| 1,718 | Monroe WI | 10,581 | $69K | 8.9% | 4.3% | 46% | B− |
| 1,719 | Plattsburgh NY | 11,748 | $72K | 10.4% | 3.7% | 26% | B− |
| 1,720 | Urbana Township OH | 14,105 | $69K | 11.4% | 4.5% | 29% | B− |
| 1,721 | Lexington NE | 11,176 | $68K | 13.8% | 2.1% | 21% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,695 | Roma TX | 11,543 | $25K | 37.1% | 12.4% | 22% | 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 Plattsburgh, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
Plattsburgh and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Beekmantown (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Plattsburgh workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plattsburgh | – | B− | B− | 19 min | $71,546 |
| Schuyler Falls | under 2% | A− | D | 16 min | $103,977 |
| Beekmantown | 4% | B− | D | 22 min | $87,162 |
| Peru | 2% | B+ | B | 21 min | $101,771 |
| Saranac | under 2% | B− | D− | 22 min | $82,500 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Plattsburgh’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 Plattsburgh: questions
What is the median household income in Plattsburgh?
$71,546 (±$4,995) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Plattsburgh?
10.4%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Plattsburgh?
19 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Plattsburgh work?
26% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Plattsburgh (31%, 3 mi), Beekmantown (4%, 7 mi), Dannemora (2%, 16 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Plattsburgh walkable?
Plattsburgh is more walkable than 48% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 6.4 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Plattsburgh without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Plattsburgh, from the people who make the trip.
More of Plattsburgh
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.