Photo: Doug Kerr from Albany, NY · CC BY-SA 2.0Most of Preston commutes out: there are 0.1 jobs for every working resident
Employers in Preston report 42 jobs; 344 of its residents have a job. Hardly any work in Preston; the top destination outside it is Norwich (20%, 5 miles). Commuters spend 24 minutes getting to work on average; New York averages 33, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Preston
Preston is a place people come home to
There are 42 jobs based in Preston, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Preston has about 580 people in it, 34% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Preston and Norwich trade workers both ways
Norwich is the top workplace for Preston residents (20%) and also where the most people who work in Preston come from (12% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Commutes from Preston are quick
The average trip to work takes 24 minutes, against 33 across New York. That’s about 69 hours a year less on the road than the typical New York worker. 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; with 344 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
A workday in Preston: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 344 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 42 people come in from elsewhere.
About 580 people are in Preston 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.
The towns that employ Preston’s residents
Where Preston clocks in
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.
Preston’s commute takes about 24 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Preston workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 360 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.
A place that makes things: 36% of Preston’s jobs are in goods
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Preston, 2013 → 2023: 31 → 42. 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 Preston’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far it is to work from Preston
About 19% 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.
17% of Preston works in a town next door
The biggest share goes to Norwich (14%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Preston workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preston | – | — | — | 24 min | $85,625 |
| Norwich | 14% | B | B− | 18 min | $63,226 |
| Plymouth | under 2% | C | D | 25 min | $78,148 |
| McDonough | under 2% | — | — | 31 min | — |
| Oxford | 3% | D | B− | 24 min | $61,168 |
Same-state neighbors only. McDonough: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Preston’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 Preston: questions
What is the median household income in Preston?
$85,625 (±$11,499) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Preston?
10.2%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Preston?
24 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 Preston work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Norwich (20%, 5 mi), Norwich (14%, 6 mi), New York City (4%, 154 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Preston without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Preston, from the people who make the trip.
More of Preston
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.