Rapids has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.1 for each
The average commute takes 25 minutes each way, where New York has 33 and the U.S. 26. Rapids has 119 jobs, and 818 of its residents work somewhere. Hardly any work in Rapids; the top destination outside it is Amherst (16%, 8 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Rapids: the gist
Rapids is a place people come home to
There are 119 jobs based in Rapids, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Rapids has about 960 people in it, 42% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Rapids 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 ↓
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 818 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Who works in Rapids, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 817 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 118 people come in from elsewhere.
About 960 people are in Rapids on a workday afternoon, 42% 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.
Getting to work from Rapids takes about 25 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Rapids workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 516 commuters (the 18% 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 people from Rapids work
Where Rapids clocks in
16% of workers
13% of workers
10% 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.
In Rapids, services account for most jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Rapids, 2013 → 2023: 80 → 119. 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 Rapids’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Near or far: the trip to work from Rapids
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.
Rapids and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Clarence (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Rapids’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 Rapids: questions
What is the median household income in Rapids?
$121,875 (±$43,194) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Rapids?
5.0%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Rapids?
25 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Rapids work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Amherst (16%, 8 mi), Buffalo (13%, 18 mi), Lockport (10%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Rapids without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Rapids, from the people who make the trip.
More of Rapids
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.