Liverpool Cemetery · Photo: Kristalia.s · CC BY-SA 4.0Unemployment in Salina (4.9%) is higher than in 60% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Salina is better than 54% of U.S. towns (B−); for walkability it is more walkable than 81% of U.S. towns (A−). Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 8.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 33.1 in Syracuse. About one in ten work in Salina itself; outside it, Syracuse draws the most (28%, 5 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Salina
Much of Salina works one town over
55% of working residents work in a town that borders Salina: Syracuse (28%), DeWitt (13%) and Clay (10%). Next door ↓
Commutes from Salina are quick
The average trip to work takes 18 minutes, against 33 across New York. That’s about 115 hours a year less on the road than the typical New York worker. Time on the road ↓
Salina trades workers with the towns around it
Salina has about as many jobs (17,803) as working residents (15,163), but they are mostly different people: 13,651 residents leave for work each day while 16,291 people come in. Only 8% of the jobs in Salina are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Most Salina residents work close to home
72% 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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Salina
Job access by car holds Salina’s grade up; unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Salina could be anywhere from C+ to B+.
The trip to work from Salina: about 18 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Salina workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 14,145 commuters (the 13% 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.
How a workday changes Salina
On a workday 13,651 residents head out to work, 1,512 work right here, and 16,291 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 (1.17 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.
The commute from Salina, by distance
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.
The places Salina commutes to
Where Salina clocks in
28% 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.
67% of the jobs in Salina pay over $3,333 a month
17,803 jobs are based in Salina.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Salina, 2013 → 2023: 19,159 → 17,803. 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 Salina’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In Salina, walking beats the bus
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 32.9% across New York.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 16,275 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 84% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 33% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 8.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 91% 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). 7.5% of Salina households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Salina’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Salina is 828th of 1,283 U.S. towns of 23,000 to 44,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| 2 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 24 | Eastchester NY | 34,015 | $156K | 4.8% | 2.6% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 49 | Garden City NY | 23,043 | $244K | 3.0% | 3.9% | 10% | A+ |
| 50 | Clifton Park NY | 37,775 | $133K | 2.3% | 2.0% | 13% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 826 | Lodi NJ | 26,187 | $89K | 15.4% | 7.0% | 4% | B− |
| 827 | Barnegat Township NJ | 26,151 | $92K | 7.5% | 6.6% | 7% | B− |
| 828 | Salina NY | 32,375 | $72K | 11.2% | 4.9% | 10% | B− |
| 829 | Milford Mill MD | 30,829 | $70K | 8.7% | 6.7% | 4% | B− |
| 830 | Hazel Dell WA | 23,237 | $86K | 9.8% | 8.2% | 5% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,283 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Salina, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
55% of Salina works in a town next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Salina workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salina | – | B− | A− | 18 min | $72,474 |
| Syracuse | 28% | C− | A+ | 18 min | $47,819 |
| Lysander | 2% | A− | C+ | 24 min | $107,984 |
| Geddes | 2% | B+ | A− | 19 min | $76,839 |
| Clay | 10% | B+ | B | 21 min | $90,707 |
| DeWitt | 13% | B+ | A | 18 min | $92,218 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Syracuse. Darker towns draw more of Salina’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 Salina: questions
What is the median household income in Salina?
$72,474 (±$5,031) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Salina?
11.2%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Salina?
18 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Salina work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Syracuse (28%, 5 mi), DeWitt (13%, 6 mi), Clay (10%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Salina walkable?
Salina is more walkable than 81% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 12.3 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Salina without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 33% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Salina, from the people who make the trip.
More of Salina
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.