Unemployment in Saranac (0.7%) is lower than in 96% of U.S. towns
5% of workers have no commute at all; New York has 15%. For jobs and income Saranac is better than 50% of U.S. towns (B−); for walkability it is near the bottom of U.S. towns (D−). Only 3% stay in Saranac for work; outside it, Plattsburgh is the main destination (19%, 15 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Saranac and work: the main findings
Saranac is a place people come home to
There are 143 jobs based in Saranac, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Saranac has about 2,400 people in it, 37% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Saranac are quick
The average trip to work takes 22 minutes, against 33 across New York. That’s about 84 hours a year less on the road than the typical New York worker. Time on the road ↓
Saranac and Plattsburgh trade workers both ways
Plattsburgh is the top workplace for Saranac residents (19%) and also where the most people who work in Saranac come from (10% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
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.
Inside Saranac’s Jobs & income grade
Unemployment holds Saranac’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 6% 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, Saranac could be anywhere from C to A−.
The daily commute in and out of Saranac
On a workday 1,494 residents head out to work, 41 work right here, and 102 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,400 people are in Saranac on a workday afternoon, 37% fewer than live here.
0.09 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.
About 22 minutes each way for Saranac’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Saranac workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,746 commuters (the 5% 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.
Commuting out of Saranac: the destinations
Where Saranac clocks in
19% of workers
19% 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.
Inside Saranac’s 143 jobs
143 jobs are based in Saranac.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Saranac, 2013 → 2023: 238 → 143. 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 Saranac’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Saranac’s workers travel
About 23% 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.
In Saranac, the car does most of the work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Saranac is near the bottom of U.S. towns, #756 of 758 in New York. Both inputs place Saranac 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 1,838 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). 4.6% of Saranac households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Saranac’s commuters take a bus or train.
Saranac places 2,118th of 4,153 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 2,700 to 5,100
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 6 | Lloyd Harbor NY | 3,587 | $250K | 2.1% | 0.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 47 | Great Neck Estates NY | 3,139 | $238K | 5.7% | 1.7% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 105 | Pound Ridge NY | 5,057 | $250K | 4.5% | 2.0% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,116 | Jefferson IA | 4,150 | $59K | 7.3% | 1.1% | 37% | B− |
| 2,117 | Westover WV | 4,086 | $61K | 12.6% | 3.0% | 7% | B− |
| 2,118 | Saranac NY | 3,791 | $83K | 12.2% | 0.7% | 3% | B− |
| 2,119 | Franklin Township PA | 4,421 | $89K | 7.1% | 11.1% | 8% | B− |
| 2,120 | Garner IA | 3,029 | $71K | 11.5% | 1.9% | 32% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,153 | 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 Saranac, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
26% of Saranac works in a bordering town
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Saranac workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saranac | – | B− | D− | 22 min | $82,500 |
| Black Brook | under 2% | C | D | 32 min | $67,852 |
| Dannemora | 4% | C | B− | 21 min | $77,829 |
| Schuyler Falls | under 2% | A− | D | 16 min | $103,977 |
| Plattsburgh | 19% | B− | B− | 19 min | $71,546 |
| Cadyville | under 2% | — | — | 27 min | — |
| Franklin | under 2% | C− | C+ | 26 min | $88,456 |
| Peru | 3% | B+ | B | 21 min | $101,771 |
| Bellmont | under 2% | C− | D | 25 min | $70,250 |
Same-state neighbors only. Cadyville: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Plattsburgh. Darker towns draw more of Saranac’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 Saranac: questions
What is the median household income in Saranac?
$82,500 (±$15,647) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Saranac?
12.2%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Saranac?
22 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Saranac work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Plattsburgh (19%, 15 mi), Plattsburgh (19%, 18 mi), North Elba (6%, 33 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Saranac walkable?
Saranac is near the bottom of U.S. towns (Walkability D−): an EPA walkability index of 3.2 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Saranac without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Saranac, from the people who make the trip.
More of Saranac
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.