Most of Scotia commutes out: there are 0.3 jobs for every working resident
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 5.8 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 21.9 in Albany. 961 jobs are based in Scotia, and 3,455 of its residents work somewhere. Scotia grades A− for jobs and income and A for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Scotia stands out on work
Commutes from Scotia are quick
The average trip to work takes 23 minutes, against 33 across New York. That’s about 77 hours a year less on the road than the typical New York worker. Time on the road ↓
Scotia is a place people come home to
There are 961 jobs based in Scotia, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Scotia has about 4,800 people in it, 34% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Scotia
67% of Scotia residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 48% of the jobs based in Scotia pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 97% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Scotia than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Scotia fell from 1,362 in 2013 to 961 in 2023, −29%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
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.
What’s behind Scotia’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Scotia is better than 77% of U.S. towns, #187 of 758 in New York. The poverty rate is its strongest input (4.9%, U.S. 12.5%); household income ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns ($76,525, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on household income and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Scotia could be anywhere from B− to A.
How long Scotia spends getting to work: about 23 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Scotia workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,170 commuters (the 19% 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.
Who works in Scotia, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 3,337 residents head out to work, 118 work right here, and 843 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,800 people are in Scotia 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 kinds of work in Scotia
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Scotia, 2013 → 2023: 1,362 → 961. 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 Scotia’s own residents hold wherever they work.
16% of working residents work in Schenectady
Where Scotia clocks in
16% of workers
16% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Scotia
About 15% 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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Scotia
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Scotia is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns, #124 of 758 in New York. Both inputs place Scotia 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 3,915 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 51% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 5.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 86% 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). 17.5% of Scotia households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Scotia’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Scotia ranks: 881st of 3,122 U.S. towns of 5,100 to 9,800
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | Lawrence NY | 6,847 | $170K | 3.5% | 3.9% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 14 | Irvington NY | 6,533 | $173K | 1.6% | 2.1% | 6% | A+ |
| 15 | Kings Point NY | 5,710 | $211K | 0.9% | 2.4% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 879 | Ottawa Township OH | 8,047 | $90K | 5.9% | 1.2% | 27% | A− |
| 880 | Ridge Wood Heights FL | 5,366 | $70K | 8.4% | 1.0% | 3% | A− |
| 881 | Scotia NY | 7,295 | $77K | 4.9% | 3.2% | 3% | A− |
| 882 | West Boylston MA | 7,923 | $105K | 6.6% | 4.6% | 7% | A− |
| 883 | Jefferson Township OH | 8,927 | $82K | 7.9% | 2.9% | 10% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,122 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Scotia, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
Work in the towns next to Scotia
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Scotia workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scotia | – | A− | A | 23 min | $76,525 |
| East Glenville | under 3% | — | — | 25 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. East Glenville: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Scotia’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 Scotia: questions
What is the median household income in Scotia?
$76,525 (±$12,475) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Scotia?
4.9%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Scotia?
23 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 19% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Scotia work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Schenectady (16%, 3 mi), Albany (16%, 14 mi), Glenville (12%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Scotia walkable?
Scotia is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 13.8 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Scotia without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 18% of households have no car. 51% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Scotia, from the people who make the trip.
More of Scotia
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.