Ulster House Hotel · Photo: Daniel Case · CC BY-SA 3.0Shandaken’s household incomes are lower than in 64% of U.S. towns
19.9% of residents are in poverty, against 14.0% across New York. Jobs and income earn Shandaken C−; getting around on foot earns it B−. For 24% of workers, the job is at home, where New York as a whole has 15%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Shandaken at work: what stands out
Shandaken’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Shandaken is New York City, 99 miles away as the crow flies. 13% of working residents (123) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
A big share show a job far from home
37% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Shandaken
57% of Shandaken residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 39% of the jobs based in Shandaken pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 80% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 950 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Where Shandaken’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Shandaken is better than 20% of U.S. towns, #643 of 758 in New York. Unemployment holds Shandaken’s grade up (3.5%, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 4% of U.S. towns).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Shandaken could be anywhere from D− to B−.
Shandaken’s commute, mile by mile
About 37% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Most jobs in Shandaken are in services
675 jobs are based in Shandaken.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Shandaken, 2014 → 2024: 678 → 675. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Shandaken’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily flow of workers through Shandaken
On a workday 758 residents head out to work, 192 work right here, and 483 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,500 people are in Shandaken on a workday afternoon, 10% fewer than live here.
0.71 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 2024, primary jobs.
13% of working residents work in New York City
Where Shandaken clocks in
13% of workers
5% of workers
5% 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.
Each way, about 31 minutes from Shandaken
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Shandaken workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,086 commuters (the 24% 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.
Shandaken is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Shandaken is more walkable than 54% of U.S. towns, #477 of 758 in New York. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 15.4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 32.9% across New York, on an EPA index of 4.1.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,430 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 7.8% of Shandaken households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 5% of Shandaken’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Shandaken is 3,677th of 4,703 U.S. towns of 2,000 to 3,800
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 6 | Old Brookville NY | 2,098 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.2% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 10 | East Williston NY | 2,616 | $215K | 2.3% | 1.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 11 | Lloyd Harbor NY | 3,587 | $250K | 2.1% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,675 | Auburn NE | 3,498 | $58K | 14.1% | 4.1% | 32% | C− |
| 3,676 | Big Lake TX | 2,783 | $71K | 12.2% | 5.6% | 27% | C− |
| 3,677 | Shandaken NY | 2,813 | $66K | 19.9% | 3.5% | 20% | C− |
| 3,678 | Tahoka TX | 2,533 | $62K | 18.3% | 5.9% | 21% | C− |
| 3,679 | Browning Township IL | 2,353 | $53K | 14.1% | 2.5% | 4% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,703 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 13.3% | 0% | 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 Shandaken, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
Next door is work for 14% of Shandaken
The biggest share goes to Woodstock (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Shandaken workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shandaken | – | C− | B− | 31 min | $66,031 |
| Olive | 4% | C+ | B− | 30 min | $114,018 |
| Middletown | 3% | B− | C+ | 30 min | $78,021 |
| Hardenburgh | under 2% | — | — | 29 min | — |
| Woodstock | 5% | C+ | B+ | 27 min | $92,118 |
| Lexington | under 2% | — | — | 31 min | — |
| Denning | 2% | — | — | 36 min | — |
| Hunter | under 2% | C | B+ | 17 min | $66,827 |
Same-state neighbors only. Hardenburgh, Lexington and Denning: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Shandaken’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 2024, 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 Shandaken: questions
What is the median household income in Shandaken?
$66,031 (±$15,223) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Shandaken?
19.9%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Shandaken?
31 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 24% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Shandaken work?
20% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New York City (13%, 99 mi), Kingston (5%, 20 mi), Woodstock (5%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Shandaken walkable?
Shandaken is more walkable than 54% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 4.1 out of 20, and 15% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Shandaken without a car?
5% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Shandaken, from the people who make the trip.
More of Shandaken
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.