Photo: The original uploader was Phmalo at English Wikipedia. · CC BY-SA 2.5Skaneateles has higher household incomes than 90% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 2.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 33.1 in Syracuse. 4.9% of residents are in poverty (New York 14.0%). For jobs and income Skaneateles is better than 92% of U.S. towns (A); for walkability it is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns (A+).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Skaneateles: the figures worth knowing
Commutes from Skaneateles are quick
The average trip to work takes 21 minutes, against 33 across New York. That’s about 92 hours a year less on the road than the typical New York worker. Time on the road ↓
Home offices are common in Skaneateles
26% of Skaneateles workers work from home, against 15% across New York. Time on the road ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Skaneateles
67% of Skaneateles residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 48% of the jobs based in Skaneateles pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 91% leave town for their job. 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.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Skaneateles
Unemployment is its strongest input (1.1%, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 54% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Skaneateles could be anywhere from A− to A+.
Skaneateles’ commute takes about 21 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Skaneateles workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 863 commuters (the 26% 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.
What work there is in Skaneateles: 1,390 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Skaneateles, 2013 → 2023: 1,232 → 1,390. 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 Skaneateles’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A workday in Skaneateles: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 940 residents head out to work, 94 work right here, and 1,296 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,900 people are in Skaneateles on a workday afternoon, 14% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.34 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.
18% of working residents work in Syracuse
Where Skaneateles clocks in
18% of workers
18% 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.
How far it is to work from Skaneateles
About 19% 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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Skaneateles
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,168 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 65% 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 2.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 68% 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). 11.9% of Skaneateles households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Skaneateles’ commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Skaneateles is 305th of 4,868 U.S. towns of 1,800 to 3,400
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 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% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | East Williston NY | 2,616 | $215K | 2.3% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 10 | Laurel Hollow NY | 1,949 | $250K | 3.5% | 2.2% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 303 | Ashippun WI | 2,666 | $97K | 4.2% | 1.1% | 2% | A |
| 304 | Hartley CA | 2,431 | $124K | 7.2% | 0.6% | <1% | A |
| 305 | Skaneateles NY | 2,503 | $126K | 4.9% | 1.1% | 9% | A |
| 306 | Rhome TX | 1,961 | $101K | 4.3% | 4.5% | <1% | A |
| 307 | Polkton Township MI | 2,616 | $113K | 2.8% | 3.1% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 4,868 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Skaneateles, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
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 Skaneateles: questions
What is the median household income in Skaneateles?
$125,625 (±$17,019) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Skaneateles?
4.9%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Skaneateles?
21 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 26% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Skaneateles work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Syracuse (18%, 16 mi), Skaneateles (18%, 2 mi), Auburn (6%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Skaneateles walkable?
Skaneateles is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 11.3 out of 20, and 13% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Skaneateles without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 12% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Skaneateles, from the people who make the trip.
More of Skaneateles
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.