Old Southeast Church · Photo: Daniel Case · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in Southeast have higher incomes than those in 84% of U.S. towns
8.2% of residents live below the poverty line; New York has 14.0%. Southeast grades A− for jobs and income and A for walkability. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 1.6 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 79.0 in New York City.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Southeast at work: what stands out
Southeast’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Southeast is New York City, 54 miles away as the crow flies. 24% of working residents (1,953) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Southeast trades workers with the towns around it
Southeast has about as many jobs (7,867) as working residents (8,087), but they are mostly different people: 7,061 residents leave for work each day while 6,841 people come in. Only 13% of the jobs in Southeast are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
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.
The figures behind Southeast’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Southeast is better than 77% of U.S. towns, #197 of 758 in New York. Household income is its strongest input ($110,815, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (4.1%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Southeast could be anywhere from B to A.
How far Southeast goes to work
About 17% 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.
A workday in Southeast: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 7,061 residents head out to work, 1,026 work right here, and 6,841 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 (0.97 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.
24% of working residents work in New York City
Where Southeast clocks in
24% of workers
5% of workers
4% 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.
What work there is in Southeast: 7,867 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Southeast, 2013 → 2023: 6,803 → 7,867. 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 Southeast’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting from Southeast: about 34 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Southeast workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 8,434 commuters (the 15% 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.
In Southeast, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Southeast is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns, #197 of 758 in New York. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 10.7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 32.9% across New York, on an EPA index of 8.4.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 9,893 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 14% 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 1.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 64% 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). 5.3% of Southeast households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 6% of Southeast’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 13,000 to 25,000, Southeast ranks 710th of 1,915 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 36 | Floral Park NY | 16,105 | $150K | 3.0% | 3.1% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 77 | Garden City NY | 23,043 | $244K | 3.0% | 3.9% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 86 | Victor NY | 16,422 | $116K | 2.8% | 1.6% | 16% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 708 | Manchester Township PA | 20,061 | $96K | 7.8% | 4.0% | 10% | A− |
| 709 | Gold Canyon AZ | 13,107 | $93K | 3.8% | 3.8% | 5% | A− |
| 710 | Southeast NY | 18,379 | $111K | 8.2% | 4.1% | 13% | A− |
| 711 | Hunters Creek FL | 22,819 | $99K | 7.0% | 4.7% | 4% | A− |
| 712 | Monclova Township OH | 14,871 | $118K | 4.3% | 6.2% | 6% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,915 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Southeast, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
Southeast and its neighbors: 13% work next door
The biggest share goes to Carmel (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Southeast workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southeast | – | A− | A | 34 min | $110,815 |
| Carmel | 5% | A− | A− | 41 min | $131,835 |
| North Salem | 2% | A+ | A− | 40 min | $178,750 |
| Patterson | 2% | C+ | A− | 37 min | $102,149 |
| Putnam Lake | under 2% | — | — | 39 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Putnam Lake: 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 Southeast’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 Southeast: questions
What is the median household income in Southeast?
$110,815 (±$12,171) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Southeast?
8.2%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Southeast?
34 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Southeast work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New York City (24%, 54 mi), Carmel (5%, 6 mi), Danbury (4%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Southeast walkable?
Southeast is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 8.4 out of 20, and 11% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Southeast without a car?
6% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Southeast, from the people who make the trip.
More of Southeast
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.