Photo: Jim.henderson · CC BY 4.0Spring Valley has lower household incomes than 78% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 1.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 79.0 in New York City. 27.6% of residents live below the poverty line, against 14.0% across New York. The two grades for Spring Valley are C+ 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
Getting to work from Spring Valley, in brief
Spring Valley and Ramapo trade workers both ways
Ramapo is the top workplace for Spring Valley residents (28%) and also where the most people who work in Spring Valley come from (40% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Commutes from Spring Valley are quick
The average trip to work takes 24 minutes, against 33 across New York. That’s about 69 hours a year less on the road than the typical New York worker. Time on the road ↓
Spring Valley has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Spring Valley went from 5,850 in 2013 to 9,589 in 2023, +64%. 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
The four measures behind Spring Valley’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Spring Valley is better than 41% of U.S. towns, #489 of 758 in New York. Job access by car holds Spring Valley’s grade up (ahead of 96% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down. It also does well on unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Spring Valley could be anywhere from C to B−.
28% of working residents work in Ramapo
Where Spring Valley clocks in
28% of workers
21% of workers
12% 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.
About 24 minutes each way for Spring Valley’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Spring Valley workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 13,282 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.
The 9,589 jobs based in Spring Valley
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Spring Valley, 2013 → 2023: 5,850 → 9,589. 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 Spring Valley’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who leaves Spring Valley for work, and who comes in
On a workday 11,658 residents head out to work, 1,253 work right here, and 8,336 people come in from elsewhere.
About 31,000 people are in Spring Valley on a workday afternoon, 10% fewer than live here.
0.74 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.
Miles to work from Spring Valley
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: Spring Valley
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Spring Valley is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns, #94 of 758 in New York. Both inputs place Spring Valley 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 14,040 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 52% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 7% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.9 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). 18.7% of Spring Valley households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 13% of Spring Valley’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Spring Valley is 992nd of 1,287 U.S. towns of 24,000 to 47,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| 2 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 24 | Eastchester NY | 34,015 | $156K | 4.8% | 2.6% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 48 | Clifton Park NY | 37,775 | $133K | 2.3% | 2.0% | 13% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 67 | Valley Stream NY | 40,379 | $133K | 5.5% | 2.8% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 990 | Merrillville IN | 37,407 | $68K | 12.6% | 7.5% | 13% | C+ |
| 991 | Austintown Township OH | 35,477 | $57K | 15.7% | 4.1% | 15% | C+ |
| 992 | Spring Valley NY | 34,482 | $57K | 27.6% | 4.2% | 10% | C+ |
| 993 | Seguin TX | 41,048 | $65K | 17.1% | 4.4% | 29% | C+ |
| 994 | Thomasville NC | 27,733 | $61K | 16.3% | 4.6% | 14% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,287 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Spring Valley, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
Next door to Spring Valley
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Spring Valley workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring Valley | – | C+ | A+ | 24 min | $57,196 |
| Nanuet | under 1% | — | — | 31 min | — |
| Monsey | under 1% | — | — | 22 min | — |
| Hillcrest | under 1% | — | — | 30 min | — |
| Chestnut Ridge | under 1% | A− | A− | 27 min | $111,725 |
| New Hempstead | under 1% | B+ | B | 29 min | $126,165 |
Same-state neighbors only. Nanuet, Monsey and Hillcrest: Census-designated places inside larger towns, graded as part of them. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Spring Valley’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 Spring Valley: questions
What is the median household income in Spring Valley?
$57,196 (±$5,522) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Spring Valley?
27.6%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Spring Valley?
24 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 Spring Valley work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Ramapo (28%, 3 mi), New York City (21%, 32 mi), Clarkstown (12%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Spring Valley walkable?
Spring Valley is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 11.5 out of 20, and 16% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Spring Valley without a car?
13% of commuters take transit and 19% of households have no car. 7% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Spring Valley, from the people who make the trip.
More of Spring Valley
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.