Household incomes in Stamford trail those of 94% of U.S. towns
4% of workers have no commute at all, where New York as a whole has 15%. 23.1% of residents are in poverty, next to 14.0% for New York as a whole. Stamford grades D− for jobs and income and B+ for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Stamford apart
Stamford is where the jobs are
Stamford has 976 jobs, 2.4 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 1,600 people are in town, 55% more than the 1,000 who live here. Day and night ↓
Stamford and Stamford trade workers both ways
Stamford is the top workplace for Stamford residents (15%) and also where the most people who work in Stamford come from (14% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Stamford makes and builds things
61% of the jobs based in Stamford are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Stamford residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 25%. 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; with 405 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Where Stamford’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty and job access, Stamford is better than 2% of U.S. towns. All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Stamford’s grade.
Unemployment (7.9%) is left out: Stamford’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Stamford could be anywhere from D− to D.
Who commutes out of Stamford, and who commutes in
On a workday 338 residents head out to work, 67 work right here, and 909 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,600 people are in Stamford on a workday afternoon, 55% more than live here.
2.4 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
The daily trip into Stamford
Where Stamford clocks in
8% 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.
In Stamford, 61% of jobs are in factories, building or farming
976 jobs are based in Stamford.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Stamford, 2013 → 2023: 594 → 976. 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 Stamford’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Stamford: about 26 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Stamford workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 436 commuters (the 4% 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 commute from Stamford, by distance
About 27% 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.
Most trips from Stamford start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Stamford is more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 15.3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 32.9% across New York, on an EPA index of 6.1.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 455 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). 14.8% of Stamford households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Stamford’s commuters take a bus or train.
Stamford and other U.S. towns of 700 to 1,400
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 4 | Saddle Rock NY | 1,008 | $176K | 0.8% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,002 | Nahunta GA | 1,059 | $46K | 29.3% | 4.2% | 16% | D− |
| 3,003 | Rich Hill MO | 1,264 | $47K | 33.7% | 6.5% | 9% | D− |
| 3,004 | Stamford NY | 1,034 | $44K | 23.1% | 7.9% | 17% | D− |
| 3,005 | Ivanhoe TX | 1,376 | $52K | 32.7% | 8.5% | 1% | D− |
| 3,006 | Pahoa HI | 1,361 | $56K | 34.7% | 7.5% | 11% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,133 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 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 Stamford, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
10% of Stamford works in a bordering town
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Stamford workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stamford | – | D− | B+ | 26 min | $43,716 |
| Harpersfield | 10% | D− | B− | 31 min | $52,118 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Harpersfield. Darker towns draw more of Stamford’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 Stamford: questions
What is the median household income in Stamford?
$43,716 (±$5,168) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Stamford?
23.1%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Stamford?
26 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Stamford work?
17% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Stamford (15%, 6 mi), Harpersfield (10%, 5 mi), Delhi (8%, 18 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Stamford walkable?
Stamford is more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 6.1 out of 20, and 15% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Stamford without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 15% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Stamford, from the people who make the trip.
More of Stamford
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.