How Star Lake works: jobs, income and commuting
Star Lake has 150 jobs; 172 of its residents have a job. About one in seven work in Star Lake; the top destination outside it is Fine (23%, 2 miles). A typical one-way commute lasts 24 minutes, next to 33 for New York and 26 for the U.S.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Who works in Star Lake, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 150 residents head out to work, 22 work right here, and 128 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 (0.87 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
Commuting out of Star Lake: the destinations
Where Star Lake clocks in
23% 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.
Star Lake is a services town
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Star Lake, 2014 → 2024: 194 → 150. 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 Star Lake’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Each way, about 24 minutes from Star Lake
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Star Lake workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 243 commuters (the 16% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Star Lake
About 36% 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.
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 Star Lake: questions
What is the median household income in Star Lake?
$57,917 (±$21,384) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Star Lake?
24.0%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Star Lake?
24 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Star Lake work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Fine (23%, 2 mi), Potsdam (5%, 35 mi), Albany (4%, 121 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Can you get around Star Lake without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Star Lake, from the people who make the trip.
More of Star Lake
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.