Photo: Andre Carrotflower · CC BY-SA 4.0With 0.2 jobs for every working resident, most of Sterling works elsewhere
230 jobs are based in Sterling, against 1,268 working residents. The two grades for Sterling are C for jobs and income and B− for walkability. Only 7% work in Sterling; the top destination outside it is Oswego (9%, 13 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The short version on getting to work from Sterling
Sterling is a place people come home to
There are 230 jobs based in Sterling, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Sterling has about 2,100 people in it, 33% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Sterling are quick
The average trip to work takes 27 minutes, against 33 across New York. That’s about 46 hours a year less on the road than the typical New York worker. Time on the road ↓
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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Sterling
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Sterling is better than 32% of U.S. towns, #570 of 758 in New York. Unemployment holds Sterling’s grade up (2.6%, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 16% of U.S. towns).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Sterling could be anywhere from D to B−.
The daily flow of workers through Sterling
On a workday 1,177 residents head out to work, 91 work right here, and 139 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,100 people are in Sterling on a workday afternoon, 33% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Time on the road from Sterling: about 27 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Sterling workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,119 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.
Commuting out of Sterling: the destinations
Where Sterling clocks in
9% 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.
Sterling works in goods: 36% of its jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Sterling, 2013 → 2023: 154 → 230. 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 Sterling’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The distance from Sterling to work
About 20% 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.
Sterling is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Sterling is more walkable than 53% of U.S. towns, #489 of 758 in New York. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 7.0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 32.9% across New York, on an EPA index of 4.9.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,313 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). 7.9% of Sterling households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Sterling’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 4,698 U.S. towns of 2,200 to 4,300, Sterling comes 3,206th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 8 | East Williston NY | 2,616 | $215K | 2.3% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 9 | Lloyd Harbor NY | 3,587 | $250K | 2.1% | 0.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 45 | Great Neck Estates NY | 3,139 | $238K | 5.7% | 1.7% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,204 | Rose NY | 2,260 | $76K | 8.1% | 6.9% | 5% | C |
| 3,205 | Rugby ND | 2,412 | $50K | 13.0% | 0.5% | 45% | C |
| 3,206 | Sterling NY | 3,157 | $60K | 14.1% | 2.6% | 7% | C |
| 3,207 | Cottondale AL | 2,632 | $45K | 32.0% | 2.9% | 1% | C |
| 3,208 | Burnham IL | 3,919 | $58K | 15.7% | 10.1% | 3% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 4,698 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Sterling, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
Bordering towns draw 14% of Sterling’s workers
The biggest share goes to Wolcott (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Sterling workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sterling | – | C | B− | 27 min | $59,750 |
| Fair Haven | under 3% | — | — | 27 min | — |
| Hannibal | 4% | C | C− | 27 min | $74,148 |
| Wolcott | 6% | C− | B | 31 min | $54,569 |
| Oswego | 4% | C− | A | 19 min | $78,083 |
| Victory | under 3% | C+ | D− | 35 min | $71,071 |
| Red Creek | under 3% | — | — | 27 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Fair Haven: not graded. Red Creek: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Sterling’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 Sterling: questions
What is the median household income in Sterling?
$59,750 (±$9,288) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Sterling?
14.1%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Sterling?
27 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 Sterling work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Oswego (9%, 13 mi), Syracuse (6%, 32 mi), Wolcott (6%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Sterling walkable?
Sterling is more walkable than 53% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 4.9 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Sterling without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Sterling, from the people who make the trip.
More of Sterling
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.