Photo: Alexisrael · CC BY-SA 3.0Suffern’s household incomes are higher than in 80% of U.S. towns
The poverty rate is 6.1% (New York 14.0%). Jobs and income earn Suffern A−; getting around on foot earns it A−. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 2.7 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
What stands out about work in Suffern
Suffern and Ramapo trade workers both ways
Ramapo is the top workplace for Suffern residents (21%) and also where the most people who work in Suffern come from (24% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Nearly all the work in Suffern is services
90% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 6% are in factories, building or farms. The jobs ↓
Most jobs in Suffern pay over $40,000 a year
73% of the jobs based in Suffern pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), the top earnings band in the Census data. 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.
Suffern’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Suffern is better than 82% of U.S. towns, #142 of 758 in New York. Job access by car holds Suffern’s grade up (ahead of 96% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (5.2%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Suffern could be anywhere from B to A+.
21% of working residents work in Ramapo
Where Suffern clocks in
21% of workers
18% of workers
9% 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.
Most jobs in Suffern are in services
3,580 jobs are based in Suffern.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Suffern, 2013 → 2023: 3,414 → 3,580. 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 Suffern’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A workday in Suffern: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 4,138 residents head out to work, 346 work right here, and 3,234 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 (0.80 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.
The daily trip from Suffern: about 29 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Suffern workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,900 commuters (the 13% 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.
How many miles Suffern commutes
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.
Suffern is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Suffern is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns, #246 of 758 in New York. Both inputs place Suffern 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 5,612 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 38% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 16% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 74% 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). 7.8% of Suffern households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Suffern’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Suffern ranks: 759th of 2,695 U.S. towns of 8,000 to 16,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 99 | East Rockaway NY | 10,096 | $125K | 2.6% | 3.2% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 102 | North Castle NY | 12,360 | $208K | 3.8% | 3.1% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 140 | Hastings-on-Hudson NY | 8,440 | $194K | 2.3% | 4.1% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 757 | Brandon Township MI | 15,541 | $94K | 6.6% | 3.0% | 5% | A− |
| 758 | Ewa Beach HI | 14,376 | $124K | 4.9% | 4.4% | <1% | A− |
| 759 | Suffern NY | 11,796 | $105K | 6.1% | 5.2% | 8% | A− |
| 760 | Long Hill Township NJ | 8,684 | $169K | 7.2% | 5.9% | 6% | A− |
| 761 | East Donegal Township PA | 8,780 | $109K | 5.1% | 4.5% | 6% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,695 | Roma TX | 11,543 | $25K | 37.1% | 12.4% | 22% | 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 Suffern, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
Work in the towns next to Suffern
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Suffern workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suffern | – | A− | A− | 29 min | $104,607 |
| Montebello | under 2% | A− | A− | 34 min | $133,750 |
| Hillburn | under 2% | — | — | 25 min | — |
| Airmont | under 2% | B+ | A | 27 min | $94,972 |
Same-state neighbors only. Hillburn: not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Suffern’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 Suffern: questions
What is the median household income in Suffern?
$104,607 (±$13,960) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Suffern?
6.1%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Suffern?
29 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Suffern work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Ramapo (21%, 3 mi), New York City (18%, 33 mi), Clarkstown (9%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Suffern walkable?
Suffern is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 10.1 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Suffern without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 16% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Suffern, from the people who make the trip.
More of Suffern
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.