Household incomes in Valley Stream top those of 92% of U.S. towns
5.5% of residents live below the poverty line, next to 14.0% for New York as a whole. Jobs and income earn Valley Stream A+; getting around on foot earns it A+. Only 6% stay in Valley Stream for work; outside it, New York City is the main destination (52%, 12 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Valley Stream: the gist
Much of Valley Stream works one town over
75% of working residents work in a town that borders Valley Stream: New York (52%) and Hempstead (23%). Next door ↓
Valley Stream trades workers with the towns around it
Valley Stream has about as many jobs (18,102) as working residents (18,820), but they are mostly different people: 17,672 residents leave for work each day while 16,954 people come in. Only 6% of the jobs in Valley Stream are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Valley Stream has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Valley Stream went from 11,194 in 2013 to 18,102 in 2023, +62%. The jobs ↓
Valley Stream workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 41 minutes each way, against 33 across New York. Over a year that’s about 314 hours of commuting, 61 more than the state’s typical 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Jobs & income in Valley Stream: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Valley Stream is better than 96% of U.S. towns, #20 of 758 in New York. Job access by car is its strongest input (among the top U.S. towns); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (2.8%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Valley Stream could be anywhere from A to A+.
How many people are in Valley Stream by day
On a workday 17,672 residents head out to work, 1,148 work right here, and 16,954 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 (0.96 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 18,102 jobs based in Valley Stream
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Valley Stream, 2013 → 2023: 11,194 → 18,102. 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 Valley Stream’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 41 minutes to work from Valley Stream
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 13 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Valley Stream workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 18,518 commuters (the 12% 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 places Valley Stream commutes to
Where Valley Stream clocks in
52% of workers
23% 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.
The commute from Valley Stream, by distance
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.
Valley Stream is among the most walkable U.S. towns
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Valley Stream is among the most walkable U.S. towns, #11 of 758 in New York. Both inputs place Valley Stream 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 21,148 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 54% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 28.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, among the most 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). 5.6% of Valley Stream households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 22% of Valley Stream’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Valley Stream is 44th of 1,101 U.S. towns of 28,000 to 55,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 19 | Eastchester NY | 34,015 | $156K | 4.8% | 2.6% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 30 | Clifton Park NY | 37,775 | $133K | 2.3% | 2.0% | 13% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 42 | Potomac MD | 45,902 | $237K | 3.9% | 3.6% | 8% | A+ |
| 43 | Perry Township IN | 39,325 | $112K | 3.4% | 1.3% | 16% | A+ |
| 44 | Valley Stream NY | 40,379 | $133K | 5.5% | 2.8% | 6% | A+ |
| 45 | Germantown TN | 40,001 | $150K | 2.7% | 3.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 46 | Arlington MA | 46,563 | $151K | 5.4% | 2.9% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 65 | Pittsford NY | 30,588 | $146K | 3.7% | 3.1% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,101 | 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 Valley Stream, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
Valley Stream and its neighbors: 75% work next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Valley Stream workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valley Stream | – | A+ | A+ | 41 min | $133,190 |
| North Valley Stream | under 1% | — | — | 42 min | — |
| South Valley Stream | under 1% | — | — | 41 min | — |
| Woodmere | under 1% | — | — | 42 min | — |
| Lynbrook | under 1% | A | A+ | 35 min | $136,696 |
| Hewlett | under 1% | — | — | 42 min | — |
| Malverne | under 1% | A+ | A+ | 33 min | $149,489 |
| Hempstead | 23% | A | A+ | 37 min | $141,243 |
| New York | 52% | B− | A+ | 40 min | $80,483 |
Same-state neighbors only. North Valley Stream, South Valley Stream, Woodmere and Hewlett: Census-designated places inside larger towns, graded as part of them. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to New York. Darker towns draw more of Valley Stream’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 Valley Stream: questions
What is the median household income in Valley Stream?
$133,190 (±$13,357) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Valley Stream?
5.5%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Valley Stream?
41 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Valley Stream work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New York City (52%, 12 mi), Hempstead (23%, 6 mi), North Hempstead (8%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Valley Stream walkable?
Valley Stream is among the most walkable U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 15.7 out of 20, and 26% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Valley Stream without a car?
22% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 54% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Valley Stream, from the people who make the trip.
More of Valley Stream
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.