Photo: Wapphist · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in Wappinger are higher than in 73% of U.S. towns
About one in ten work in Wappinger; the top destination outside it is New York City (14%, 64 miles). 5.4% of residents live below the poverty line, against 14.0% across New York. Wappinger grades A− 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
Jobs and commuting in Wappinger: the gist
Wappinger’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Wappinger is New York City, 64 miles away as the crow flies. 14% of working residents (1,785) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Commutes from Wappinger are quick
The average trip to work takes 28 minutes, against 33 across New York. That’s about 38 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.
The figures behind Wappinger’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Wappinger is better than 79% of U.S. towns, #175 of 758 in New York. The poverty rate is its strongest input; unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.8%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Wappinger could be anywhere from B+ to A.
How far Wappinger’s workers travel
About 25% 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.
The daily trip from Wappinger: about 28 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Wappinger workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 12,618 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.
The workday shuffle in and out of Wappinger
On a workday 11,199 residents head out to work, 1,443 work right here, and 8,424 people come in from elsewhere.
About 25,000 people are in Wappinger on a workday afternoon, 10% fewer than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.78 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.
Out of Wappinger to work: where people go
Where Wappinger clocks in
14% of workers
10% of workers
5% 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.
66% of the jobs in Wappinger pay over $3,333 a month
9,867 jobs are based in Wappinger.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Wappinger, 2013 → 2023: 7,962 → 9,867. 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 Wappinger’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Most trips from Wappinger start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Wappinger is more walkable than 58% of U.S. towns, #456 of 758 in New York. Both inputs place Wappinger 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 14,541 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 8% 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). 5.5% of Wappinger households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Wappinger’s commuters take a bus or train.
512th of 1,409: where Wappinger ranks among U.S. towns of 20,000 to 38,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 26 | Eastchester NY | 34,015 | $156K | 4.8% | 2.6% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 50 | Garden City NY | 23,043 | $244K | 3.0% | 3.9% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 52 | Clifton Park NY | 37,775 | $133K | 2.3% | 2.0% | 13% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 510 | Lake in the Hills IL | 28,590 | $117K | 4.1% | 5.9% | 3% | A− |
| 511 | Maple Valley WA | 28,482 | $153K | 4.8% | 4.8% | 8% | A− |
| 512 | Wappinger NY | 28,215 | $95K | 5.4% | 3.8% | 11% | A− |
| 513 | North Huntingdon Township PA | 31,697 | $101K | 5.1% | 5.0% | 12% | A− |
| 514 | White Bear Lake MN | 23,392 | $84K | 7.0% | 4.0% | 11% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,409 | Barstow CA | 24,804 | $53K | 23.1% | 11.9% | 17% | 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 Wappinger, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
The towns next door employ 24% of Wappinger
The biggest share goes to Poughkeepsie (10%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Wappinger workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wappinger | – | A− | B | 28 min | $95,234 |
| East Fishkill | 5% | A− | B− | 36 min | $138,543 |
| Poughkeepsie | 10% | B+ | A | 27 min | $97,724 |
| Newburgh | 2% | — | — | 37 min | — |
| Red Oaks Mill | under 2% | — | — | 30 min | — |
| Fishkill | 5% | B | B+ | 36 min | $101,423 |
| LaGrange | 2% | B+ | B | 33 min | $121,586 |
| New Hamburg | under 2% | — | — | 28 min | — |
| Brinckerhoff | under 2% | — | — | 35 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Newburgh: the same community as the city of that name, graded once. Red Oaks Mill, New Hamburg and Brinckerhoff: Census-designated places inside larger towns, graded as part of them. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Wappinger’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 Wappinger: questions
What is the median household income in Wappinger?
$95,234 (±$10,274) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Wappinger?
5.4%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Wappinger?
28 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 Wappinger work?
11% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New York City (14%, 64 mi), Poughkeepsie (10%, 6 mi), Fishkill (5%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Wappinger walkable?
Wappinger is more walkable than 58% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 6.9 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Wappinger without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Wappinger, from the people who make the trip.
More of Wappinger
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.