Watervliet Arsenal · Public domainWatervliet has 0.4 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
1,822 jobs are based in Watervliet, and 4,444 of its residents work somewhere. Jobs and income earn Watervliet C+; getting around on foot earns it A+. Measured by household income, Watervliet is behind 77% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Watervliet, in a few figures
Commutes from Watervliet are quick
The average trip to work takes 20 minutes, against 33 across New York. That’s about 100 hours a year less on the road than the typical New York worker. Time on the road ↓
Most Watervliet residents work close to home
65% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about two in three. How far ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Watervliet’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Watervliet is better than 39% of U.S. towns, #501 of 758 in New York. Job access by car holds Watervliet’s grade up (ahead of 83% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (18.4%, U.S. 12.5%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Watervliet could be anywhere from C− to B.
A commute of about 20 minutes in Watervliet
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Watervliet workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,440 commuters (the 11% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Watervliet
About 19% 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.
Watervliet by day and by night
On a workday 4,204 residents head out to work, 240 work right here, and 1,582 people come in from elsewhere.
About 7,600 people are in Watervliet on a workday afternoon, 26% 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 2024, primary jobs.
24% of working residents work in Albany
Where Watervliet clocks in
24% of workers
18% 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.
28% of the jobs in Watervliet make or build things
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Watervliet, 2014 → 2024: 2,366 → 1,822. 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 Watervliet’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Watervliet is among the most walkable U.S. towns
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Watervliet is among the most walkable U.S. towns, #63 of 758 in New York. Both inputs place Watervliet 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 5,000 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, 76% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 10.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 94% 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). 15.1% of Watervliet households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 6% of Watervliet’s commuters take a bus or train.
Watervliet next to U.S. towns of 7,000 to 14,000: 1,993rd of 2,878 on jobs and income
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 98 | East Rockaway NY | 10,096 | $125K | 2.6% | 3.2% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 101 | North Castle NY | 12,360 | $208K | 3.8% | 3.1% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 131 | Hastings-on-Hudson NY | 8,440 | $194K | 2.3% | 4.1% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,991 | Warren PA | 9,046 | $54K | 9.9% | 3.1% | 39% | C+ |
| 1,992 | Robinson IL | 7,283 | $74K | 9.6% | 4.5% | 43% | C+ |
| 1,993 | Watervliet NY | 10,242 | $58K | 18.4% | 4.5% | 5% | C+ |
| 1,994 | Lansing NY | 11,786 | $86K | 13.4% | 5.6% | 14% | C+ |
| 1,995 | Lahaina HI | 10,162 | $89K | 11.5% | 5.8% | 13% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,878 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 6% | 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 Watervliet, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
24% of Watervliet works in a town next door
The biggest share goes to Colonie (18%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Watervliet workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Watervliet | – | C+ | A+ | 20 min | $57,919 |
| Colonie | 18% | A− | A− | 20 min | $101,676 |
| Latham | under 2% | — | — | 21 min | — |
| Green Island | under 2% | C− | A+ | 23 min | $59,406 |
| Green Island | under 2% | — | — | 23 min | — |
| Troy | 6% | C− | A+ | 21 min | $58,477 |
Same-state neighbors only. Latham: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Green Island: the same community as the village of that name, graded once. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Watervliet’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 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 Watervliet: questions
What is the median household income in Watervliet?
$57,919 (±$5,006) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Watervliet?
18.4%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Watervliet?
20 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Watervliet work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Albany (24%, 6 mi), Colonie (18%, 4 mi), New York City (6%, 143 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Watervliet walkable?
Watervliet is among the most walkable U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 15.0 out of 20, and 13% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Watervliet without a car?
6% of commuters take transit and 15% of households have no car. 76% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Watervliet, from the people who make the trip.
More of Watervliet
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. 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.