Households in Wayland have lower incomes than those in 65% of U.S. towns
Home is the office for 6% of workers, next to 15% for New York as a whole. The poverty rate is 20.0%; New York has 14.0%. Wayland grades C− for jobs and income and B− for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Wayland apart
Fewer jobs are based in Wayland than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Wayland fell from 1,629 in 2014 to 793 in 2024, −51%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Commutes from Wayland 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 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Wayland’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Wayland is better than 20% of U.S. towns, #648 of 758 in New York. Unemployment holds Wayland’s grade up (4.3%, U.S. 5.2%); the poverty rate pulls it down.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Wayland could be anywhere from D− to B−.
What the 793 jobs in Wayland are
793 jobs are based in Wayland.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Wayland, 2014 → 2024: 1,629 → 793. 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 Wayland’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting from Wayland: about 28 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Wayland workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,380 commuters (the 6% 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 people are in Wayland by day
On a workday 1,045 residents head out to work, 234 work right here, and 559 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,200 people are in Wayland on a workday afternoon, 13% fewer than live here.
0.62 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
11% of working residents work in North Dansville
Where Wayland clocks in
3% of workers
3% 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.
How far Wayland’s workers travel
About 21% 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.
Most trips from Wayland start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Wayland is more walkable than 51% of U.S. towns, #496 of 758 in New York. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 7.4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 32.9% across New York, on an EPA index of 4.6.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,465 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). 4.1% of Wayland households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Wayland’s commuters take a bus or train.
Wayland next to U.S. towns of 2,600 to 4,900: 3,451st of 4,210 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 7 | East Williston NY | 2,616 | $215K | 2.3% | 1.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 8 | Lloyd Harbor NY | 3,587 | $250K | 2.1% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 48 | Great Neck Estates NY | 3,139 | $238K | 5.7% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,449 | York Township IL | 2,757 | $67K | 15.3% | 4.9% | 5% | C− |
| 3,450 | Tioga NY | 4,291 | $69K | 11.3% | 10.4% | 5% | C− |
| 3,451 | Wayland NY | 3,665 | $65K | 20.0% | 4.3% | 18% | C− |
| 3,452 | Valley Township OH | 3,580 | $64K | 15.3% | 2.7% | 10% | C− |
| 3,453 | Spearman TX | 2,956 | $69K | 7.7% | 10.6% | 38% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,210 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 19% | 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 Wayland, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
Bordering towns draw 11% of Wayland’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Wayland workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wayland | – | C− | B− | 28 min | $65,385 |
| Dansville | under 2% | C− | C− | 26 min | $69,400 |
| Cohocton | under 2% | C | C | 26 min | $65,286 |
| Springwater | under 2% | B | D− | 31 min | $84,670 |
| Fremont | under 2% | — | — | 19 min | — |
| North Dansville | 11% | C+ | A | 26 min | $57,265 |
Same-state neighbors only. Fremont: the same community as the town of that name, graded once. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to North Dansville. Darker towns draw more of Wayland’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 Wayland: questions
What is the median household income in Wayland?
$65,385 (±$15,091) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Wayland?
20.0%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Wayland?
28 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Wayland work?
18% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are North Dansville (11%, 5 mi), Rochester (3%, 45 mi), Hornell (3%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Wayland walkable?
Wayland is more walkable than 51% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 4.6 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Wayland without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Wayland, from the people who make the trip.
More of Wayland
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.