Engleside · Photo: Jerrye & Roy Klotz, MD · CC BY-SA 4.0With 0.1 jobs for every working resident, most of West Sparta works elsewhere
Employers in West Sparta report 66 jobs; 521 of its residents have a job. West Sparta grades C for jobs and income and C− for walkability. Only 2% stay in West Sparta for work; outside it, North Dansville is the main destination (17%, 6 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from West Sparta, in brief
West Sparta is a place people come home to
There are 66 jobs based in West Sparta, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday West Sparta has about 690 people in it, 40% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
West Sparta and North Dansville trade workers both ways
North Dansville is the top workplace for West Sparta residents (17%) and also where the most people who work in West Sparta come from (17% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
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; with 521 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in West Sparta
On income, poverty and job access, West Sparta is better than 29% of U.S. towns. Household income holds West Sparta’s grade up ($72,917, U.S. $80,734); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 15% of U.S. towns).
Unemployment (2.5%) is left out: West Sparta’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, West Sparta could be anywhere from D to B−.
The daily commute in and out of West Sparta
On a workday 512 residents head out to work, 9 work right here, and 57 people come in from elsewhere.
About 690 people are in West Sparta on a workday afternoon, 40% 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.
Commuting out of West Sparta: the destinations
Where West Sparta clocks in
7% 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.
A place that makes things: 58% of West Sparta’s jobs are in goods
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in West Sparta, 2014 → 2024: 82 → 66. 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 West Sparta’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From West Sparta, about 29 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of West Sparta workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 412 commuters (the 8% 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 far West Sparta goes to work
About 17% 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.
The commute in West Sparta is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, West Sparta is more walkable than 19% of U.S. towns. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 32.9% across New York.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 447 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 0.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 53% 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). 1.7% of West Sparta households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of West Sparta’s commuters take a bus or train.
How West Sparta ranks: 2,124th of 3,771 U.S. towns of 800 to 1,500
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | 1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 4 | Saddle Rock NY | 1,008 | $176K | 0.8% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,122 | Moffatt Township MI | 1,170 | $70K | 7.9% | 12.1% | 1% | C |
| 2,123 | Rodman NY | 1,151 | $83K | 13.6% | 7.1% | 0% | C |
| 2,124 | West Sparta NY | 1,145 | $73K | 10.6% | 2.5% | 2% | C |
| 2,125 | Dudley Township OH | 1,448 | $78K | 23.3% | 3.4% | 1% | C |
| 2,126 | Jefferson WI | 1,152 | $70K | 14.5% | 2.0% | 1% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 3,771 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 1% | 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 West Sparta, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
West Sparta and its neighbors: 20% work next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | West Sparta workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Sparta | – | C | C− | 29 min | $72,917 |
| Sparta | under 3% | C+ | D | 30 min | $87,663 |
| North Dansville | 17% | C+ | A | 26 min | $57,265 |
| Groveland | under 3% | C | C | 28 min | $81,691 |
| Ossian | under 3% | — | — | 30 min | — |
| Mount Morris | 3% | C− | A− | 28 min | $56,799 |
Same-state neighbors only. Ossian: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to North Dansville. Darker towns draw more of West Sparta’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 West Sparta: questions
What is the median household income in West Sparta?
$72,917 (±$14,498) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in West Sparta?
10.6%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from West Sparta?
29 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in West Sparta work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are North Dansville (17%, 6 mi), Rochester (7%, 40 mi), Geneseo (6%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is West Sparta walkable?
West Sparta is more walkable than 19% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 6.0 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around West Sparta without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from West Sparta, from the people who make the trip.
More of West Sparta
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.