Photo: Ken Winters, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers · Public domainHouseholds in Westfield earn less than those in 91% of U.S. towns
Working from home is the commute for 4% of workers, next to 15% for New York as a whole. 15.3% of residents are in poverty, next to 14.0% for New York as a whole. The two grades for Westfield are D 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 Westfield: the gist
Commutes from Westfield are quick
The average trip to work takes 15 minutes, against 33 across New York. That’s about 138 hours a year less on the road than the typical New York worker. Time on the road ↓
Westfield and Westfield trade workers both ways
Westfield is the top workplace for Westfield residents (27%) and also where the most people who work in Westfield come from (39% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Few Westfield workers work from home
Only 4% of workers work from home, against 15% across New York. Almost everyone here travels to a job. 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.
Inside Westfield’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Westfield is better than 6% of U.S. towns, #748 of 758 in New York. The poverty rate holds Westfield’s grade up; unemployment pulls it down (11.7%, U.S. 5.2%).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Westfield could be anywhere from D− to B−.
Westfield’s commute takes about 15 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Westfield workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,051 commuters (the 4% 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.
27% of working residents work in Westfield
Where Westfield clocks in
27% of workers
11% 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.
Who commutes out of Westfield, and who commutes in
On a workday 897 residents head out to work, 249 work right here, and 668 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 (0.80 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.
Goods, not services: 33% of the jobs in Westfield
917 jobs are based in Westfield.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Westfield, 2013 → 2023: 1,078 → 917. 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 Westfield’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far it is to work from Westfield
About 23% 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.
Driving is how Westfield gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Westfield is more walkable than 73% of U.S. towns, #350 of 758 in New York. Both inputs place Westfield 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 1,090 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 13.5% of Westfield households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Westfield’s commuters take a bus or train.
Where Westfield sits among U.S. towns of 2,000 to 3,900
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 6 | Old Brookville NY | 2,098 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.2% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 10 | East Williston NY | 2,616 | $215K | 2.3% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 11 | Lloyd Harbor NY | 3,587 | $250K | 2.1% | 0.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,551 | Seneca MO | 2,343 | $46K | 21.4% | 0.8% | 10% | D |
| 4,552 | Willow Springs MO | 2,211 | $41K | 20.5% | 6.0% | 20% | D |
| 4,553 | Westfield NY | 2,888 | $47K | 15.3% | 11.7% | 22% | D |
| 4,554 | Cooper TX | 2,049 | $44K | 23.4% | 2.7% | 13% | D |
| 4,555 | Whitney TX | 2,134 | $49K | 23.9% | 0.6% | 10% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 4,882 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 13.3% | 12% | 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 Westfield, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
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 Westfield: questions
What is the median household income in Westfield?
$46,774 (±$5,383) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Westfield?
15.3%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Westfield?
15 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Westfield work?
22% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Westfield (27%, 4 mi), Chautauqua (11%, 6 mi), Portland (9%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Westfield walkable?
Westfield is more walkable than 73% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 7.9 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Westfield without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 14% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Westfield, from the people who make the trip.
More of Westfield
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.