Photo: Adam Moss · CC BY-SA 2.0Wheeler has 0.1 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
The two grades for Wheeler are D for jobs and income and C− for walkability. There are 35 jobs in Wheeler; 400 of its residents have a job. Only 1% stay in Wheeler for work; outside it, Prattsburgh is the main destination (12%, 7 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Wheeler stands out on work
Wheeler is a place people come home to
There are 35 jobs based in Wheeler, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Wheeler has about 790 people in it, 32% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
A lot of Wheeler works one town over
30% of working residents work in a town that borders Wheeler: Prattsburgh (12%), Bath (10%) and Urbana (5%). Next door ↓
A longer commute than the towns next door
Wheeler averages 32 minutes each way, more than any bordering town (21 to 28 minutes). Next door ↓
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; with 400 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The four measures behind Wheeler’s grade
On income, poverty and job access, Wheeler is better than 5% of U.S. towns. Household income holds Wheeler’s grade up ($59,688, U.S. $80,734); the poverty rate pulls it down (35.0%, U.S. 12.5%).
Unemployment (3.0%) is left out: Wheeler’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, Wheeler could be anywhere from D− to B.
Wheeler on a workday afternoon
On a workday 396 residents head out to work, 4 work right here, and 31 people come in from elsewhere.
About 790 people are in Wheeler on a workday afternoon, 32% 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 2023, primary jobs.
Where the trip to work from Wheeler ends
Where Wheeler clocks in
10% 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.
Factories, building and farms: 31% of the jobs in Wheeler
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Wheeler, 2013 → 2023: 121 → 35. 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 Wheeler’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting from Wheeler: about 32 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Wheeler workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 323 commuters (the 22% 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.
Where in the region Wheeler works
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.
Most of Wheeler commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Wheeler is more walkable than 16% of U.S. towns. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 1.9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 32.9% across New York, on an EPA index of 3.2.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 413 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). 18.9% of Wheeler households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Wheeler’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Wheeler is 3,855th of 4,312 U.S. towns of 800 to 1,600
| # | 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% | 1% | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,853 | Archer FL | 1,159 | $41K | 38.1% | 7.0% | 1% | D |
| 3,854 | Calhoun City MS | 1,459 | $40K | 15.7% | 6.2% | 9% | D |
| 3,855 | Wheeler NY | 1,150 | $60K | 35.0% | 3.0% | 1% | D |
| 3,856 | Milam TX | 1,258 | $51K | 14.9% | 10.9% | 5% | D |
| 3,857 | Fanning Springs FL | 1,349 | $54K | 18.6% | 7.3% | 3% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 4,312 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 0% | 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 Wheeler, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
Wheeler and its neighbors: 30% work next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Wheeler workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wheeler | – | D | C− | 32 min | $59,688 |
| Urbana | 5% | C+ | B | 22 min | $76,845 |
| Avoca | 3% | C | C+ | 26 min | $67,730 |
| Bath | 10% | D | B− | 21 min | $49,557 |
| Prattsburgh | 12% | C+ | B− | 28 min | $77,135 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Prattsburgh. Darker towns draw more of Wheeler’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 Wheeler: questions
What is the median household income in Wheeler?
$59,688 (±$13,966) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Wheeler?
35.0%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Wheeler?
32 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 22% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Wheeler work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Prattsburgh (12%, 7 mi), Bath (10%, 8 mi), Corning (6%, 25 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Wheeler walkable?
Wheeler is more walkable than 16% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 3.2 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Wheeler without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 19% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Wheeler, from the people who make the trip.
More of Wheeler
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.