Work & commute · Albany

Work & commute in Albany, NY

44% of Albany’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Colonie (13%), New York (7%) and Guilderland (3%). Half commute less than 4 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

44%

16,786 of 38,068 working residents

Typical commute

4 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

20 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

13%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 21,282 Albany residents head out of town to work, 16,786 work right here, and 107,281 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Albany.

21,282live here, work elsewhere

16,786live and work here

107,281work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Albany goes to work

Albany (in town)right here

44%16,786

Colonie5.2 mi away

13%5,094

New York138.6 mi away

7%2,518

Guilderland8.8 mi away

3%1,072

Troy7.9 mi away

3%997

Bethlehem5.7 mi away

2%890

East Greenbush6.5 mi away

2%861

Schenectady11.5 mi away

2%635

Schodack11 mi away

1%328

Saratoga Springs27.8 mi away

1%302

Everywhere elseother towns and states

23%8,585

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far Albany commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

70%

20%

70%Under 10 mi

7%10–24 mi

3%25–50 mi

20%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Albany is a job hub

3.26jobs per working resident

A job hub

3.3 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Albany are

124,067 jobs are based in Albany. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Albany’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Albany

124,067 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)4%

Trade, transport & utilities6%

Services (health, schools, offices…)90%

$1,250 a month or less8%

$1,251–$3,333 a month14%

Over $3,333 a month79%

Jobs Albany residents hold

38,068 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)6%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)78%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month61%

+7%

Jobs based in Albany, 2013 → 2023: 116,027 → 124,067. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.

Where the employer saysA job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.

Two surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.