Work & commute · Bethlehem

Work & commute in Bethlehem, NY

Most working residents leave Bethlehem for work: only 13% work in town. The top destinations are Albany (35%), Colonie (11%) and New York (4%). Half commute less than 6 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

13%

2,154 of 16,363 working residents

Typical commute

6 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

22 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

20%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 14,209 Bethlehem residents head out of town to work, 2,154 work right here, and 7,896 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Bethlehem.

14,209live here, work elsewhere

2,154live and work here

7,896work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Bethlehem goes to work

Albany5.7 mi away

35%5,758

Bethlehem (in town)right here

13%2,154

Colonie10.9 mi away

11%1,823

New York133 mi away

4%736

East Greenbush6.6 mi away

3%521

Guilderland10.8 mi away

3%432

Schenectady15.8 mi away

2%394

Troy12.9 mi away

2%394

Niskayuna15.2 mi away

1%205

Clifton Park18.9 mi away

1%174

Everywhere elseother towns and states

23%3,772

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

How far

How far Bethlehem commutes

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

65%

16%

15%

65%Under 10 mi

16%10–24 mi

4%25–50 mi

15%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Bethlehem is a commuter town

0.61jobs per working resident

A commuter town

0.61 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Bethlehem are

10,050 jobs are based in Bethlehem. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Bethlehem’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Bethlehem

10,050 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities27%

Services (health, schools, offices…)60%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month60%

Jobs Bethlehem residents hold

16,363 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)9%

Trade, transport & utilities13%

Services (health, schools, offices…)78%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month15%

Over $3,333 a month73%

−4%

Jobs based in Bethlehem, 2013 → 2023: 10,492 → 10,050. 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.