Work & commute · Ithaca

Work & commute in Ithaca, NY

About one in 3 of Ithaca’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Ithaca (16%), Lansing (5%) and New York (5%). Half commute less than 4 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

38%

2,543 of 6,745 working residents

Typical commute

4 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

17 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

25%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 4,202 Ithaca residents head out of town to work, 2,543 work right here, and 16,174 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Ithaca.

4,202live here, work elsewhere

2,543live and work here

16,174work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Ithaca goes to work

Ithaca (in town)right here

38%2,543

Ithaca2.8 mi away

16%1,067

Lansing10.6 mi away

5%354

New York180.9 mi away

5%312

Syracuse47.8 mi away

2%137

Dryden10.1 mi away

2%119

Albany140.7 mi away

1%83

Cortland22.5 mi away

1%64

Rochester75.6 mi away

1%57

Binghamton38.8 mi away

1%55

Everywhere elseother towns and states

29%1,954

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

How far

How far Ithaca commutes

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

62%

12%

23%

62%Under 10 mi

4%10–24 mi

12%25–50 mi

23%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Ithaca is a job hub

2.77jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Ithaca are

18,717 jobs are based in Ithaca. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Ithaca’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Ithaca

18,717 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)1%

Trade, transport & utilities2%

Services (health, schools, offices…)97%

$1,250 a month or less23%

$1,251–$3,333 a month18%

Over $3,333 a month59%

Jobs Ithaca residents hold

6,745 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)6%

Trade, transport & utilities12%

Services (health, schools, offices…)82%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month21%

Over $3,333 a month63%

+7%

Jobs based in Ithaca, 2013 → 2023: 17,535 → 18,717. 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.