Work & commute · Ithaca

Work & commute in Ithaca, NY

Most working residents leave Ithaca for work: only 17% work in town. The top destinations are Ithaca (38%), New York (5%) and Lansing (3%). Half commute less than 3 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

17%

1,586 of 9,255 working residents

Typical commute

3 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

19 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 7,669 Ithaca residents head out of town to work, 1,586 work right here, and 10,667 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Ithaca.

7,669live here, work elsewhere

1,586live and work here

10,667work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Ithaca goes to work

Ithaca2.8 mi away

38%3,533

Ithaca (in town)right here

17%1,586

New York180.9 mi away

5%480

Lansing8.6 mi away

3%249

Syracuse45.1 mi away

2%225

Albany138.5 mi away

1%120

Dryden7.6 mi away

1%97

Binghamton38.5 mi away

1%94

Rochester75.5 mi away

1%87

DeWitt47.5 mi away

1%71

Everywhere elseother towns and states

29%2,713

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.

60%

12%

25%

60%Under 10 mi

3%10–24 mi

12%25–50 mi

25%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Ithaca is balanced between jobs and homes

1.32jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.32 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Ithaca are

12,253 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

12,253 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)5%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)75%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month55%

Jobs Ithaca residents hold

9,255 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)6%

Trade, transport & utilities12%

Services (health, schools, offices…)82%

$1,250 a month or less22%

$1,251–$3,333 a month24%

Over $3,333 a month53%

−4%

Jobs based in Ithaca, 2013 → 2023: 12,821 → 12,253. 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.