Work & commute · Lancaster

Work & commute in Lancaster, NY

Most working residents leave Lancaster for work: only 7% work in town. The top destinations are Buffalo (19%), Lancaster (18%) and Amherst (15%). Half commute less than 8 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

366 of 4,941 working residents

Typical commute

8 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

19 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 4,575 Lancaster residents head out of town to work, 366 work right here, and 3,440 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Lancaster.

4,575live here, work elsewhere

366live and work here

3,440work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Lancaster goes to work

Buffalo9.7 mi away

19%937

Lancaster2 mi away

18%910

Amherst8.9 mi away

15%738

Cheektowaga3.8 mi away

10%517

West Seneca6 mi away

3%155

Tonawanda11.9 mi away

3%145

Clarence8.7 mi away

3%135

Orchard Park10.8 mi away

3%125

Alden7.5 mi away

2%102

Hamburg14.7 mi away

2%98

Everywhere elseother towns and states

22%1,079

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

How far

How far Lancaster commutes

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

65%

23%

10%

65%Under 10 mi

23%10–24 mi

2%25–50 mi

10%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Lancaster is balanced between jobs and homes

0.77jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.77 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Lancaster are

3,806 jobs are based in Lancaster. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Lancaster’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Lancaster

3,806 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)31%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)47%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month24%

Over $3,333 a month62%

Jobs Lancaster residents hold

4,941 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)16%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)64%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month21%

Over $3,333 a month65%

+3%

Jobs based in Lancaster, 2013 → 2023: 3,682 → 3,806. 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.