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Work & commute · Olean

Work & commute in Olean, NY

Most working residents leave Olean for work: only 5% work in town. The top destinations are Olean (25%), Allegany (13%) and Portville (9%). Half commute less than 8 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times
Work in town
5%
35 of 760 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
6%
of workers, from the Census survey
Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 725 Olean residents head out of town to work, 35 work right here, and 935 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Olean.

725live here, work elsewhere
35live and work here
935work here, live elsewhere
Leave for workStayCome in
The map

Where Olean goes to work

SalamancaOleanBuffaloFriendshipGeneseeCubaWellsvilleOleanBolivarAlleganyAmherstLittle ValleyHinsdaleCheektowagaPortvilleOleanAlleganyPortvilleLittle ValleyBuffaloSalamancaAmherstCheektowagaCubaOlean
1
Olean1.6 mi away
25%187
2
Allegany5.9 mi away
13%95
3
Portville3.5 mi away
9%66
4
Olean (in town)right here
5%35
5
Little Valley20.5 mi away
4%27
6
Buffalo61.6 mi away
3%21
7
Salamanca16.9 mi away
2%13
8
Amherst67.8 mi away
2%13
9
Cheektowaga60.8 mi away
2%13
10
Cuba13.8 mi away
2%12
Everywhere elseother towns and states
37%278

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

How far

How far Olean commutes

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

51%Under 10 mi
16%10–24 mi
6%25–50 mi
27%Over 50 mi
Job hub or commuter town?

Olean is balanced between jobs and homes

1.28jobs per working resident
Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.28 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Olean are

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

Jobs based in Olean

970 jobs
Goods (factories, building, farms)17%
Trade, transport & utilities13%
Services (health, schools, offices…)70%
$1,250 a month or less8%
$1,251–$3,333 a month29%
Over $3,333 a month63%

Jobs Olean residents hold

760 working residents
Goods (factories, building, farms)17%
Trade, transport & utilities18%
Services (health, schools, offices…)65%
$1,250 a month or less14%
$1,251–$3,333 a month30%
Over $3,333 a month56%
−21%

Jobs based in Olean, 2013 → 2023: 1,228 → 970. 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.

The porch light’s on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Olean, NYCattaraugus CountyView boundary

Nearby

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/15 · 2025-01-01
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