Work & commute · Saranac Lake

Work & commute in Saranac Lake, NY

About one in 4 of Saranac Lake’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Harrietstown (30%), North Elba (25%) and Malone (4%). Half commute less than 8 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

25%

540 of 2,180 working residents

Typical commute

8 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

16 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 1,640 Saranac Lake residents head out of town to work, 540 work right here, and 1,402 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Saranac Lake.

1,640live here, work elsewhere

540live and work here

1,402work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Saranac Lake goes to work

Harrietstown8.3 mi away

30%661

North Elba9.3 mi away

25%542

Malone31.8 mi away

4%83

Tupper Lake17.6 mi away

3%59

Brighton11.5 mi away

3%55

Albany115.9 mi away

2%42

Plattsburgh41.7 mi away

2%40

St. Armand7 mi away

2%38

Potsdam50.4 mi away

1%29

Wilmington12.2 mi away

1%25

Everywhere elseother towns and states

28%606

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

How far

How far Saranac Lake commutes

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

57%

12%

23%

57%Under 10 mi

7%10–24 mi

12%25–50 mi

23%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Saranac Lake is balanced between jobs and homes

0.89jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.89 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Saranac Lake are

1,942 jobs are based in Saranac Lake. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Saranac Lake’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Saranac Lake

1,942 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)3%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)80%

$1,250 a month or less20%

$1,251–$3,333 a month30%

Over $3,333 a month51%

Jobs Saranac Lake residents hold

2,180 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)7%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)77%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month58%

−13%

Jobs based in Saranac Lake, 2013 → 2023: 2,223 → 1,942. 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.