Work & commute · Syracuse

Work & commute in Syracuse, NY

43% of Syracuse’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are DeWitt (10%), Clay (6%) and Salina (4%). Half commute less than 4 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

43%

21,851 of 51,012 working residents

Typical commute

4 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

18 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

12%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 29,161 Syracuse residents head out of town to work, 21,851 work right here, and 74,807 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Syracuse.

29,161live here, work elsewhere

21,851live and work here

74,807work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Syracuse goes to work

Syracuse (in town)right here

43%21,851

DeWitt3.7 mi away

10%5,228

Clay9.8 mi away

6%3,153

Salina4.6 mi away

4%2,137

New York199.7 mi away

4%1,817

Cicero10.1 mi away

2%1,144

Manlius8.3 mi away

2%1,029

Geddes4.8 mi away

2%965

Onondaga5.8 mi away

2%904

Rochester74.9 mi away

2%813

Everywhere elseother towns and states

23%11,971

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

How far

How far Syracuse commutes

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

72%

20%

72%Under 10 mi

4%10–24 mi

4%25–50 mi

20%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Syracuse is a job hub

1.89jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Syracuse are

96,658 jobs are based in Syracuse. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Syracuse’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Syracuse

96,658 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)5%

Trade, transport & utilities9%

Services (health, schools, offices…)85%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month20%

Over $3,333 a month66%

Jobs Syracuse residents hold

51,012 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)9%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)70%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month32%

Over $3,333 a month51%

+8%

Jobs based in Syracuse, 2013 → 2023: 89,620 → 96,658. 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.