Work & commute · Worcester

Work & commute in Worcester, NY

Most working residents leave Worcester for work: only 13% work in town. The top destinations are Otsego (7%), Oneonta (7%) and New York (6%). Half commute less than 24 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

13%

104 of 831 working residents

Typical commute

24 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

26 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 727 Worcester residents head out of town to work, 104 work right here, and 183 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Worcester.

727live here, work elsewhere

104live and work here

183work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Worcester goes to work

Worcester (in town)right here

13%104

Otsego17.2 mi away

7%59

Oneonta19.6 mi away

7%57

New York138.7 mi away

6%54

Cobleskill16.1 mi away

6%53

Oneonta22 mi away

4%37

Albany47.4 mi away

3%26

Schoharie22.1 mi away

2%18

Colonie48.9 mi away

2%13

Maryland7.5 mi away

2%13

Everywhere elseother towns and states

48%397

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

How far

How far Worcester commutes

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

16%

36%

21%

28%

16%Under 10 mi

36%10–24 mi

21%25–50 mi

28%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Worcester is a commuter town

0.35jobs per working resident

A commuter town

0.35 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Worcester are

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

Jobs based in Worcester

287 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)10%

Trade, transport & utilities25%

Services (health, schools, offices…)65%

$1,250 a month or less28%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month45%

Jobs Worcester residents hold

831 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)12%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)68%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month62%

+4%

Jobs based in Worcester, 2013 → 2023: 276 → 287. 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.