Study: Happiest Cities to Work in New York


The state of New York is one of the epicenters of the global media, finance, and entertainment industries, and, by extension, is home to some of the coolest companies in the world. But sometimes it's really hard to drag yourself out of bed every morning if the pay isn't that good, the job's not that fun, and the office is boring.

Fortunately, for New Yorkers and those striving to one day live there, this state has so many places to job-hop that you’re bound to find a great place to work where you’ll actually want to get out of bed. It all depends on where in the state you call home. We found 10 areas in New York where the workers seem to be the happiest. Take a look.

Study Methodology

From our perspective, four things make for happy workers:

  • The freedom to get another job if the current one is horrible
  • A decent wage
  • Not having to get up when it’s still dark
  • A reasonable, non-stressful commute

First, we looked at employment data from the most recent American Community Survey from the U.S. Census for the incorporated areas of New York. We figured that a low unemployment rate means it’s relatively easy to find another job. The average was 11.53%.

Of course, no one wants to work for free, so we also factored in income. We looked the most recent U.S. Census data for per capita annual household income. The median in New York is $70,583.

If you’re not earning what you’d like to be earning, you should at least be able to wake up at a normal hour, right? On average, 5.7% of New York residents leave for work during the 5 a.m. to 6 a.m. hour, but the folks in Rochester probably laugh at that - 7.8% of them leave for work between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m.

Speaking of leaving for work, few things are worse than sitting in traffic for two hours every day, which is why we looked at the most recent U.S. Census data for daily commute time. The average was 25.44 minutes each way. By the way, we gave double the weight to departure time and commute - after all, rising at 4:30 a.m. (or earlier) so you can sit in traffic for an hour a day is hardly ever on the list of “dream job” characteristics.

With that, here’s the list of New York cities with the happiest workers.

10 Happiest Cities in New York

10. Rochester

  • Unemployment: 13.8%
  • Median Household Income: $29,942
  • Early Risers: 7.8%
  • Commute Time: 19.8 minutes

Nestled on the shores of Lake Ontario, Rochester is the home of Kodak and probably the only place in America where the word “chili” is pronounced “chy-lie.” The city’s hotdogs (“redhots”) are world-famous, but two things Rochester residents probably aren’t proud of is the fact that so many of them have to get up early enough to leave for work between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. (the highest on the list) and what they get paid.

9. Buffalo

  • Unemployment: 13.6%
  • Median Household Income: $29,891
  • Early Risers: 5.3%
  • Commute Time: 20.9 minutes

About an hour and a half west of Rochester is Buffalo, which comes in at number nine largely because it has the lowest median income on the list. It beats Rochester, though, because its residents are relatively well rested: only 5.3% of them have to leave for work super early, compared with 7.8% in Rochester.

Did you know?
Health and professional services account for one in four jobs in Buffalo.

8. Schenectady

  • Unemployment: 13.5%
  • Median Household Income: $36,225
  • Early Risers: 7.5%
  • Commute Time: 24.6 minutes

Just north of Albany is Schenectady. Thomas Edison founded the company that would eventually become General Electric here , and it’s a good thing: A lot of folks in Schenectady need light from Edison’s most famous invention while they’re trying to get ready for work at 4 a.m. in the morning.

7. Mount Vernon

  • Unemployment: 15.4%
  • Median Household Income: $49,050
  • Early Risers: 4.9%
  • Commute Time: 34 minutes

At the northern edge of the NYC subway map is Mount Vernon. It’s no surprise that folks here have long commutes if they work in the city, and Mount Vernon has the highest unemployment rate of the list to boot, knocking it down to number seven.

6. New York City

  • Unemployment: 10.6%
  • Median Household Income: $50,711
  • Early Risers: 5.0%
  • Commute Time: 39.3 minutes

New York City is known for a lot of things, but its short commutes are not one of them. That’s ironic given the city’s compact, high-density nature and the prevalence of 24/7 mass transit. Below-average unemployment rates help push the Big Apple to a decent spot on our list. Even though New York City is “the city that never sleeps,” people can get more shut-eye here than Schenectady, Cheektowaga, Yonkers, and other places on our list.

Did you know?
New York City’s biggest employer is the City of New York.

5. Syracuse

  • Unemployment: 14%
  • Median Household Income: $30,299
  • Early Risers: 3.7%
  • Commute Time: 17.1 minutes

Syracuse, home of the Orange, comes it at number five. It has the shortest commute time and the lowest percentage of people who have to leave for work between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. But above-average unemployment rates and below-median incomes bring ’Cuse down a few notches.

4. Yonkers

  • Unemployment: 10.9%
  • Median Household Income: $57,132
  • Early Risers: 6.8%
  • Commute Time: 31.8 minutes

Yonkers is home to Willie Loman, the fictional Arthur Miller character from Death of a Salesman perplexed by his job. This sentiment probably remains in Yonkers, which is located just north of Manhattan, because the household income is the second-highest on the list, and yet the long commute times, the high unemployment rates, and the need to get up very early are factors as well.

3. Albany

  • Unemployment: 9.3%
  • Median Household Income: $40,404
  • Early Risers: 5.2%
  • Commute Time: 18.5 minutes

The capital of New York comes in at number 3 on our list for its higher median household incomes, better-than-average unemployment rate, and its decent commute times and working hours. Not bad for government work, as they say.

Did you know?
About 33% of people over the age of 25 in Albany have bachelor’s degrees.

2. Cheektowaga

  • Unemployment: 6.7%
  • Median Household Income: $48,035
  • Early Risers: 6.2%
  • Commute Time: 18.5 minutes

Cheektowaga, which sits on the east side of Buffalo, has the lowest unemployment rate on the list, and that rate is so low that it’s just a little more than half the average. That’s ironic, considering that Buffalo ranks ninth on our list. But what a difference a few blocks make: The unemployment rate here is about half of Buffalo’s, the household median income is nearly double, and the commute time is a few minutes less.

1. New Rochelle

  • Unemployment: 7.5%
  • Median Household Income: $65,251
  • Early Risers: 4.7%
  • Commute Time: 29.9 minutes

New Rochelle may have a 29.9-minute commute, but at least the effort is financially worth it here. The median household income is the highest on the list, and the unemployment rate is well below average, suggesting that it’s relatively easy to find work that pays well and doesn’t require 7 p.m. bedtimes.


New York is an exciting, beautiful state that also is home to almost 20 million people. That means a lot of jobs, and for workers in some New York towns, it also means a lot of happiness.

Tina O is a contributing writer at CreditDonkey, a credit card comparison and reviews website. Write to Tina O at tina@creditdonkey.com. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for our latest posts.

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