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Work & commute in Lakes East · A commuter town

100% of Lakes East’s working residents leave town for work

Most working residents leave Lakes East for work: only 0% work in town. The top destinations are Ridgefield (17%), Stamford (11%) and Danbury (8%). Half commute less than 18 miles.

Work in town
0%
2 of 491 working residents
Typical commute
18 mi
half travel less, straight-line
Time each way
31 min
More than CT (27 min)
Work from home
39%
More than CT (16%)
Jobs based here
67
A commuter town

What kind of work town is Lakes East?

Read from the numbers below. The page puts what stands out first.

★ What stands out · The commute map

17% of working residents work in Ridgefield

A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.

Hartford: 9 residents work here (2%)Bridgeport: 9 residents work here (2%)Norwalk: 30 residents work here (6%)MeridenDanbury: 38 residents work here (8%)Stamford: 52 residents work here (11%)SheltonWaterbury: 9 residents work here (2%)New York: 17 residents work here (3%)BrookfieldRidgefield: 82 residents work here (17%)BethelWestport: 9 residents work here (2%)Wilton: 20 residents work here (4%)NewtownLakes EastLakes WestRidgefieldStamfordDanburyNorwalkWiltonNew YorkLakes East
1
Ridgefield1 mi away
17%82
2
Stamford17.6 mi away
11%52
3
Danbury4.8 mi away
8%38
4
Norwalk16.9 mi away
6%30
5
Wilton8.6 mi away
4%20
6
New York, NY51.7 mi away
3%17
7
Hartford51.6 mi away
2%9
8
Bridgeport18.3 mi away
2%9
9
Waterbury28.4 mi away
2%9
10
Westport16.5 mi away
2%9
Everywhere elseother towns and states
44%216
The top trips

Where Lakes East clocks in

Lines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.

Time on the road

About 31 minutes each way, longer than most of Connecticut

From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.

A year of commuting
237 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.9 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Lakes East31 min
Connecticut27 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
39%

of Lakes East workers work from home, vs 16% across Connecticut. Their commute is the hallway.

About 4 in 10
Day and night

Lakes East quiets down on a workday

On a workday 489 residents head out to work, 2 work right here, and 65 people come in from elsewhere.

489live here, work elsewhere
2live and work here
65work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night1,200
Workday800
1,200live here− 490head out to work+ 65come in to work= 800on a workday

About 800 people are in Lakes East on a workday afternoon, 35% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.14jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

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

Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.

How far

Half of Lakes East commutes less than 18 miles

Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

10 mi25 mi50 mi60 miRidgefield: 17% · 1 miStamford: 11% · 17.6 miDanbury: 8% · 4.8 miNorwalk: 6% · 16.9 miWilton: 4% · 8.6 miNew York: 3% · 51.7 miHartford: 2% · 51.6 miBridgeport: 2% · 18.3 miWaterbury: 2% · 28.4 miWestport: 2% · 16.5 miRidgefield 17%Stamford 11%Danbury 8%Norwalk 6%Wilton 4%Lakes East
Lakes EastTop destinations (size = commuters)
29%Under 10 mi141 residents
42%10–24 mi207 residents
16%25–50 mi80 residents
13%Over 50 mi63 residents

Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.

The jobs

Mostly services: health care, schools and offices

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

Jobs based in Lakes EastJobs Lakes East residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms9%8%
Trade, transport & utilities7%13%
Services: health, schools, offices84%78%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less1%12%
$1,251–$3,333 a month7%15%
Over $3,333 a month91%74%

Who does it

29 or younger4%17%
30 to 5478%53%
55 and older18%30%
+319%

Jobs based in Lakes East, 2013 → 2023: 16 → 67. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.

Next door

Lakes East and the towns next door

Darker towns draw more of Lakes East’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

  • Every worker, home to work. The 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 says. A 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 surveys. Flows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: the Census American Community Survey.
  • Straight lines. Distances are as the crow flies between home and work. Roads, rivers and traffic make the real trip longer.
Beyond the commute

More of Lakes East

Lakes East home →

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Lakes East, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
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Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer.

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