Work & commute · New Haven

Work & commute in New Haven, CT

43% of New Haven’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are North Haven (6%), Hamden (4%) and West Haven (4%). Half commute less than 4 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

43%

20,762 of 48,259 working residents

Typical commute

4 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

22 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

14%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 27,497 New Haven residents head out of town to work, 20,762 work right here, and 72,193 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in New Haven.

27,497live here, work elsewhere

20,762live and work here

72,193work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where New Haven goes to work

New Haven (in town)right here

43%20,762

North Haven6 mi away

6%3,115

Hamden6 mi away

4%1,976

West Haven3.5 mi away

4%1,758

Branford7.5 mi away

2%1,107

New York, NY69.3 mi away

2%1,060

Wallingford12 mi away

2%998

Orange5.5 mi away

2%897

East Haven3.7 mi away

2%818

Bridgeport16.5 mi away

2%802

Everywhere elseother towns and states

31%14,966

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

How far

How far New Haven commutes

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

68%

14%

11%

68%Under 10 mi

14%10–24 mi

11%25–50 mi

6%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

New Haven is a job hub

1.93jobs 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 New Haven are

92,955 jobs are based in New Haven. Here is what they are, next to the jobs New Haven’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in New Haven

92,955 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)3%

Trade, transport & utilities6%

Services (health, schools, offices…)90%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month17%

Over $3,333 a month71%

Jobs New Haven residents hold

48,259 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)9%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)73%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month55%

+21%

Jobs based in New Haven, 2013 → 2023: 77,046 → 92,955. 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.