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Work & commute in Sandy Hook · A commuter town

97% of Sandy Hook’s working residents leave town for work

Most working residents leave Sandy Hook for work: only 3% work in town. The top destinations are Newtown (15%), Danbury (12%) and Stamford (4%). Half commute less than 15 miles.

Work in town
3%
137 of 3,918 working residents
Typical commute
15 mi
half travel less, straight-line
Time each way
35 min
More than CT (27 min)
Work from home
23%
More than CT (16%)
Jobs based here
1,195
A commuter town

What kind of work town is Sandy Hook?

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

★ What stands out · The commute map

15% of working residents work in Newtown

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

Bridgeport: 120 residents work here (3%)Norwalk: 157 residents work here (4%)Danbury: 485 residents work here (12%)Stamford: 167 residents work here (4%)Shelton: 101 residents work here (3%)WaterburyNew York: 152 residents work here (4%)BrookfieldFairfieldRidgefield: 110 residents work here (3%)Stratford: 92 residents work here (2%)BethelNew MilfordOxfordSouthbury: 93 residents work here (2%)MonroeNewtown: 599 residents work here (15%)East VillageSandy HookNewtownDanburyStamfordNorwalkNew YorkBridgeportSandy Hook
1
Newtown2.7 mi away
15%599
2
Danbury12.2 mi away
12%485
3
Stamford27.7 mi away
4%167
4
Norwalk23.7 mi away
4%157
5
New York, NY63 mi away
4%152
6
Bridgeport15.5 mi away
3%120
7
Ridgefield14.8 mi away
3%110
8
Shelton9 mi away
3%101
9
Southbury4.5 mi away
2%93
10
Stratford15.3 mi away
2%92
Everywhere elseother towns and states
47%1,842
The top trips

Where Sandy Hook clocks in

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

The jobs

What the 1,195 jobs in Sandy Hook are

1,195 jobs are based in Sandy Hook. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Sandy Hook’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Sandy HookJobs Sandy Hook residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms11%14%
Trade, transport & utilities15%17%
Services: health, schools, offices74%69%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less18%12%
$1,251–$3,333 a month25%15%
Over $3,333 a month56%72%

Who does it

29 or younger32%19%
30 to 5446%49%
55 and older22%33%
+61%

Jobs based in Sandy Hook, 2013 → 2023: 741 → 1,195. 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

17% of Sandy Hook works in a bordering town

The biggest share goes to Newtown (15%). Darker towns draw more of Sandy Hook’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.

Time on the road

About 35 minutes each way, longer than most of Connecticut

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

A year of commuting
271 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.3 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Sandy Hook35 min
Connecticut27 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
23%

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

About 2 in 10
Day and night

Sandy Hook quiets down on a workday

On a workday 3,781 residents head out to work, 137 work right here, and 1,058 people come in from elsewhere.

3,781live here, work elsewhere
137live and work here
1,058work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night9,900
Workday7,100
9,900live here− 3,800head out to work+ 1,100come in to work= 7,100on a workday

About 7,100 people are in Sandy Hook on a workday afternoon, 28% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.31jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

0.31 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 Sandy Hook commutes less than 15 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 mi75 miNewtown: 15% · 2.7 miDanbury: 12% · 12.2 miStamford: 4% · 27.7 miNorwalk: 4% · 23.7 miNew York: 4% · 63 miBridgeport: 3% · 15.5 miRidgefield: 3% · 14.8 miShelton: 3% · 9 miSouthbury: 2% · 4.5 miStratford: 2% · 15.3 miNewtown 15%Danbury 12%Stamford 4%Norwalk 4%New York 4%Sandy Hook
Sandy HookTop destinations (size = commuters)
32%Under 10 mi1,248 residents
42%10–24 mi1,647 residents
18%25–50 mi711 residents
8%Over 50 mi311 residents

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

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 Sandy Hook

Sandy Hook home →

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Sandy Hook, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Weigh in
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Ask neighbors

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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