Work & commute · West Haven

Work & commute in West Haven, CT

Most working residents leave West Haven for work: only 13% work in town. The top destinations are New Haven (18%), North Haven (5%) and Orange (4%). Half commute less than 8 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

13%

3,031 of 24,177 working residents

Typical commute

8 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

23 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 21,146 West Haven residents head out of town to work, 3,031 work right here, and 12,176 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in West Haven.

21,146live here, work elsewhere

3,031live and work here

12,176work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where West Haven goes to work

New Haven3.5 mi away

18%4,425

West Haven (in town)right here

13%3,031

North Haven9.5 mi away

5%1,203

Orange3.1 mi away

4%1,022

Bridgeport13.2 mi away

4%910

Hamden9 mi away

3%764

Stratford9.5 mi away

3%710

Stamford32.9 mi away

3%693

Shelton9.2 mi away

2%548

Norwalk26.6 mi away

2%484

Everywhere elseother towns and states

43%10,387

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

How far

How far West Haven commutes

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

57%

20%

18%

57%Under 10 mi

20%10–24 mi

18%25–50 mi

6%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

West Haven is a commuter town

0.63jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in West Haven are

15,207 jobs are based in West Haven. Here is what they are, next to the jobs West Haven’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in West Haven

15,207 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)12%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)68%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month22%

Over $3,333 a month64%

Jobs West Haven residents hold

24,177 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)13%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)66%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month25%

Over $3,333 a month62%

+6%

Jobs based in West Haven, 2013 → 2023: 14,313 → 15,207. 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.