Work & commute · Hempstead

Work & commute in Hempstead, NY

Most working residents leave Hempstead for work: only 8% work in town. The top destinations are Hempstead (32%), New York (31%) and North Hempstead (10%). Half commute less than 9 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

1,820 of 22,618 working residents

Typical commute

9 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

33 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 20,798 Hempstead residents head out of town to work, 1,820 work right here, and 13,630 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Hempstead.

20,798live here, work elsewhere

1,820live and work here

13,630work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Hempstead goes to work

Hempstead4.9 mi away

32%7,290

New York17 mi away

31%6,983

North Hempstead7.5 mi away

10%2,366

Oyster Bay8.8 mi away

8%1,815

Babylon16.5 mi away

4%839

Huntington17.8 mi away

2%521

Islip22.1 mi away

2%486

Brookhaven36.1 mi away

1%285

Smithtown27.4 mi away

1%197

Glen Cove12.5 mi away

0%94

Everywhere elseother towns and states

8%1,742

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

How far

How far Hempstead commutes

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

54%

38%

54%Under 10 mi

38%10–24 mi

4%25–50 mi

4%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Hempstead is a commuter town

0.68jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Hempstead are

15,450 jobs are based in Hempstead. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Hempstead’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Hempstead

15,450 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)5%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)78%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month30%

Over $3,333 a month59%

Jobs Hempstead residents hold

22,618 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)9%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)71%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month33%

Over $3,333 a month56%

−4%

Jobs based in Hempstead, 2013 → 2023: 16,063 → 15,450. 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.