Work & commute · New York

Work & commute in New York, NY

85% of New York’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Hempstead (2%), North Hempstead (1%) and Oyster Bay (1%). Half commute less than 6 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

85%

2,853,194 of 3,369,554 working residents

Typical commute

6 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

40 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

17%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 516,360 New York residents head out of town to work, 2,853,194 work right here, and 1,289,093 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in New York.

516,360live here, work elsewhere

2,853,194live and work here

1,289,093work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where New York goes to work

New York (in town)right here

85%2,853,194

Hempstead17.4 mi away

2%59,877

North Hempstead16.7 mi away

1%50,207

Oyster Bay24.4 mi away

1%23,631

Jersey City, NJ7.4 mi away

1%18,777

Yonkers19.9 mi away

0%15,211

Huntington33.1 mi away

0%12,428

Islip39 mi away

0%11,928

Brookhaven53 mi away

0%9,979

Babylon32.6 mi away

0%9,478

Everywhere elseother towns and states

9%304,844

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

How far

How far New York commutes

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

75%

19%

75%Under 10 mi

19%10–24 mi

3%25–50 mi

4%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

New York is balanced between jobs and homes

1.23jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.23 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in New York are

4,142,287 jobs are based in New York. Here is what they are, next to the jobs New York’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in New York

4,142,287 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)5%

Trade, transport & utilities13%

Services (health, schools, offices…)82%

$1,250 a month or less10%

$1,251–$3,333 a month21%

Over $3,333 a month69%

Jobs New York residents hold

3,369,554 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)5%

Trade, transport & utilities15%

Services (health, schools, offices…)80%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month25%

Over $3,333 a month64%

+14%

Jobs based in New York, 2013 → 2023: 3,648,059 → 4,142,287. 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.