Work & commute · Oyster Bay

Work & commute in Oyster Bay, NY

Most working residents leave Oyster Bay for work: only 19% work in town. The top destinations are New York (33%), Hempstead (14%) and North Hempstead (9%). Half commute less than 12 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

19%

27,792 of 143,346 working residents

Typical commute

12 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

35 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

18%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 115,554 Oyster Bay residents head out of town to work, 27,792 work right here, and 112,022 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Oyster Bay.

115,554live here, work elsewhere

27,792live and work here

112,022work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Oyster Bay goes to work

New York24.4 mi away

33%46,609

Oyster Bay (in town)right here

19%27,792

Hempstead12.6 mi away

14%19,557

North Hempstead8.8 mi away

9%13,222

Huntington9.1 mi away

5%7,783

Babylon15 mi away

5%6,823

Islip17.4 mi away

3%4,888

Smithtown19.2 mi away

1%2,115

Brookhaven29.1 mi away

1%2,109

Glen Cove9.1 mi away

1%1,181

Everywhere elseother towns and states

8%11,267

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

How far

How far Oyster Bay commutes

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

42%

36%

19%

42%Under 10 mi

36%10–24 mi

19%25–50 mi

4%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Oyster Bay is balanced between jobs and homes

0.98jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.98 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Oyster Bay are

139,814 jobs are based in Oyster Bay. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Oyster Bay’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Oyster Bay

139,814 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)10%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)69%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month65%

Jobs Oyster Bay residents hold

143,346 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)8%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)74%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month18%

Over $3,333 a month71%

−1%

Jobs based in Oyster Bay, 2013 → 2023: 141,794 → 139,814. 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.