Work & commute · Port Jefferson

Work & commute in Port Jefferson, NY

Most working residents leave Port Jefferson for work: only 8% work in town. The top destinations are Brookhaven (39%), New York (17%) and Islip (11%). Half commute less than 13 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

262 of 3,448 working residents

Typical commute

13 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

30 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

16%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 3,186 Port Jefferson residents head out of town to work, 262 work right here, and 3,935 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Port Jefferson.

3,186live here, work elsewhere

262live and work here

3,935work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Port Jefferson goes to work

Brookhaven7.6 mi away

39%1,340

New York50.2 mi away

17%584

Islip17.3 mi away

11%381

Smithtown6.7 mi away

6%222

Huntington17.4 mi away

5%160

Hempstead36.1 mi away

3%106

Oyster Bay25.8 mi away

2%84

Babylon25 mi away

2%79

North Hempstead34.1 mi away

2%76

Riverhead17.8 mi away

2%61

Everywhere elseother towns and states

10%355

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

How far

How far Port Jefferson commutes

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

36%

30%

20%

14%

36%Under 10 mi

30%10–24 mi

20%25–50 mi

14%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Port Jefferson is balanced between jobs and homes

1.22jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.22 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Port Jefferson are

4,197 jobs are based in Port Jefferson. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Port Jefferson’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Port Jefferson

4,197 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)4%

Trade, transport & utilities12%

Services (health, schools, offices…)85%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month20%

Over $3,333 a month66%

Jobs Port Jefferson residents hold

3,448 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)10%

Trade, transport & utilities14%

Services (health, schools, offices…)77%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month18%

Over $3,333 a month71%

−35%

Jobs based in Port Jefferson, 2013 → 2023: 6,473 → 4,197. 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.