Work & commute · Southold

Work & commute in Southold, NY

About one in 3 of Southold’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are New York (16%), Brookhaven (6%) and Riverhead (6%). Half commute less than 23 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

35%

3,330 of 9,598 working residents

Typical commute

23 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

27 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

21%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 6,268 Southold residents head out of town to work, 3,330 work right here, and 3,996 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Southold.

6,268live here, work elsewhere

3,330live and work here

3,996work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Southold goes to work

Southold (in town)right here

35%3,330

New York90.8 mi away

16%1,502

Brookhaven38.7 mi away

6%585

Riverhead23.6 mi away

6%580

Southampton19.3 mi away

5%474

Islip54.4 mi away

5%451

Huntington57.9 mi away

2%198

Shelter Island5.5 mi away

2%185

Smithtown47.3 mi away

2%176

Babylon62.5 mi away

1%141

Everywhere elseother towns and states

21%1,976

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

How far

How far Southold commutes

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

37%

14%

19%

30%

37%Under 10 mi

14%10–24 mi

19%25–50 mi

30%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Southold is balanced between jobs and homes

0.76jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.76 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Southold are

7,326 jobs are based in Southold. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Southold’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Southold

7,326 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)21%

Trade, transport & utilities14%

Services (health, schools, offices…)65%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month65%

Jobs Southold residents hold

9,598 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)15%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)68%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month64%

+6%

Jobs based in Southold, 2013 → 2023: 6,894 → 7,326. 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.