Sign inJoin
Work & commute in West Babylon · A commuter town

94% of West Babylon’s working residents leave town for work

Most working residents leave West Babylon for work: only 6% work in town. The top destinations are New York (21%), Babylon (21%) and Islip (12%). Half commute less than 12 miles.

Work in town
6%
1,335 of 21,595 working residents
Typical commute
12 mi
half travel less, straight-line
Time each way
31 min
Less than NY (33 min)
Work from home
11%
Less than NY (15%)
Jobs based here
11,847
A commuter town

What kind of work town is West Babylon?

Read from the numbers below. The page puts what stands out first.

★ What stands out · The commute map

21% of working residents work in New York

A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.

BabylonLindenhurstAlbany: 70 residents work here (0%)New York: 4,601 residents work here (21%)Babylon: 4,457 residents work here (21%)Hempstead: 2,110 residents work here (10%)North Hempstead: 1,088 residents work here (5%)Brookhaven: 715 residents work here (3%)Islip: 2,621 residents work here (12%)Smithtown: 751 residents work here (3%)Huntington: 1,654 residents work here (8%)SouthamptonOyster Bay: 1,968 residents work here (9%)North LindenhurstWyandanchNorth BabylonDeer ParkEast FarmingdaleWest BabylonNew YorkBabylonIslipHempsteadOyster BayHuntingtonWest Babylon
1
New York30.5 mi away
21%4,601
2
Babylon5.4 mi away
21%4,457
3
Islip8.5 mi away
12%2,621
4
Hempstead14.1 mi away
10%2,110
5
Oyster Bay10 mi away
9%1,968
6
Huntington11.9 mi away
8%1,654
7
North Hempstead17.8 mi away
5%1,088
8
Smithtown17.1 mi away
3%751
9
Brookhaven23.2 mi away
3%715
10
Albany136.8 mi away
0%70
Everywhere elseother towns and states
7%1,560
The top trips

Where West Babylon clocks in

Lines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.

Day and night

West Babylon quiets down on a workday

On a workday 20,260 residents head out to work, 1,335 work right here, and 10,512 people come in from elsewhere.

20,260live here, work elsewhere
1,335live and work here
10,512work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night44,000
Workday34,000
44,000live here− 20,000head out to work+ 11,000come in to work= 34,000on a workday

About 34,000 people are in West Babylon on a workday afternoon, 22% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.55jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

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

Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.

How far

Half of West Babylon commutes less than 12 miles

Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

10 mi25 mi50 mi80 miNew York: 21% · 30.5 miBabylon: 21% · 5.4 miIslip: 12% · 8.5 miHempstead: 10% · 14.1 miOyster Bay: 9% · 10 miHuntington: 8% · 11.9 miNorth Hempstead: 5% · 17.8 miSmithtown: 3% · 17.1 miBrookhaven: 3% · 23.2 miAlbany: 0% · 136.8 miNew York 21%Babylon 21%Islip 12%Hempstead 10%Oyster Bay 9%West Babylon
West BabylonTop destinations (size = commuters)
45%Under 10 mi9,607 residents
29%10–24 mi6,297 residents
22%25–50 mi4,787 residents
4%Over 50 mi888 residents

Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.

The jobs

What the 11,847 jobs in West Babylon are

11,847 jobs are based in West Babylon. Here is what they are, next to the jobs West Babylon’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in West BabylonJobs West Babylon residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms23%12%
Trade, transport & utilities22%20%
Services: health, schools, offices55%68%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less13%11%
$1,251–$3,333 a month25%22%
Over $3,333 a month62%67%

Who does it

29 or younger20%21%
30 to 5450%51%
55 and older31%28%
+9%

Jobs based in West Babylon, 2013 → 2023: 10,853 → 11,847. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.

Time on the road

About 31 minutes each way, about the NY average

From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.

A year of commuting
239 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

West Babylon31 min
New York33 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
11%

of West Babylon workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.

About 1 in 10
Next door

West Babylon and the towns next door

Darker towns draw more of West Babylon’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

  • Every worker, home to work. The 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 says. A 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 surveys. Flows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: the Census American Community Survey.
  • Straight lines. Distances are as the crow flies between home and work. Roads, rivers and traffic make the real trip longer.
Beyond the commute

More of West Babylon

West Babylon home →

Commuter talk

Getting to work from West Babylon, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Weigh in
Is the commute from West Babylon worth it?

Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.

Ask neighbors

Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer.

Post to West Babylon

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in