Guest, Sign inJoin
Work & commute in West Islip · A commuter town

91% of West Islip’s working residents leave town for work

Most working residents leave West Islip for work: only 9% work in town. The top destinations are Islip (25%), New York (20%) and Babylon (13%). Half commute less than 11 miles.

Work in town
9%
1,223 of 13,082 working residents
Typical commute
11 mi
half travel less, straight-line
Time each way
30 min
Less than NY (33 min)
Work from home
13%
Less than NY (15%)
Jobs based here
8,731
A commuter town

What kind of work town is West Islip?

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

★ What stands out · Next door

38% of West Islip works in a bordering town

The biggest share goes to Islip (25%). Darker towns draw more of West Islip’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.

The commute map

25% of working residents work in Islip

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

BabylonNew York: 2,557 residents work here (20%)Babylon: 1,662 residents work here (13%)Hempstead: 864 residents work here (7%)North Hempstead: 467 residents work here (4%)Brookhaven: 744 residents work here (6%)Islip: 3,228 residents work here (25%)Smithtown: 559 residents work here (4%)Huntington: 991 residents work here (8%)Southampton: 60 residents work here (0%)Oyster Bay: 1,002 residents work here (8%)West Bay ShoreBaywoodNorth BabylonBay ShoreWest IslipIslipNew YorkBabylonOyster BayHuntingtonHempsteadWest Islip
1
Islip5.2 mi away
25%3,228
2
New York33.8 mi away
20%2,557
3
Babylon4.4 mi away
13%1,662
4
Oyster Bay13.1 mi away
8%1,002
5
Huntington13.2 mi away
8%991
6
Hempstead17.1 mi away
7%864
7
Brookhaven20.6 mi away
6%744
8
Smithtown16.1 mi away
4%559
9
North Hempstead21.2 mi away
4%467
10
Southampton45.3 mi away
0%60
Everywhere elseother towns and states
7%948
The top trips

Where West Islip 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 Islip quiets down on a workday

On a workday 11,859 residents head out to work, 1,223 work right here, and 7,508 people come in from elsewhere.

11,859live here, work elsewhere
1,223live and work here
7,508work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night27,000
Workday23,000
27,000live here− 12,000head out to work+ 7,500come in to work= 23,000on a workday

About 23,000 people are in West Islip on a workday afternoon, 16% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.67jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

0.67 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 Islip commutes less than 11 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 mi55 miIslip: 25% · 5.2 miNew York: 20% · 33.8 miBabylon: 13% · 4.4 miOyster Bay: 8% · 13.1 miHuntington: 8% · 13.2 miHempstead: 7% · 17.1 miBrookhaven: 6% · 20.6 miSmithtown: 4% · 16.1 miNorth Hempstead: 4% · 21.2 miSouthampton: 0% · 45.3 miIslip 25%New York 20%Babylon 13%Oyster Bay 8%Huntington 8%West Islip
West IslipTop destinations (size = commuters)
45%Under 10 mi5,828 residents
29%10–24 mi3,779 residents
22%25–50 mi2,915 residents
4%Over 50 mi551 residents

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

The jobs

65% of the jobs in West Islip pay over $3,333 a month

8,731 jobs are based in West Islip. Here is what they are, next to the jobs West Islip’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in West IslipJobs West Islip residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms6%12%
Trade, transport & utilities15%17%
Services: health, schools, offices79%71%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less12%11%
$1,251–$3,333 a month24%19%
Over $3,333 a month65%71%

Who does it

29 or younger23%20%
30 to 5448%49%
55 and older29%30%
−2%

Jobs based in West Islip, 2013 → 2023: 8,947 → 8,731. 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 30 minutes each way, quicker than most of New York

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

A year of commuting
232 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.7 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

West Islip30 min
New York33 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
13%

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

About 1 in 10
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 Islip

West Islip home →

Commuter talk

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

Town Square →
Weigh in
Is the commute from West Islip 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 Islip

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