Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Households in Darien earn more than in almost any other U.S. town
Household incomes here are among the highest in the country. Below the poverty line: 5.8% of residents (Connecticut 10.0%). For jobs and income Darien is better than 87% of U.S. towns (A); for walkability it is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns (A+).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Darien in brief
A lot of Darien works from home
36% of Darien workers work from home, against 16% across Connecticut. Time on the road ↓
Darien trades workers with the towns around it
Darien has about as many jobs (7,457) as working residents (7,687), but they are mostly different people: 6,669 residents leave for work each day while 6,439 people come in. Only 14% of the jobs in Darien are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Darien workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 39 minutes each way, against 27 across Connecticut. Over a year that’s about 299 hours of commuting, 92 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Darien’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Darien is New York City, NY, 36 miles away as the crow flies. 21% of working residents (1,627) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
A lot of Darien workers cross into New York
25% of Darien workers work outside Connecticut, most of them in New York, the Census survey finds. The commute map ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Jobs & income in Darien: the grade in detail
Household income holds Darien’s grade up ($250,000+, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (5.1%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
The Census reports Darien’s median household income as $250,000+, the top of its scale; the grade ranks it as tied with the 111 other graded places at that ceiling.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Darien could be anywhere from A− to A+.
The trip to work from Darien: about 39 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 12.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Darien workers work from home, vs 16% across Connecticut. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,320 commuters (the 35% who work from home are left out). Across Connecticut: 82% drive alone, 4% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Who works in Darien, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 6,669 residents head out to work, 1,018 work right here, and 6,439 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.97 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Darien
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
21% of working residents work in New York City
Where Darien clocks in
21% of workers
15% of workers
7% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
65% of the jobs in Darien pay over $3,333 a month
7,457 jobs are based in Darien.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Darien, 2013 → 2023: 7,474 → 7,457. 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.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Darien’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Darien is easy on foot, hard by bus
How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 33.0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 7.1% across Connecticut, on an EPA index of 10.3.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 9,794 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 66% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 8.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 91% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 1.7% of Darien households have no vehicle (Connecticut 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 30% of Darien’s commuters take a bus or train.
Darien next to U.S. towns of 16,000 to 30,000: 366th of 1,658 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 36 | North Haven CT | 24,799 | $133K | 4.1% | 2.0% | 13% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 42 | Berlin CT | 20,698 | $114K | 3.4% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 80 | South Windsor CT | 27,036 | $145K | 4.9% | 2.4% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 364 | Fate TX | 29,007 | $133K | 3.6% | 5.4% | 2% | A |
| 365 | Lisle IL | 23,432 | $107K | 5.9% | 4.2% | 6% | A |
| 366 | Darien CT | 22,583 | $250K | 5.8% | 5.1% | 13% | A |
| 367 | Hermosa Beach CA | 18,513 | $166K | 5.6% | 5.4% | 6% | A |
| 368 | Shoreview MN | 26,906 | $108K | 5.6% | 4.3% | 6% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,658 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Darien, the top three, the last and three more from Connecticut.
Bordering towns draw 23% of Darien’s workers
The biggest share goes to Stamford (15%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Darien workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Darien | – | A | A+ | 39 min | $250,000+ |
| Stamford | 15% | B+ | A+ | 29 min | $111,586 |
| Norwalk | 6% | B+ | A | 27 min | $107,616 |
| New Canaan | 2% | A | A | 38 min | $250,000+ |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Darien’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- A ceiling on income. The Census stops at $250,000+, so the true median may be higher.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Darien: questions
What is the median household income in Darien?
$250,000+ (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,781 across Connecticut and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Darien?
5.8%, against 10.0% across Connecticut and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Darien?
39 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Connecticut and 26 nationally. 36% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Darien work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New York City (21%, 36 mi), Stamford (15%, 4 mi), Greenwich (7%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Darien walkable?
Darien is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 10.3 out of 20, and 33% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Darien without a car?
30% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Darien, from the people who make the trip.
More of Darien
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. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.