Photo: Iracaz · CC BY-SA 3.0East Haven has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.5 for each
There are 6,375 jobs in East Haven; 13,903 of its residents have a job. For jobs and income East Haven is better than 74% of U.S. towns (B+); for walkability it is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns (A). Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 5.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 31.8 in Stamford.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from East Haven, in brief
What drives the Jobs & income grade in East Haven
Job access by car holds East Haven’s grade up (ahead of 86% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (4.9%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, East Haven could be anywhere from B to A.
The daily flow of workers through East Haven
On a workday 12,805 residents head out to work, 1,098 work right here, and 5,277 people come in from elsewhere.
About 20,000 people are in East Haven on a workday afternoon, 27% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
22% of working residents work in New Haven
Where East Haven clocks in
22% of workers
7% 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.
The kinds of work in East Haven
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in East Haven, 2013 → 2023: 6,170 → 6,375. 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 East Haven’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 24 minutes each way, quicker than most of Connecticut
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of East Haven workers work from home, vs 16% across Connecticut. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 13,244 commuters (the 9% 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.
The commute from East Haven, by distance
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.
Good to walk, short on transit: East Haven
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 14,549 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 81% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 49% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 5.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 87% 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). 6.7% of East Haven households have no vehicle (Connecticut 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of East Haven’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 20,000 to 38,000, East Haven ranks 593rd of 1,409 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 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 28 | North Haven CT | 24,799 | $133K | 4.1% | 2.0% | 13% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 33 | Berlin CT | 20,698 | $114K | 3.4% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 59 | Glastonbury CT | 35,503 | $157K | 3.8% | 2.9% | 15% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 591 | Palm City FL | 26,371 | $126K | 5.6% | 4.9% | 9% | B+ |
| 592 | Fish Hawk FL | 26,186 | $135K | 7.2% | 4.2% | 4% | B+ |
| 593 | East Haven CT | 27,925 | $95K | 7.2% | 4.9% | 8% | B+ |
| 594 | Sherwood AR | 33,620 | $81K | 9.0% | 2.9% | 8% | B+ |
| 595 | Hyattsville MD | 21,158 | $92K | 11.6% | 3.8% | 3% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,409 | Barstow CA | 24,804 | $53K | 23.1% | 11.9% | 17% | 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 East Haven, the top three, the last and three more from Connecticut.
Next door is work for 38% of East Haven
The biggest share goes to New Haven (22%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | East Haven workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Haven | – | B+ | A | 24 min | $94,628 |
| Branford | 7% | A− | A− | 24 min | $105,225 |
| New Haven | 22% | C− | A+ | 22 min | $56,851 |
| North Haven | 7% | A+ | A− | 22 min | $132,689 |
| North Branford | 2% | A− | C | 26 min | $108,032 |
| Northford | under 3% | — | — | 26 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Northford: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of East Haven’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.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in East Haven: questions
What is the median household income in East Haven?
$94,628 (±$9,316) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,781 across Connecticut and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in East Haven?
7.2%, against 10.0% across Connecticut and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from East Haven?
24 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Connecticut and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in East Haven work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New Haven (22%, 4 mi), Branford (7%, 4 mi), North Haven (7%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is East Haven walkable?
East Haven is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 11.7 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around East Haven without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 49% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from East Haven, from the people who make the trip.
More of East Haven
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.