Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0New Haven has higher unemployment (8.4%) than 90% of U.S. towns
Household incomes here are lower than in 79% of U.S. towns. Jobs and income earn New Haven C−; getting around on foot earns it A+. About two in five work in New Haven; the top destination outside it is North Haven (6%, 6 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in New Haven: the gist
New Haven is where the jobs are
New Haven has 92,955 jobs, 1.9 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Nearly all the work in New Haven is services
90% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 3% are in factories, building or farms. The jobs ↓
The jobs in New Haven pay better than its residents’ jobs
71% of the jobs based in New Haven pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), against 55% of the jobs New Haven residents hold. 78% of the jobs here are held by people who live outside New Haven. The jobs ↓
Commutes from New Haven are quick
The average trip to work takes 22 minutes, against 27 across Connecticut. That’s about 38 hours a year less on the road than the typical Connecticut worker. Time on the road ↓
A young workforce
30% of New Haven’s working residents are 29 or younger. The jobs ↓
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.
Where New Haven’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, New Haven is better than 24% of U.S. towns, #151 of 155 in Connecticut. Job access by car holds New Haven’s grade up (ahead of 87% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (23.9%, U.S. 12.5%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, New Haven could be anywhere from C− to C.
How a workday changes New Haven
On a workday 27,497 residents head out to work, 20,762 work right here, and 72,193 people come in from elsewhere.
About 183,000 people are in New Haven on a workday afternoon, 32% more than live here.
1.9 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
New Haven is a services town
92,955 jobs are based in New Haven.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in New Haven, 2013 → 2023: 77,046 → 92,955. 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 New Haven’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 22 minutes to work from New Haven
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of New Haven workers work from home, vs 16% across Connecticut. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 53,458 commuters (the 14% 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 travels to work in New Haven, and from where
Where New Haven clocks in
6% of workers
4% 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.
Miles to work from New Haven
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.
New Haven is among the most walkable U.S. towns
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, New Haven is among the most walkable U.S. towns, #1 of 155 in Connecticut. Both inputs place New Haven near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 62,102 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 86% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 22.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 98% 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). 26.9% of New Haven households have no vehicle (Connecticut 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 8% of New Haven’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
New Haven and other U.S. towns of 97,000 to 187,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carmel IN | 105,634 | $142K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 23% | A+ |
| 2 | Clay Township IN | 104,932 | $142K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 23% | A+ |
| 3 | Fishers IN | 104,812 | $130K | 4.0% | 2.8% | 14% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 64 | Stamford CT | 139,535 | $112K | 10.1% | 4.9% | 34% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 236 | Bridgeport CT | 152,273 | $59K | 21.0% | 9.0% | 21% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 242 | Hesperia CA | 102,605 | $72K | 16.9% | 9.3% | 12% | C− |
| 243 | Allentown PA | 126,044 | $55K | 21.0% | 9.0% | 16% | C− |
| 244 | New Haven CT | 138,774 | $57K | 23.9% | 8.4% | 43% | C− |
| 245 | Columbia SC | 147,035 | $56K | 24.0% | 7.5% | 40% | C− |
| 246 | Victorville CA | 141,395 | $74K | 18.4% | 11.1% | 17% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 251 | Waterbury CT | 115,771 | $52K | 24.7% | 9.3% | 25% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 261 | Macon-Bibb County GA | 157,556 | $51K | 24.7% | 8.1% | 53% | 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 New Haven, the top three, the last and three more from Connecticut.
New Haven and its neighbors: 18% work next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | New Haven workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Haven | – | C− | A+ | 22 min | $56,851 |
| West Haven | 4% | C+ | A | 23 min | $74,382 |
| East Haven | 2% | B+ | A | 24 min | $94,628 |
| Hamden | 4% | B+ | A | 22 min | $98,306 |
| Woodbridge | under 2% | A− | C+ | 25 min | $188,750 |
| North Haven | 6% | A+ | A− | 22 min | $132,689 |
| Orange | 2% | A+ | B | 28 min | $142,325 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to North Haven. Darker towns draw more of New 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 New Haven: questions
What is the median household income in New Haven?
$56,851 (±$4,254) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,781 across Connecticut and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in New Haven?
23.9%, against 10.0% across Connecticut and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from New Haven?
22 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Connecticut and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in New Haven work?
43% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are North Haven (6%, 6 mi), Hamden (4%, 6 mi), West Haven (4%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is New Haven walkable?
New Haven is among the most walkable U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 13.9 out of 20, and 25% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around New Haven without a car?
8% of commuters take transit and 27% of households have no car. 86% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from New Haven, from the people who make the trip.
More of New 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.