Photo: Hayden Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Work and commuting in Riverside
Only 5% work in Riverside itself; outside it, Greenwich draws the most (24%, 3 miles). For 34% of workers, the job is at home, against 16% across Connecticut. A typical one-way commute lasts 35 minutes, against 27 across Connecticut and 26 nationally.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Riverside at work: what stands out
Home offices are common in Riverside
35% of Riverside workers work from home, against 16% across Connecticut. Time on the road ↓
A lot of Riverside workers cross into New York
30% of Riverside workers work outside Connecticut, most of them in New York, the Census survey finds. The commute map ↓
Riverside’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Riverside is New York City, NY, 31 miles away as the crow flies. 21% of working residents (635) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Riverside workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 35 minutes each way, against 27 across Connecticut. Over a year that’s about 268 hours of commuting, 61 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Riverside
79% of Riverside residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 56% of the jobs based in Riverside pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 95% leave town for their job. 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.
Riverside’s commute takes about 35 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Riverside workers work from home, vs 16% across Connecticut. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,517 commuters (the 34% 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.
Where the trip to work from Riverside ends
Where Riverside clocks in
24% of workers
21% of workers
14% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Riverside
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.
Inside Riverside’s 1,794 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Riverside, 2013 → 2023: 1,439 → 1,794. 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 Riverside’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How a workday changes Riverside
On a workday 2,857 residents head out to work, 157 work right here, and 1,637 people come in from elsewhere.
About 7,700 people are in Riverside on a workday afternoon, 14% fewer than live here.
0.60 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.
Riverside and the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Riverside workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Riverside | – | — | — | 35 min | $250,000+ |
| Old Greenwich | under 2% | — | — | 35 min | — |
| Cos Cob | under 2% | — | — | 29 min | — |
| Indian Field | under 2% | — | — | 25 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Old Greenwich, Cos Cob and Indian Field: Census-designated places inside larger towns, graded as part of them. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Riverside’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 Riverside: questions
What is the median household income in Riverside?
$250,000+ (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,781 across Connecticut and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Riverside?
3.3%, against 10.0% across Connecticut and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Riverside?
35 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Connecticut and 26 nationally. 34% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Riverside work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Greenwich (24%, 3 mi), New York City (21%, 31 mi), Stamford (14%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Riverside without a car?
26% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Riverside, from the people who make the trip.
More of Riverside
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.