Photo: Vitsuha · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in Brookhaven top those of 88% of U.S. towns
Brookhaven grades A− for jobs and income and A− for walkability. Poverty touches 7.0% of residents, next to 14.0% for New York as a whole. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 0.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 79.0 in New York City.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Brookhaven
Brookhaven’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Brookhaven is New York City, 53 miles away as the crow flies. 17% of working residents (37,014) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Most jobs in Brookhaven go to people who live here
Of the 131,759 jobs based in Brookhaven, 55% are held by Brookhaven residents. In most towns, people from elsewhere hold most of the local jobs. Day and night ↓
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.
The figures behind Brookhaven’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Brookhaven is better than 79% of U.S. towns, #170 of 758 in New York. Household income holds Brookhaven’s grade up ($120,110, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (5.2%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A firm grade. At either end of the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Brookhaven stays A−.
Half of Brookhaven commutes less than 14 miles
About 15% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
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.
How many people are in Brookhaven by day
On a workday 151,397 residents head out to work, 72,380 work right here, and 59,379 people come in from elsewhere.
About 404,000 people are in Brookhaven on a workday afternoon, 19% fewer than live here.
0.59 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.
17% of working residents work in New York City
Where Brookhaven clocks in
17% of workers
15% of workers
6% 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.
What the 131,759 jobs in Brookhaven are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Brookhaven, 2013 → 2023: 134,680 → 131,759. 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 Brookhaven’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 32 minutes each way for Brookhaven’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Brookhaven workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 215,678 commuters (the 10% who work from home are left out). Across New York: 57% drive alone, 25% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
In Brookhaven, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Brookhaven is more walkable than 77% of U.S. towns, #307 of 758 in New York. Both inputs place Brookhaven 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 239,427 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 5% 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 0.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 43% 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). 4.5% of Brookhaven households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 4% of Brookhaven’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
1st of 30: where Brookhaven ranks among U.S. towns of 347,000 to 670,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brookhaven NY | 496,410 | $120K | 7.0% | 5.2% | 32% | A− |
| 2 | Virginia Beach VA | 453,737 | $93K | 8.6% | 4.0% | 47% | A− |
| 3 | Mesa AZ | 513,656 | $83K | 10.3% | 4.2% | 24% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 30 | Detroit MI | 649,095 | $40K | 32.7% | 14.0% | 31% | C− |
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 Brookhaven, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
Next door is work for 24% of Brookhaven
The biggest share goes to Islip (15%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Brookhaven workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brookhaven | – | A− | A− | 32 min | $120,110 |
| Riverhead | 3% | B | B+ | 28 min | $94,249 |
| Islip | 15% | A | A− | 28 min | $130,132 |
| Calverton | under 3% | — | — | 28 min | — |
| Wading River | under 3% | — | — | 33 min | — |
| Smithtown | 6% | A | A− | 32 min | $152,636 |
| Bayport | under 3% | — | — | 30 min | — |
| West Sayville | under 3% | — | — | 28 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Calverton, Wading River, Bayport and West Sayville: 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 Brookhaven’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 Brookhaven: questions
What is the median household income in Brookhaven?
$120,110 (±$2,568) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Brookhaven?
7.0%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Brookhaven?
32 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Brookhaven work?
32% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New York City (17%, 53 mi), Islip (15%, 16 mi), Smithtown (6%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Brookhaven walkable?
Brookhaven is more walkable than 77% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 7.8 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Brookhaven without a car?
4% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Brookhaven, from the people who make the trip.
More of Brookhaven
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.