With 0.4 jobs for every working resident, most of Central Islip works elsewhere
For 7% of workers, the job is at home, against 15% across New York. Employers in Central Islip report 5,860 jobs; 16,404 of its residents have a job. Only 5% work in Central Islip; the top destination outside it is Islip (29%, 5 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Central Islip, in brief
Central Islip’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Central Islip is New York City, 40 miles away as the crow flies. 17% of working residents (2,707) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Commutes from Central Islip are quick
The average trip to work takes 27 minutes, against 33 across New York. That’s about 46 hours a year less on the road than the typical New York worker. Time on the road ↓
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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Central Islip
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.
About 27 minutes each way, quicker than most of New York
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Central Islip workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 16,340 commuters (the 7% 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.
Central Islip quiets down on a workday
On a workday 15,661 residents head out to work, 743 work right here, and 5,117 people come in from elsewhere.
About 28,000 people are in Central Islip 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.
Commuting out of Central Islip: the destinations
Where Central Islip clocks in
29% of workers
17% of workers
13% 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 Central Islip
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Central Islip, 2013 → 2023: 6,713 → 5,860. 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 Central Islip’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Next door to Central Islip
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Central Islip workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Islip | – | — | — | 27 min | $113,707 |
| North Great River | under 1% | — | — | 27 min | — |
| Islandia | under 1% | A− | A− | 30 min | $116,313 |
| Bohemia | under 1% | — | — | 28 min | — |
| Brentwood | under 1% | — | — | — | — |
| Hauppauge | under 1% | — | — | 29 min | — |
| Ronkonkoma | under 1% | — | — | 32 min | — |
| Islip Terrace | under 1% | — | — | 33 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. North Great River, Bohemia, Brentwood, Hauppauge, Ronkonkoma and Islip Terrace: 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 Central Islip’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 Central Islip: questions
What is the median household income in Central Islip?
$113,707 (±$6,569) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Central Islip?
9.2%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Central Islip?
27 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Central Islip work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Islip (29%, 5 mi), New York City (17%, 40 mi), Smithtown (13%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Central Islip without a car?
5% of commuters take transit and 11% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Central Islip, from the people who make the trip.
More of Central Islip
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.