How Fire Island works: jobs, income and commuting
267 jobs are based in Fire Island, and 354 of its residents work somewhere. Only 2% work in Fire Island itself; outside it, Islip draws the most (28%, 6 miles). The trip to work takes 39 minutes on average, where New York has 33 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Fire Island and work: the main findings
Fewer jobs are based in Fire Island than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Fire Island fell from 415 in 2013 to 267 in 2023, −36%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Fire Island workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 39 minutes each way, against 33 across New York. Over a year that’s about 299 hours of commuting, 46 more than the state’s typical 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; with 354 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
66% of the jobs in Fire Island pay over $3,333 a month
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Fire Island, 2013 → 2023: 415 → 267. 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 Fire Island’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Fire Island’s commute takes about 39 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 12.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Fire Island workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 194 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.
The workday shuffle in and out of Fire Island
On a workday 347 residents head out to work, 7 work right here, and 260 people come in from elsewhere.
About 270 people are in Fire Island on a workday afternoon, 25% fewer than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.75 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Out of Fire Island to work: where people go
Where Fire Island clocks in
28% of workers
19% 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.
How far Fire Island’s workers travel
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.
The towns next door employ 15% of Fire Island
The biggest share goes to Brookhaven (13%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Fire Island workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fire Island | – | — | — | 39 min | $84,688 |
| Brookhaven | 13% | A− | A− | 32 min | $120,110 |
| Oak Beach | under 2% | — | — | — | — |
| Southampton | 2% | B+ | A− | 30 min | $128,594 |
| West Hampton Dunes | under 2% | — | — | 63 min | — |
| Captree | under 2% | — | — | — | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Oak Beach and Captree: Census-designated places inside larger towns, graded as part of them. West Hampton Dunes: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Fire Island’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 Fire Island: questions
What is the median household income in Fire Island?
$84,688 (±$59,662) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Fire Island?
6.6%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Fire Island?
39 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 Fire Island work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Islip (28%, 6 mi), New York City (19%, 38 mi), Brookhaven (13%, 20 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Fire Island without a car?
13% of commuters take transit and 18% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Fire Island, from the people who make the trip.
More of Fire Island
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.