Photo: Joe Mabel · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Hempstead top those of 94% of U.S. towns
Jobs and income earn Hempstead A; getting around on foot earns it A+. Below the poverty line: 5.9% of residents, against 14.0% across New York. About one in four work in Hempstead; the top destination outside it is New York City (41%, 17 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Hempstead: the gist
Income, poverty and work: Hempstead’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Hempstead is better than 87% of U.S. towns, #97 of 758 in New York. Job access by car holds Hempstead’s grade up (among the top U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (5.2%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A firm grade. At either end of the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Hempstead stays A.
How a workday changes Hempstead
On a workday 270,076 residents head out to work, 102,988 work right here, and 161,946 people come in from elsewhere.
About 688,000 people are in Hempstead on a workday afternoon, 14% fewer than live here.
0.71 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 2024, primary jobs.
Where Hempstead goes to work
Where Hempstead clocks in
41% of workers
7% 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.
Inside Hempstead’s 264,934 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Hempstead, 2014 → 2024: 251,704 → 264,934. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Hempstead’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Hempstead: about 37 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Hempstead workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 331,872 commuters (the 14% 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.
Hempstead’s commute, mile by mile
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Hempstead is among the most walkable U.S. towns
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Hempstead is among the most walkable U.S. towns, #47 of 758 in New York. Both inputs place Hempstead 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 386,535 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 95% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 44% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 23.8 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). 7.2% of Hempstead households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 15% of Hempstead’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
Hempstead places 1st of 23 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 557,000 to 1,074,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hempstead NY | 795,734 | $141K | 5.9% | 5.2% | 28% | A |
| 2 | San Jose CA | 989,814 | $146K | 8.1% | 5.1% | 36% | A− |
| 3 | Seattle WA | 784,777 | $124K | 9.9% | 4.6% | 58% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | 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 Hempstead, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
The towns next door employ 57% of Hempstead
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Hempstead workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hempstead | – | A | A+ | 37 min | $141,243 |
| Oyster Bay | 7% | A | A+ | 35 min | $160,126 |
| New York | 41% | B− | A+ | 40 min | $80,483 |
| North Hempstead | 9% | A | A+ | 36 min | $158,158 |
| Massapequa | under 1% | — | — | 37 min | — |
| Bethpage | under 1% | — | — | 33 min | — |
| North Massapequa | under 1% | — | — | 34 min | — |
| Hicksville | under 1% | — | — | 34 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Massapequa, Bethpage, North Massapequa and Hicksville: Census-designated places inside larger towns, graded as part of them. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to New York. Darker towns draw more of Hempstead’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 2024, 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 Hempstead: questions
What is the median household income in Hempstead?
$141,243 (±$1,979) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Hempstead?
5.9%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Hempstead?
37 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Hempstead work?
28% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New York City (41%, 17 mi), North Hempstead (9%, 12 mi), Oyster Bay (7%, 13 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Hempstead walkable?
Hempstead is among the most walkable U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 14.6 out of 20, and 17% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Hempstead without a car?
15% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 44% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Hempstead, from the people who make the trip.
More of Hempstead
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.