Middle Island has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.5 for each
Only 4% work in Middle Island itself; outside it, Brookhaven draws the most (32%, 2 miles). Employers in Middle Island report 2,617 jobs for 4,926 working residents. 8% of workers work from home, where New York as a whole has 15%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Middle Island: the figures worth knowing
Half of Middle Island commutes less than 16 miles
About 19% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Who leaves Middle Island for work, and who comes in
On a workday 4,713 residents head out to work, 213 work right here, and 2,404 people come in from elsewhere.
About 8,700 people are in Middle Island on a workday afternoon, 21% 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 2024, primary jobs.
Where Middle Island goes to work
Where Middle Island clocks in
32% 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 Middle Island
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Middle Island, 2014 → 2024: 2,821 → 2,617. 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 Middle Island’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting to work from Middle Island takes about 32 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Middle Island workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,677 commuters (the 8% 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.
How Middle Island compares with the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Middle Island workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Middle Island | – | — | — | 32 min | $85,480 |
| Yaphank | under 3% | — | — | 32 min | — |
| Gordon Heights | under 3% | — | — | 39 min | — |
| Rocky Point | under 3% | — | — | 36 min | — |
| Ridge | under 3% | — | — | 36 min | — |
| Coram | under 3% | — | — | 34 min | — |
| Miller Place | under 3% | — | — | 33 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Yaphank, Gordon Heights, Rocky Point, Ridge, Coram and Miller Place: 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 Middle 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 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 Middle Island: questions
What is the median household income in Middle Island?
$85,480 (±$16,221) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Middle Island?
13.0%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Middle Island?
32 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Middle Island work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Brookhaven (32%, 2 mi), New York City (17%, 54 mi), Islip (13%, 18 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Can you get around Middle Island without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Middle Island, from the people who make the trip.
More of Middle Island
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.