John Philip Sousa House · Photo: Daniel Case · CC BY-SA 3.0North Hempstead has higher household incomes than 96% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income North Hempstead is better than 94% of U.S. towns (A); for walkability it is among the most walkable U.S. towns (A+). 4.5% of residents live below the poverty line; New York has 14.0%. About one in five stay in North Hempstead for work; outside it, New York City is the main destination (47%, 17 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in North Hempstead
Much of North Hempstead works one town over
64% of working residents work in a town that borders North Hempstead: New York (47%), Hempstead (11%) and Oyster Bay (6%). Next door ↓
North Hempstead is where the jobs are
North Hempstead has 162,224 jobs, 1.6 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Most jobs in North Hempstead pay over $40,000 a year
73% of the jobs based in North Hempstead pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), the top earnings band in the Census data. The jobs ↓
The biggest group of North Hempstead’s workers comes from New York City
50,207 of the people who work in North Hempstead live in New York City, 17 miles away, more than from any other town. The commute map ↓
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.
Jobs & income in North Hempstead: the grade in detail
Job access by car is its strongest input (among the top U.S. towns); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (4.1%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, North Hempstead could be anywhere from A to A+.
Who works in North Hempstead, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 82,979 residents head out to work, 21,265 work right here, and 140,959 people come in from elsewhere.
About 297,000 people are in North Hempstead on a workday afternoon, 24% more than live here.
1.6 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
73% of the jobs in North Hempstead pay over $3,333 a month
162,224 jobs are based in North Hempstead.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in North Hempstead, 2013 → 2023: 157,045 → 162,224. 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 North Hempstead’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting in to North Hempstead: where workers come from
Where North Hempstead clocks in
47% of workers
11% 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.
North Hempstead’s commute takes about 36 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of North Hempstead workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 94,623 commuters (the 17% 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 distance from North Hempstead to work
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.
North 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, North Hempstead is among the most walkable U.S. towns, #29 of 758 in New York. Both inputs place North 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 114,554 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 91% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 42% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 24.3 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). 7.1% of North Hempstead households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 19% of North Hempstead’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
North Hempstead is 1st of 109 U.S. towns of 167,000 to 323,000 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Hempstead NY | 238,982 | $158K | 4.5% | 4.1% | 20% | A |
| 2 | Oyster Bay NY | 301,115 | $160K | 3.9% | 4.6% | 19% | A |
| 3 | Frisco TX | 236,955 | $150K | 3.6% | 4.6% | 14% | A |
| 4 | Huntington NY | 205,891 | $168K | 5.0% | 4.3% | 23% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 12 | Babylon NY | 219,766 | $128K | 6.1% | 4.8% | 21% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 57 | Yonkers NY | 212,603 | $84K | 13.8% | 7.1% | 18% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 109 | Shreveport LA | 175,902 | $49K | 23.5% | 9.0% | 61% | 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 North Hempstead, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
Bordering towns draw 64% of North Hempstead’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | North Hempstead workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Hempstead | – | A | A+ | 36 min | $158,158 |
| Oyster Bay | 6% | A | A+ | 35 min | $160,126 |
| Hempstead | 11% | A | A+ | 37 min | $141,243 |
| New York | 47% | B− | A+ | 40 min | $80,483 |
| Garden City | under 1% | A+ | A+ | 35 min | $244,152 |
| Jericho | under 1% | — | — | 41 min | — |
| Westbury | under 1% | A+ | A+ | 29 min | $145,185 |
| Uniondale | under 1% | — | — | 33 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Jericho and Uniondale: 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 North 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 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 North Hempstead: questions
What is the median household income in North Hempstead?
$158,158 (±$4,923) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in North Hempstead?
4.5%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from North Hempstead?
36 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 17% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in North Hempstead work?
20% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New York City (47%, 17 mi), Hempstead (11%, 12 mi), Oyster Bay (6%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is North Hempstead walkable?
North Hempstead is among the most walkable U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 14.7 out of 20, and 23% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around North Hempstead without a car?
19% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 42% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from North Hempstead, from the people who make the trip.
More of North Hempstead
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.